128 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Several of these Spoonbills were also seen by Mr. Patterson, 

 Mr. E. J. Eldred, and others, and it is very satisfactory to know 

 that they were all protected. Mr. Patterson says they are even 

 becoming common enough to receive the appellation of '* Banjo- 

 bills," and the day may yet come when, protected by public 

 opinion, they will again breed in East Anglia, where we have 

 plenty of tall trees and food of small fry for them. 



11th. — I was greatly struck to-day by the pertinacity dis- 

 played by a Green Woodpecker, although birds in holes are 

 always difficult to oust. We had two nests — our usual allow- 

 ance — one of them in an ash, the other in an elm. The latter 

 was so low down that I could insert my fingers or a thin pliable 

 cane ; but whatever it was, the Green Woodpecker, who felt 

 herself master of the situation, assailed it with the utmost 

 vigour, using that pick-axe beak with an amount of determina- 

 tion which would have meant death to the marauding Rat or 

 Stoat. Owing to a stupid misunderstanding, a few days after- 

 wards this Woodpecker was cut out of her nest-hole (a very noisy 

 operation), and, after being well handled, was released. My 

 daughters naturally thought it would forsake the spot, but to the 

 delight of us all the bird was back again in the half-opened hole next 

 day, and, being now carefully protected from further harm, she 

 hatched her eggs successfully. When a few days old the young 

 Woodpeckers, which became now the object of our care and 

 solicitude, and were very noisy in the hole if they heard anyone 

 approaching, developed a large and prominent knob at the base of 

 the lower mandible and on either side, quite round at the top, and 

 hard like a pea, as correctly shown in the illustration (p. 129). As 

 the birds grew the knob diminished, and had almost disappeared 

 when the time came for them to leave the nest. This curious 

 growth appears to have been unnoticed by naturalists, as I can- 

 not find any mention of it. Another peculiarity about young 

 Woodpeckers is that the feathers seem to come without any 

 previous growth of down. I may remark that some days before 

 this curious knob disappeared the distinctive red of the cock's 

 moustache was already visible. After some consultation we 

 decided to try our luck in rearing one of them, which it was no 

 easy task to extract from the hole, to the interior of which it 

 clung with its hooked claws. With great care it was fed, and 



