184 GREEN WOODPECKER. 



spotted with whitish; beneath greenish white; 

 lesser coverts deeply bordered with green: under 

 parts of the body pale yellow green : tail barred 

 with dusky and green, all but the outer feathers 

 tipped with black: legs ash-coloured: claws much 

 hooked : young bird with a slight appearance of 

 crimson on its head. This bird is sometimes 

 found entirely of a pale straw- colour, except the 

 crown, which is faintly marked with red. 



This species is not uncommon in the woody 

 parts of England, and also most parts of Europe: 

 its food consists entirely of insects, which it pro- 

 cures out of rotten trees: it is very fond of ants, 

 and may be often seen on the ground attacking 

 the nests of that insect; and as the ants commonly 

 reside a few inches below the surface, the bird is 

 obliged to make a breach in the nest with its beak 

 and feet, to force them out, when it makes a 

 hearty meal, using its tongue in the manner of the 

 Wryneck: it also commits great ravages amongst 

 bees in the winter. 



This bird generally fixes its residence about 

 twenty feet from the ground, preferring the aspin 

 to any other tree, which the male and female al- 

 ternately bore till they have made a hole of great 

 depth to secure their eggs, which are four or five 

 in number, white, and placed on the rotten wood 

 without any nest. The holes they make in the 

 trees are as perfect circles as if they were made 

 with a pair of compasses. It is very curious to 

 observe them try all parts of a dead branch until 

 tjiey find the most sonorous, when the strokes are 



