GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 165 



be large, he is sure to lose sight of it, as the mo- 

 ment it observes any one it creeps behind a branch 

 till the danger is over. The female seems to be 

 very careful of her eggs, which are five in number, 

 very white, and mostly deposited. in a hole in a 

 decayed tree, without any appearance of a nest : 

 she will suffer herself to be touched with the hand 

 before she endeavours to escape. It is this spe- 

 cies which generally makes that jarring noise so 

 frequently heard in our woods. 



