drumming sound—never forgotten when once heard—made 
by excessively rapid blows with its beak on the trunk, or 
branch, of a tree. On the wing it may be recognized by its 
“dipping” flight, and strikingly piebald appearance. At 
close quarters the strongly contrasted black and white 
plumage is relieved by crimson undertail-coverts, and a 
crimson crown. The lesser-spotted woodpecker is a much 
smaller bird—about the size of a sparrow, or chaffinch—and 
is barred with black and white ; there is a patch of crimson 
on the head of the male. It has a habit of keeping more to 
the upper branches of the tree than the other species: but, 
like its greater cousin, it “drums” on the tree during the 
spring, but less loudly. Its spring cry, “‘ pee-pee-pee,” is 
like that of the wryneck. This is a near relation of the wood- 
peckers, but very different in coloration, being beautifully 
mottled and vermiculated with grey and brown. But for 
its spring cry, just alluded to, it would escape notice altogether, 
so closely does it match the bough it is perched upon. Un- 
like the woodpeckers its tail-feathers are not developed to 
form stiff, pointed spines. This is accounted for by the fact 
that, though it ascends tree-trunks readily, it does not hammer 
at the bark with its beak, and so does not need stiff tail- 
feathers to afford leverage. Its flight is slow and hesitating, 
It is commonest, it may be remarked, on the south-east of 
England. 
Q 229 
