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. Uu- 

 Uke 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, 



93 



