Cassell's book of birds; vol. 3

by Alfred Edmund Brehm

THE HARLEQUIN WOODPECKER.

The HARLEQUIN WOODPECKER (Piculus minor), as the least of all European Woodpeckers is called, differs from its congeners in the comparative shortness of its slightly conical beak, rounded tail, and the very peculiar coloration of its plumage. In the male the brow is yellowish grey, the crown of the head bright red, the upper part of the back entirely black, and the lower portion white, streaked with black; the whole of the wings are striped black and white, and relieved by a black line that passes along the sides of the neck, which it thus divides from the grey belly, which is longitudinally streaked with black at its sides. The centre tail-feathers are black, and those at the exterior of a whitish hue, striped with black. The female is without the red patch on the head; the young resemble the mother, but are somewhat duller in their hues. In all the eye is yellowish brown or fiery red, the beak lead-grey, with black tip and culmen, and the foot dark grey. This species is six inches long, and from eleven to eleven inches and a half broad; the wing measures two inches and three-quarters, and the tail two inches and a quarter.

The habitat of the Harlequin Woodpecker extends over the whole of Europe and Central Asia, and it is, we believe, occasionally seen in North-western Africa. Like its congeners, it does not migrate, but only quits its native woodlands to wander over the face of the country during the spring and autumn. At other seasons it keeps strictly within the limits of a certain spot selected as a home, and which invariably contains a large hollow tree suitable as a sleeping-place.

"In England," says Mr. Gould, "this small Woodpecker is far more abundant than is generally supposed. We have seldom sought for it in vain wherever large trees, particularly elms, grow in sufficient numbers to invite its abode. Near London it is very common, and may be seen by an attentive observer in many of the parks in the neighbourhood. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker appears to perform a certain daily round, traversing a given extent of district, and returning to the same spot whence it began its route. In its actions it is very lively and alert. Unlike the Large Woodpecker, it frequents the smaller and more elevated branches, which it traverses with the utmost ease and celerity. Should it perceive itself noticed it becomes shy, and retires behind the branches; if, however, closely engaged in searching for food it sometimes is so absorbed as to allow itself to be closely approached without suspending its operations. When spring commences it becomes clamorous and noisy, its call being an oft-repeated note, so closely resembling that of the Wry-neck as to be scarcely distinguishable from it. At other times of the year it is mute, and its presence is only betrayed by the reiterated tap which it makes against the bark of the tree."

Naumann tells us that as this bird retires to rest later than many of the other feathered inhabitants of its favourite groves or orchards, many and fierce battles ensue before it can obtain possession of the particular hole it desires, as Titmice or Sparrows also prefer a warm, snug nook, and are by no means disposed to resign quietly in favour of the would-be intruder. In these encounters, however, might usually overcomes right, and a series of very pointed arguments, in the shape of repeated taps and pecks from the enemy's strong beak, eventually compel the weaker bird to seek a night's lodging elsewhere.

The movements of the Harlequin Woodpecker are brisk and active, and as regards its climbing powers it fully equals any member of its family already described. Towards men it exhibits the utmost confidence, but lives in a state of almost perpetual warfare with its feathered companions. During the breeding season, which commences in May, the male makes himself very conspicuous by the constant utterance of his shrill monotonous cry and his restless activity in contending with supposed rivals, or in his struggles to keep off the inroads of other males upon his chosen nesting-place. This latter spot is always at a considerable height from the ground, in an old oak or lofty fruit tree, whose decayed trunk can be readily penetrated by the beaks of the building pair. The recess bored for the reception of the young is six inches deep, and is entered by an aperture as perfectly circular in form as if it had been cut with a centre-bit. Many of these holes are frequently commenced and abandoned before the requirements of the fastidious parents are satisfied. The brood consists of from five to seven brilliantly white eggs, occasionally sparsely sprinkled with fine red spots. The young are hatched within a fortnight by the united exertions of both birds, and are nourished and tended for a considerable time after they have left the nest. The food of this species appears to consist exclusively of insects, as even during the winter months we have found nothing else in its stomach. Ants, spiders, beetles, and insects' eggs it consumes in enormous quantities, and renders inestimable service to the gardener by the countless hosts of destroying insects which it gleans from fruit-trees of every description.

Bechstein gives the following account of an attempt to tame the Picus medius, a closely-allied species. "I have," he says, "seen one of these Woodpeckers, which was reared by a lady and seemed much attached to her; it had learned to leave its cage and return, knocking hard at the window if shut out. It was very amusing to see it climbing nimbly over its mistress till it had reached her mouth. It then asked her, by light strokes of the wing, for the food she was accustomed to give it; this was generally a little meat. It disappeared one day, without any one knowing what had befallen it."

THE THREE-TOED WOODPECKER.

The THREE-TOED WOODPECKER (Apternus tridactylus), as the most striking of all the European members of this family is called, represents a group recognisable by their straight beak, which is broader than it is high, and equals the head in length. All the three toes are shorter than the tarsus; of these the outermost is the smallest, and the two others of equal length. In the wing the fourth quill is the longest. The centre feathers of the conical tail are furnished with very stiff shafts, and sharply pointed at their tip. The upper portions of the body are black, and the under side dirty white; the brow black, spotted white, and the crown of the head pale golden yellow. A white line, more or less marked with black, passes from the eyes to the middle of the back; the bridles and a second line that terminates at the throat are black; as are the markings on the sides of the belly. The quills and exterior tail-feathers are black, striped with white, and the centre tail-feathers entirely black. The eye is pearl-grey or silver-white, the beak light grey, tipped with black, and the foot dark grey. The female has the crown of the head spotted with white, instead of being yellow as in the male. The length of this species is nine and its breadth fourteen inches; the wing measures four inches and three-quarters, and the tail three inches and three-quarters.

It is at present undecided whether all such of these birds as inhabit Europe are to be regarded as identical; but if it be so the habitat of this species extends over a large portion of both the European and Asiatic continents. In the northern parts of Europe it is met with in the course of its wanderings as far north as sixty degrees north latitude, and is by no means rare; in Scandinavia, Finland, and Russia it is especially numerous, and in the country about the mouth of the Amoor is one of the commonest of birds. North America also possesses a deceptively similar or identical species. Everywhere it frequents well-wooded mountain regions, and closely resembles the Common Variegated Woodpecker in all the various particulars of its habits, movements, and means of subsistence. It is active and restless in its habits, and generally occupies the topmost branches of the trees. Its cry is loud and shrill, somewhat resembling that of some small quadruped when in great pain. Towards noon it is silent, and retires to rest in a quiet spot. Its rapid, gliding, and undulating flight is always accompanied by a succession of loud notes. The nest is usually from twenty to twenty-four inches deep, and is bored in the trunk of a sound tree. One brood of four to six pure white eggs is laid in the season.