%36 PICID.E. 



IXSESSORES. PICID E. 



SCAiVSORES. 



PLATE CXXXV. 



GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER 



PlCUS MAJOR. 



The general appearance of the Great Spotted Woodpecker 

 is so very different from that of the foregoing, as well in its 

 size, its shorter form, and the distribution of the colouring, 

 that there is no chance of mistaking this bird in England for 

 any of its allied species ; but on the Continent of Europe 

 there are several woodpeckers which resemble it in the eyes 

 of a casual observer, such as the Picas leuconotus, and Picus 

 medius, of which no specimens have hitherto been taken in 

 England. 



The present species here represented is found all over 

 Europe, North America, and Asia, but chiefly in the north- 

 ern parts of those quarters of the globe ; in Europe it occurs 

 from Sweden and Russia to Italy, and is more frequently met 

 with than any other species of the woodpecker family. 



Towards the autumn of the year these birds wander more 

 than at any other time, but not sufficiently so to be con- 

 sidered migratory ; they return to their summer quarters 

 about the month of March. The chief retreat of this species 

 is in pine forests, from whence they absent themselves oc- 

 casionally, when they locate themselves in many other forest 

 plantations of different kinds. During the day time this 



