30 BRITISH BIRDS, WITH THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 
bars, raising at the same time the feathers of his bright crimson crest. It was 
interesting to watch him in the act of hanging head downwards from a piece of 
bark, as if resting on the under surface of the bough of a forest tree. Each 
leg was firmly supported by the strong claws, and the tarsi were stretched widely 
apart. While thus poised, the bird struck upwards at the cork many times in 
succession without shifting his position. Indeed he frequently delivered a number 
of sharp blows upon a single spot. 
When the male desired to take a bath, he first played with the water, spurting 
it over his back with his long bill. A few moments later he slipped into the 
water, ducked his head, and allowed the water to flow freely over his back and 
wings. Having thus saturated his feathers, he returned to the cork, and com- 
menced to hammer merrily. The sound of my voice was always a signal for both 
the Woodpeckers to suspend their boring operations. They waited for me to feed 
them in the morning, and were vexed if they had to wait much longer than usual. 
I fed them at first on an ‘artificial food’ supplied to me by Mr. Gasparin. 
After some months they tired of this mixture. JI then replaced it by Hawkins’ 
prepared food for Insectivorous birds. 
The male died in the early winter of the same year, during my absence. His 
companion continued to thrive in solitude until the following summer, when she 
accidentally made her escape through an open window. 
With regard to the cry of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, I can vouch for 
the fact that both sexes have the same call-note, which I wrote down as ‘ Az, 
Kink, but which Naumann rendered as ‘ Kuk.’ The male has also a sort of 
laughing cry, only uttered when he is excited, and even then but rarely, at least 
in captivity. Having listened to my tame birds at all hours, from dawn to 
twilight, I am able to say that both the female and male of this Woodpecker 
‘churr.’ They have, in fact, three different beats; one is a loud ‘vafatat’; the 
second resembles the light tapping of the common Nuthatch (Sztta cesta). Their 
third sound—generally called ‘churring’—is produced by a succession of very 
rapid blows directed upon one particular piece of bark.” 
The above account is especially interesting, as showing that the natural food 
of the bird is not necessary in order to keep it in health; but that, as with most 
insectivorous birds, the regular bird-dealers’ mixtures answer the purpose as a 
substitute. 
