THE NORTHERN GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 39 



Characters and allied forms. — D. m. pinetorum (central and 

 west Europe to Pyrenees and Asia Minor) is slightly paler on under- 

 parts and has slightly wider bill than D. m. anglicus and longer 

 wing ; D. m. harterti (Sardinia) is darker brown on under-parts and 

 brighter crimson on vent and outer tail-feathers more strongly 

 barred than D. m. anglicus ; D. m. parroti (Corsica) is similar but 

 with longer bill ; D. m. hispanus (Spain and Portugal) is similar 

 but with smaller white spots on wing-feathers and sometimes a 

 little crimson in centre of breast-band ; D.m. mauritanus (Marocco) 

 is like last but paler on under-parts and has more crimson in centre 

 of breast-band ; D. m. numidus (Algeria, Tunisia) is like last 

 but breast-band joined across and feathers black with crimson 

 tips ; D. m. canariensis (Tenerife) has dark under-parts but white 

 flanks ; D. m. poelzami (Caspian) is much like D. m. anglicus but 

 with chocolate-brown under-parts and is smaller ; D. m. brevirostris 

 (Siberia) is much like D. m. major but with whiter under-parts ; 

 D. m. tscherskii (east Siberia, Manchuria) is like last but has larger 

 white spots on secondaries ; D. m. kamtschaticus (Kamtschatka) 

 has less black on outer tail-feathers and more white on primaries ; 

 D. m. japonicus (Japan) is more like D. m. pinetorum but with larger 

 white spots on secondaries. Black upper-parts with white scapular 

 patches, crimson vent and under tail-coverts and larger size dis- 

 tinguish D. major from D. minor, while these characters with 

 unstreaked under-parts and black dividing white of ear -co verts 

 and neck-patch separate it from D. medius, D. leucotus, D. syriacus 

 and D. cabanisi. 



Breeding-habits. — Similar to those of British race ; haunts the 

 great coniferous forests of northern Europe. Eggs. — 5-6, some- 

 times 7, like those of British form, but slightly larger. Average 

 of 17, 26.9 X 20.7. Max. : 29.3 X 20.8 and 28.4 x 21.1. Min. : 

 25.3 X 19.7. Breeding-season. — Rather late ; eggs seldom earlier 

 than end of May or early June. Single brooded. 



Food. — Small beetles (Chrysomela sanguinolenta), worms and grubs 

 from dung and even berries of rowan are recorded as food of 

 stragglers to Shetlands. Normal food larvae of wood-boring cole- 

 optera, hymenoptera, etc. 



Distribution. — British Isles. — Winter- visitor. Apparently fairly 

 regular in small numbers Sept. to Nov. east coast Great Britain 

 from Norfolk northwards, often visiting Shetlands and Orkneys, 

 and occasionally west side Scotland and even O. Hebrides, also 

 sometimes occurs inland in England (e.g. Northants, 1889), and 

 south of Norfolk. In Ireland about forty occurrences in all proba- 

 bility of this form. Periodically occurs in considerable numbers, 

 as in 1861, 1868, 1886, 1889, 1898, 1901, 1903, 1909. Very few 

 specimens have yet been critically examined, but evidence for above 

 statement is strongly presumptive. Examples have been deter- 

 mined as follows : — Inverness, Mar., 1872 ; co. Down winter 1886-7 ; 



