314 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



the Greater Spotted species. On May 5th I found a pair of Green 

 Woodpeckers trying to occupy a last year's hole in one of the three 

 large trees in Park Wood, not far from the Bishop's Palace, and which 

 might more appropriately be called Nightingale Wood, for my finding 

 of the Nightingale's nest and eggs in this wood is, I believe, the farthest 

 point west of the island where the Nightingale has been discovered breed- 

 ing. Five pairs of Woodpeckers have inhabited the wood this summer ; 

 the hole was about twenty feet up, and situated in the bole of the tree. 

 The foliage of the nut-bushes not being sufficiently out at this date to 

 hide me, the birds at first seemed shy to enter the hole. These trees, 

 not in the least decayed, contain thirteen previous nesting-holes, chiefly 

 in the various tall branches, and at this date all occupied by Starlings. 

 Just above the old hole in question is a short branch, and on it two 

 Starlings sat, and poured forth their mimicking notes, alternately drop- 

 ping and turning into the hole ; when swiftly — and, until then, unseen — 

 one of the Green Woodpeckers flew at the hole, and drove the Starlings 

 out on to the short branch. After having quite a tussle it flew up into 

 the higher branches again. One or other of the Starlings repeated 

 this act again and again, but each time a Woodpecker descended, 

 and showed his superiority. I immediately thought of shooting the 

 Starlings, but abandoned the idea, thinking it might frighten away the 

 Woodpeckers. I spent hours on subsequent dates watching the hole, 

 and, as a rule, had not long to wait before seeing one or both of the 

 Woodpeckers ; one would come silently from a near oak, and some- 

 times alight on the trunk some feet above the hole, where it would 

 stay for some minutes, and peep at me round the tree, the head and 

 beak only being visible. It would then utter its loud " plew plew " 

 notes, as if to tell its mate that danger was nigh ; the cry was answered 

 from close by ; then, with a mode of progression something between a 

 jump and a climb, it descended backwards, or tail first, down the side 

 of the tree to a level with the hole ; and, climbing sideways, it entered. 

 On May 13th no Starlings pitched on the short branch, the above 

 mentioned pair having no doubt given it up as a bad job. On the 15th 

 and 16th respectively the female Woodpecker flew from the hole after 

 I had struck the trunk with a stick, and I concluded she had eggs there ; 

 so at 6.30 a.m. on May 17th, with the aid of a ladder, a mallet, and a 

 chisel, I enlarged the hole, keeping it circular as much as possible, 

 until the lad with me could put his arm in. The nest, or rather hole, 

 contained seven fresh eggs, which I took. I may here mention that I 

 passed immediately under these three tall trees several times daily, for 

 the narrow keeper's path led me to a Sparrow-Hawk's nest, which I 

 was also watching with interest. 



