6444 



Birds. 



carrying out his designs "right under my nose," and treated with unconcern 

 (amounting to contempt) my uninterrupted " tapping at the window." — J.J. Reading ; 

 Plymouth, January 26, 1859. 



Note on a new British Woodpecker.— The bird, which I describe, was shot by 

 E. P.-Cambridge, at Blox worth Rectory, Dorset, December, 1836, from his bed-room 

 window, as it crept amongst some low shrubs in one of the flower-beds on the lawn. 

 We took it to be only a large and distinctly-marked specimen of Picus minor, noting 

 especially at the time that it had more vivid red on the head and more white on the 

 wings and back, and was larger than one or two other specimens of Picus minor which 

 my brother had shot before ; and I recollect well our hunting Bewick on the subject, 

 and concluding that it might possibly be his " middle spotted woodpecker," but for the 

 red on the head ; however, the bird went to the stuffer's, and in due time came back 

 labelled " least woodpecker, male adult.'' It was stuffed by Havell, at the Zoological 

 Gallery, 77, Oxford Street, an establishment I know not how long since broken up 

 and gone ; from this time until April, 1855, the bird remained in my collection as 

 "Picus minor,'' and was frequently seen, and by some experienced British ornitholo- 

 gists, but no one ever perceived that it was not Picus minor, until, in April, 1855, my 

 friend, Mr. F. Bond, saw it was something strange almost as soon as be entered the 

 room where it was, and taking it down, at once, with his usual acumen, pointed me out 

 the distinctions from Picus minor. At my suggestion, he kindly took it and submitted 

 it to the late Mr. Yarrell, who acknowledged its distinctness from Picus minor, but 

 confessed himself ignorant of the species, and regretted that his last edition was either 

 just out or had got too far on in the printer's hands to allow of its notice there: the 

 examination of this bird was, I believe, almost one of the latest acts of Mr. Yarrell's 

 life, and is very interesting. Shortly after this I made some notes of an American 

 species in the Durham University Museum, labelled " Picus pubescens,'' and found 

 them to agree in the main with my specimen; and since then it has been, until lately, 

 in Mr. Bond's hands, waiting the examination and dictum of Mr. Gould. Mr. Gould 

 examined it, and I cannot precisely understand what conclusion he came to, for all T 

 heard of it was, that " he would like to see other specimens of the same species, from 

 the same locality, before describing it. This would, doubtless, be highly satisfactory, 

 but meanwhile (as getting these other specimens may take possibly some little time, 

 seeing that it is now twenty-two years since this one was killed), I venture to request 

 an insertion of this account and description, and hope any of the readers of the 

 'Zoologist' who possess British small spotted woodpeckers will compare their speci- 

 mens, critically, with my description, as I consider it is not at all improbable that other 

 British specimens exist and pass for Picus minor. As far as I can gather, from 

 a desultory correspondence, neither Mr. Bond nor Mr. Gould were satisfied of 

 its identity with Picus pubescens, though Mr. Bond considered it was nearer to that 

 than to any other species. I have lately compared it with several American specimens 

 of Picus pubescens, and also with a Scandinavian specimen of Picus minor, through 

 the kind permission of the curator of the Derby Museum at Liverpool. The result of 

 this comparison I subjoin to the description of my specimen, and, on the whole, after 

 having also read carefully Audubon's descriptions of Picus pubescens and the allied 

 species, and Cassin's observations on Picus pubescens, and the distinctive marks of 

 American woodpeckers in general, I believe it to be identical with Picus pubescens 

 (the downy woodpecker) ; still there is one main difference in it from all the specimens 

 of Picus pubescens I have seen myself, and that is that mine has distinct black bars 



