"Nature," says Mudie, in speaking of this species, "has appointed the Woodpeckers conservators of the wood of old trees, furnished them admirably for their office, and so formed their habits that an ancient tree is an Eden for them, fraught with safety, and redolent of fatness and plenty. So exquisitely are they fitted for their office that the several species vary in tint with the general colour of the trees that they select; if they exhibit an alternation of green moss, yellow lichen, and ruby-tinted cups, with here and there a spot of black, then this, the Green Woodpecker, comes in charge; but if they are covered with the black and white lichens of the Alpine forest, we may look for the spotted race upon the bark. When the renovation of the spring begins to be felt through all nature, the Woodpecker creeps from his hole and tries the trunk till he comes to a hollow place, and upon that he beats the drum in loud and rolling taps, but yet without in the least perforating the tree. The sound swells and sinks, hurries and lingers alternately, so that at a distance it resembles the sound of rustic glee heard through the woodland; if the Woodpecker's mate catches the sound she answers to it, the bargain is concluded, and the business of the season begins; if not, the male glides on to another tree, uttering his short cry, 'Plu-i, plu-i,' and again resumes his serenade. If there happen to be an odd bird in the forest, this call for a mate may occasionally be heard far into the summer. If the tree selected by a pair of Woodpeckers affords no natural hole for the purpose of nidification, they at once set about excavating one with their bills, working so fast that the strokes cannot be counted either by the eye or ear. They know the tree by the sound, and though they will cut through a few layers of perfect wood, they never mine into a tree unless it has begun to decay in the interior. Nature guides them to those trees where their labour is light and they have plenty to eat. In working they proceed as a mason does when he perforates a block of granite with a pointed pick, they thump away with so much rapidity and force that the timber is ground to powder, and they work in a circle no larger than will admit themselves. They generally burrow so deep that no spoiler can reach the eggs in their absence, and further security is afforded by the opening being in some hidden part of the tree. Materials are seldom carried into the nest, the bed for the reception of the little family being formed of the soft powder from the wood. The eggs, from five to seven in number, have a glossy white shell. The young are fledged in June, and creep about their native tree-hole for some time before they are able to fly." [Illustration: THE GREEN WOODPECKER (_Gecinus viridis_).] * * * * * The CUCKOO WOODPECKERS (_Colaptes_) comprise several species at once recognisable by their decidedly curved beaks and variegated plumage.