140 
GllEY WOODPECKER. 
fuller than the beginning thereof. The time is slower 
than that of the Green AVooclpecker, and the tone 
fuller and less sharp, and an observant car can easily 
distinguish one from the other. The male sometimes 
also makes a whizzing noise as it sits on a hard 
branch on the summit of a tree, violently hammering 
the same, so that the tone is brought out as ‘orrrr,’ 
but shorter than the other allied species. This noise 
is only heard in the bird under consideration during 
the pairing season, or when the female is sitting. 
The Grey Woodpecker lives principally upon ants, 
Avhen it can get them. When they fail it eats bark 
beetles, various larvEe, and, rarely, elderberries. Among 
ants, Formica rubra and fusca are its favourites, and 
the abundance of these insects generally determines 
the choice of a summer residence. The young are 
fed with the eggs or pupte. In summer it lives on 
no other food, and in winter it knows where to look 
for them. 
The nest is formed about the beginning of May, 
in the holes of trees, especially oak. They are not 
so careful in the choice of a situation as the Black 
or Green Woodpecker. It is generally in a tree easy 
to climb, and not very high up. The eggs are six in 
number, and very like those of the Green Woodpecker. 
They are, however considerably smaller, and more pear- 
shaped in form. The egg shell is of the finest grain 
— tender and thin, so that when fresh, the yolks shine 
through the peculiarly clear and enamel-polished white. 
This effect is destroyed by incubation. The male and 
female sit by turns, and are so fearless that they will 
almost permit themselves to be caught at this time. 
The young remain a long time in the nest, and are 
fed by the old ones some time after they leave it. 
