130 THE GREEN WOODPECKER 



wood is impenetrable alike by insects and itself, and where the former 

 have been beforehand with it in seeking food or shelter. Such a 

 canker-spot found, it halts in its course, tears off piece-meal a portion 

 of bark and excavates the rotten wood beneath, either as far as the 

 fault extends or as long as it can find food. It is, then, by no means 

 a mischievous bird, but the reverse ; as it not only destroys a num- 

 ber of noxious insects, but points out to the woodman, if he would 

 only observe aright, which trees are beginning to decay and conse- 

 quently require his immediate attention. This aspect of the Wood- 

 pecker's operations is the right one and not the old idea that ' it 

 is a great enemy of old trees in consequence of the holes which it 

 digs in their trunks ', as some old writer states. 



But with all his digging and tapping, the sound by which the 

 vicinity of a Woodpecker is most frequently detected, especially in 

 spring and summer, is the unmistakable laughing note which has 

 gained for him the name of ' Yaffle.' No more perhaps than the 

 mournful cooing of the dove does this indicate merriment ; it is 

 harsh, too, in tone ; yet it rings through the woods with such jovial 

 earnestness that it is always welcome. On such occasions the bird 

 is not generally, I think, feeding, for if the neighbourhood from 

 which the sound proceeded be closely watched, the Yaffle may 

 frequently be observed to fly away, with a somewhat heavy dipping 

 flight, to another tree or grove, and thence, after another laugh, to 

 proceed to a second. It is indeed oftener to be seen on the wing 

 than hunting for food on the trunks of trees. Very frequently too 

 it may be observed on the ground, especially in a meadow or com- 

 mon in which ants abound. 



The admirable adaptation of the structure of the Woodpecker 

 to its mode of life is well pointed out by Yarrell. Its sharp, hooked 

 toes, pointing two each way, are eminently fitted for climbing and 

 clinging. The keel of the breast-bone is remarkably shallow ; hence, 

 when ascending (its invariable mode of progress) a tree, it is enabled 

 to bring its body close to the trunk without straining the muscles 

 of the legs. Its tail is short, and composed of unusually stiff 

 feathers, which in the process of climbing are pressed inwards 

 against the tree, and contribute greatly to its support. The beak 

 is strong and of considerable length, and thus fitted either for digging 

 into an ant-hiU or sounding the cavities of a tree ; and the tongue, 

 which is unusually long, is furnished with a curious but simple 

 apparatus, by which it is extended so that it can be thrust into a 

 hole far beyond the point of the bill, while its tip is barbed with 

 small filaments, which, like the teeth of a rake, serve to puU up the 

 larva or insect into its mouth. The Woodpecker builds no nest, 

 but lays five or six glossy white eggs on the fragments of the decayed 

 wood in which it has excavated its nest. 



Other names by which this bird is known are Popinjay, Wood- 

 sprite, Rain-bird, Hew-hole and Woodweele. 



