108 



CRANK BIRD. 



Provincial. — Hickwail. 



" This small species of Woodpecker," says Selby, " is less numerous 

 than the others, and seems to be only partially distributed. I have 

 met with it in Herefordshire, and it is well known in the neighbouring 

 counties of Gloucester and Wilts. In the northern and eastern parts 

 of England it is very rare : and, although said by Temminck to resort 

 particularly to forests of fir-trees, I have not been able to trace it in 

 those districts of Scotland where woods of that description abound. 

 In habits it resembles its congeners, obtaining its food in the same 

 manner, which consists of the smaller insects ; its note is also similar, 

 but not so loud. It breeds either in the natural hole of some tree, or in 

 one of its own excavation, the orifice of which is always correspondent 

 with the small size of the bird, and the passage is often of some depth ; 

 the eggs are laid on the rotten wood, without any fabricated nest ; they 

 are of a clear pinkish-white, and amount to five or six." * The weight of 

 this species is not quite five drams ; length five inches and a half ; 

 the bill is lead-coloured ; irides red-brown ; forehead, breast, and belly, 

 dirty white ; the cheeks and sides of the neck, white, bounded by black 

 above and below ; crown of the head crimson, bounded on each side 

 with black, which, joining behind, runs down in a peak on the back of 

 the neck ; the back and scapulars are barred with black and white ; 

 the quill-feathers, and some of the larger coverts, are black, spotted 

 with white ; the lesser coverts wholly black ; the four middle feathers 

 of the tail are black, the rest more or less white at the ends, spotted 

 with black ; the outer one almost white ; legs lead colour. 



The female resembles the other sex in plumage, except on the crown 

 of the head, which is white where the male is red ; neither sex have 

 any red at the vent. 



The male sometimes has a few dusky streaks on the sides of the 

 breast, and young male birds possess the red on the head before they 

 leave their nest ; a circumstance not usual in birds that have such vivid 

 colours. 



This is by much the scarcest species ; it possesses all the habits of 

 the preceding ; the note is also the same, but not so strong. 



The eggs are white, and weigh about thirty-three grains, five of 

 which we took out of a decayed tree, deposited on the rotten wood, 

 without any nest, and at a considerable distance below the entrance. 

 The aperture corresponded with the size of the bird, but did not appear 

 recently made. It is probable, however, it is able to perform this work 

 for itself; and instinct points out the insecurity in making choice of a 

 larger opening to their place of incubation, as they would then be liable 



