Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 6 (1902).djvu/368

314 the Greater Spotted species. On May 5th I found a pair of Green Woodpeckers trying to occupy a last year's hole in one of the three large trees in Park Wood, not far from the Bishop's Palace, and which might more appropriately be called Nightingale Wood, for my finding of the Nightingale's nest and eggs in this wood is, I believe, the farthest point west of the island where the Nightingale has been discovered breeding. Five pairs of Woodpeckers have inhabited the wood this summer; the hole was about twenty feet up, and situated in the bole of the tree. The foliage of the nut-bushes not being sufficiently out at this date to hide me, the birds at first seemed shy to enter the hole. These trees, not in the least decayed, contain thirteen previous nesting-holes, chiefly in the various tall branches, and at this date all occupied by Starlings. Just above the old hole in question is a short branch, and on it two Starlings sat, and poured forth their mimicking notes, alternately dropping and turning into the hole; when swiftly—and, until then, unseen—one of the Green Woodpeckers flew at the hole, and drove the Starlings out on to the short branch. After having quite a tussle it flew up into the higher branches again. One or other of the Starlings repeated this act again and again, but each time a Woodpecker descended, and showed his superiority. I immediately thought of shooting the Starlings, but abandoned the idea, thinking it might frighten away the Woodpeckers. I spent hours on subsequent dates watching the hole, and, as a rule, had not long to wait before seeing one or both of the Woodpeckers; one would come silently from a near oak, and sometimes alight on the trunk some feet above the hole, where it would stay for some minutes, and peep at me round the tree, the head and beak only being visible. It would then utter its loud "plew plew" notes, as if to tell its mate that danger was nigh; the cry was answered from close by; then, with a mode of progression something between a jump and a climb, it descended backwards, or tail first, down the side of the tree to a level with the hole; and, climbing sideways, it entered. On May 13th no Starlings pitched on the short branch, the above mentioned pair having no doubt given it up as a bad job. On the 15th and 16th respectively the female Woodpecker flew from the hole after I had struck the trunk with a stick, and I concluded she had eggs there; so at 6.30 a.m. on May 17th, with the aid of a ladder, a mallet, and a chisel, I enlarged the hole, keeping it circular as much as possible, until the lad with me could put his arm in. The nest, or rather hole, contained seven fresh eggs, which I took. I may here mention that I passed immediately under these three tall trees several times daily, for the narrow keeper's path led me to a Sparrow-Hawk's nest, which I was also watching with interest.