GREY WOODPECKER. 139 



stumps near woods. It also comes into the gardens of 

 villages or towns in winter, but does not cling to 

 buildings. It remains, Naumann tells us, much longer, 

 and is seen more frequently" on tire ground than the 

 Green Woodpecker, and when frightened from thence, 

 it will fly away and suspend itself from a high tree, 

 or take up its position on the top of the same, in 

 which it differs considerably from the Green. At 

 night it takes refuge in the holes of trees, to which 

 it retires, like other Woodpeckers, with great caution 

 in the late twilight. 



Naumann tells us that the Grey Woodpecker is a 

 lively, cheerful, and impudent fellow; cautious and 

 crafty withal, but not so shy as P. viridis. It is very 

 restless, and always either seeking its food, or flying- 

 very adroitly among the trees. It rarely, however, taps 

 upon them like the "Woodpecker tapping" of our own 

 country, but it has equal skill in chiseling out holes 

 for its nest or nightly habitation. It is very quarrel- 

 some and jealous about its food, and is not by any means 

 to be allured from this by any artificial knocking or 

 "tree tapping." It is less shy in the breeding season, 

 and more frequently seen on the tops of high trees 

 than the other Woodpeckers, where it sits crosswise, 

 sunning and pluming itself, and making its whereabouts 

 easily discovered by its call. 



It flies like the Green species, and its voice is very 

 much the same, but rings in the ear more agreeably, 

 while the tone is less shrill and sharp. It is heard 

 from March to June, especially in the pairing season, 

 and in the beautiful mornings of the bright sunny 

 spring. The note consists of a full-toned syllable, 

 'klii, klih, klih, klyh, klyh, kliik, kliik, kliik, kliik,' 

 sinking deeper each time, so that the end is much 



