164 GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 



major ; and from that circumstance we shall con- 

 sider ourselves authorised to describe them as one 

 species. 



This bird is in length nine inches : beak an inch 

 and a quarter long, and dusky : irides reddish 

 brown : forehead dirty white : crown black : hind 

 head deep crimson : cheeks white, beneath which 

 is a black line from the lower mandible to the 

 back of the head, from the middle of which an- 

 other line of the same colour runs down on each 

 side, and almost meets at the upper part of the 

 breast : back of the neck with a white spot on 

 each side : back, rump, lesser wing and tail-co- 

 verts black : scapulars and some of the adjoining 

 greater coverts white : quills black, with a few 

 white spots on each web : throat and under parts 

 dirty white : vent crimson : four middle tail-fea- 

 thers black, the others more or less white towards 

 the point, and marked with a few white spots : 

 legs lead-colour : female wants the red on the hind 

 head, in all other respects is similar to the male : 

 young bird, (P. medius of authors,) differs in hav- 

 ing the whole crown of the head red, the black 

 marking about the head and neck not so long, 

 the white on the cheeks dusky, and that on the 

 breast inclining to brown : it is sometimes found 

 with the head spotted with black. 



This bird is not uncommon in woods in England, 

 France, and most other parts of Europe, and is like- 

 wise found in Siberia and Astrakan. It is a very 

 cunning bird ; for when a person has seen one on a 

 tree, if he be not very attentive, and the tree should 



