694 



The Green Woodpecker. 



[FEB, 



rotten in the centre for a considerable distance. This decay, 

 however, may have been secondary. There was nothing to 

 have prevented this hole from having been a nesting or a 

 sheltering place ; and the cavity was made under a branch, 

 i.e., in a characteristic position for a nest. 



It was noticeable in this and another log that small holes 

 showing at the outside could be traced inwards for some distance, 

 the lining of the tunnel being brown, soft, and discoloured. 

 Following up these holes, in at least six cases pellets of shot 

 were found embedded at the end. 



Apart from the possibility of some of the holes being used 

 as nests, some might have been dug out first in part, and 

 other birds noticing the hacking had added to it, incited to the 

 work by the appearance of a wound. To reduce the chances of 

 temptation to destruction in this way, telegraph posts, &c, are 

 commonly ''stopped." 



In the case of the smaller holes the damage was in nearly 

 every case in perfectly sound stems. Such markings have been 

 known for a long time. So far there is no definite and accepted 

 .explanation, but the following reasons may be suggested : — 



(1) mistaken instinct; insects were expected but weie not there ; 



(2) the sap was grateful to the bird ; and (3) the holing was 

 done in order to reach the cambium and youngest bast layers. 



That woodpeckers attack sound trees is well 1 •mown, and a 

 specimen has been seen hacked all down the bark, which was 

 literally in shreds. In this case there was no trace of insects, 

 and it is probable that the bark after being first attacked 

 was noticed by other woodpeckers ; this attracted them, perhaps 

 made them suspicious, and thus the damage was extended. 



Badly hacked stems should be removed, as they will only 

 get worse, but in the case of trees that are not much affected, or 

 which it is desirable to retain, the wounds should be smeared 

 with gas tar as soon as noticed. 



Another form of attack consists in the birds picking the 

 tissues (callus) formed along the edge of a wound, as for 

 instance where a branch has been removed. Probably this 

 form of attack is largely confined to oaks. Here the attraction 

 is evidently the grub of a gall insect, whose chamber is formed 

 in such tissues. 



