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."