388 BRITISH BIKUS. 



(vi) Pici. 



"Woodpeckers and Wrynecks (PioiDiE). 



The Picidffi have the hallux and fourth toe turned back, the 

 second and third forwards (fig. 193). 



Three "Woodpeckers occur in Great Britain, — the Great 

 Green "Woodpecker {Gecinus viridis), the Great Spotted "Wood- 

 pecker (Picus major), and the 

 Lesser Spotted (P. minor). 

 The "Woodpeckers hammer 

 out holes in trees in which 

 they form their nests. The 

 green woodpecker cuts out 

 a neat circular hole, hy 

 ^"■^'i^^^^'lZ'^'^^or'"'' choice in a soft -wooded 



tree — this tunnel running 

 in as far as the hard central wood, and then turning downwards 

 at right angles, where a large chamber is formed, in which the 

 five to seven eggs are laid on a bed of wood -chips. There 

 is a new nesting-hole formed every year. Sound as well as 

 decayed trees are attacked ; but the good the green woodpecker 

 does in destroying injurious insects makes up for the harm it 

 does to a few trees. They feed almost exclusively on insects, 

 especially the larvse of wood-boring beetles, which we see them 

 hunting for up the tree-trunks. The stiff feathers of the tail 

 help them in their progress up the trunk. Ants and other 

 ground-insects are also eaten by G. viridis, it being no unusual 

 thing to see them hunting on the ground. This handsome 

 Avoodpecker has green upper plvimage, greyish - green under 

 plumage, and bright crimson crown and nape. 



The Great Spotted "Woodpecker {Picus major) and the Lesser 

 Spotted (P. minor) also live in a similar way, and feed off wood- 

 destroying insects. 



