6 4 



Gloucester. The timber was of various kinds, but the ash 

 predominated, and this was swarming with the larvae of the 

 bark-boring beetle, Hylesinus faxini. Quite two-thirds of 

 these had been eaten, and it was extremely interesting to see 

 with what rapidity the bird chiselled away the bark with its 

 powerful bill in order to extract the insects from their burrows. 

 The bird was remarkably tame, and seemed perfectly regardless 

 of the presence of a small boy who was engaged in chopping 

 sticks within 20 paces of its feeding ground. 



Green Woodpecker (Gecinus viridis, Linn.). 



427. Female ; Oakmere, Cheshire ; 2.0th February, 1895. — 

 Fragments of 1 earwig (Forficula sp.). This bird was found 

 dead ; it had died probably from the intense cold, which had 

 cut off its food supply. 



428. Female ; Flintshire ; 1.0th April, 1897. — Filled with 

 ants and their larvae {Formica spp.). 



429. 430. 2 Immature ; Cheshire ; August, 1903. — Both 

 examples were filled with the small yellow ant (Formica flava) . 



431. Male ; near Gloucester; November, 1901. — 23 earwigs 

 (Forficula sp.) and a large number of black ants (Formica 

 fused) . 



432. Female ; Manley, Cheshire ; xyth December, 1888. — A 

 few fragments of beetles ; a quantity of fine sand. 



Summary— 2 contained insects of the injurious group ; 4. 

 indifferent group. 



433. Field Notes. — In the forest of Delamere, Cheshire, 

 the larvae and imagines of the common Longicorn Beetle, 

 Rhagium bifasciatum, are very keenly sought for, and nearly 

 all the decayed fir trees harbouring this insect are found drilled 

 and excavated by this bird. In the same locality the dead 

 limbs of the oak and rough posts and railings are also often 

 stripped for the larvae of beetles (Astynomus cedilis, Sec), 

 which they sometimes harbour. Delamere is also the resort 

 of one of the birch-feeding Clearwing Moths (Sesia culiciformis) , 

 the larvae of which usually affect the cut ends of the birch 

 stumps ; and in searching for these insects I repeatedly found 

 that they had been extracted from the branches by wood- 

 peckers, more especially was this the case where the stumps 

 were large and well exposed. During the warmer months of the 



