444 JOURNAL OF THE .ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



beak, sharp pointed claws, and stiff tail feathers render it especially well 

 adapted for such work. The character given to it by a fruit-grower 

 was: "Harmless, a good insect-destroyer." It lays six to nine eggs, 

 and has two broods in a season. 



Nuthatch : Sitta caesia. 



This interesting little bird is a resident in the southern and central 

 districts of England, but is not often seen. 



It runs up and down the bodies of trees like a woodpecker. 



Its food consists of beech nuts, acorns, and various kinds of hard 

 seeds ; it is extremely partial to hazel nuts. At times it eats beetles, 

 caterpillars, and other insects. 



R. B. Lodge says of it in "Birds and their Story" that when it 

 has discovered a suitable and convenient crack in the bark of a tree in 

 which to place the nuts, it will come to the same spot again and again, 

 until there is quite an accumulation of nut shells. 



The force with which it delivers its stroke is very surprising, and it 

 can be heard for some distance when boring a hole in a nut. 



Another peculiarity of this bird is that, in case the hole into the tree 

 in which it makes its nest is too large, it will plaster up the entrance so 

 as to leave only just sufficient room for entry and exit ; on account of 

 this it is sometimes called the " Mud stopper." 



It lays from four to seven eggs. 



The Rev. Gilbert White took special interest in this bird and mentions 

 it several times in his charming book " The Natural History of Selborne." 



Green Woodpecker : Gecinus viridis. 



The green woodpecker, or yaffle, is the commonest, largest, and 

 handsomest of our three British woodpeckers, and is not uncommon in 

 the wooded districts of England. In some parts it is called the " Rain- 

 bird " because when it makes a louder noise than ordinary it is 

 supposed to foretell rain. Both the feet and the tongue of the wood- 

 pecker differ from other birds. The foot consists of two toes before and 

 two behind ; the tongue is wound round the skull, and can be protruded 

 4§ inches ; the tip of the tongue is sharply pointed, so that it can get at 

 a grub in a hole in the wood. Besides feeding on insects in the stems it 

 feeds on the ground on ants and their pupa?, and in this the glutinous 

 substance on the tongue must be of great assistance. It makes its nest 

 usually in the decayed trunk or branch of a tree, which hole it excavates 

 with arduous labour. It lays from five to seven eggs. Unfortunately the 

 starling frequently robs it by taking its nesting hole, and the unfortunate 

 woodpecker has to peck itself out another hole elsewhere. 



Amongst the insects eaten may be mentioned the goat-moth cater- 

 pillar, wood-lice, and aphides. It is a bird, however, that frequents the 

 forest and the wood rather than the garden. 



Miss Ormerod mentions the woodpecker as being the special enemy of 

 the puss-moth. Mr. F. V. Theobald tells me that they have been seen 

 pecking out the pupa? from the hard cocoons, but they do not touch the 

 larvu'. 



