304 On the Occurrence of some of the Rarer Species of Birds 



which are unlike most other birds. At the head of these stands 

 Picus Martins, " The Great Black Woodpecker/'' a bird which has 

 always been included in British lists, but whose visits are, at any 

 rate, very few and far between. No one who ever saw this bird 

 could well mistake it for any other of the same tribe. Hart, of 

 Christchurch, has a notice of this bird having been seen in the New 

 Forest not many years back. The person who saw it was well known 

 to him, and wrote him an account of it at the time, which quite 

 convinced him of the truth of the occurrence. He put the letter by 

 in a safe place to preserve it, and has not been able since to lay his 

 hand upon it, but he is well assured of the occurrence, and has 

 kindly promised to send me the date and circumstances of the case, 

 as soon as he can. Mr. Rawlence, of Wilton, has a nice specimen 

 of this bird, which he bought with many others as being local 

 specimens. I cannot, however, give further information concerning 

 the former history of the bird. 



Picus Viridis. " The Green Woodpecker/'' On coming to speak 

 o£ the Green Woodpecker we feel more at home, few people, I 

 suppose, having failed both to hear and see the laughing Yaffle in 

 their country rambles. They are scattered throughout the length 

 and breadth of our country, wherever the land is sufficiently wooded 

 for them, and there are always a pair which breed in the vicinity of 

 the Vicarage here. There are few British birds more beautifully 

 coloured than the Yaffle, with its crimson head, yellow back and 

 generally bright green coat. I was admiring one the other day in 

 a poor person's cottage (where I do like to see a case of stuffed birds 

 occasionally) when the owner said to me, in reply to my remarks, 

 " Yes, Sir, it is a beautiful bird ; we call it the English Parrot/'' a 

 name I never heard given to it before, but which seemed to be the 

 usual one in that district. If anyone is not practically acquainted 

 with this bird, let them, on the next occasion they may have of 

 handling one freshly killed, pull out its tongue to its extreme length, 

 and they will think of the conjuror who produces unlimited yards 

 of tape from his mouth, which you think you are never coming to the 

 end of. It is of a surprising length, wonderfully adapted for reaching 

 insects in the deep crevices of the bark of the trees, where it finds 



