It is not known—or so I believe—which sort of woodpecker
is responsible. That part of England is a favourite resort of the greater-spotted woodpecker ; and a good naturalist of the neighbourhood has made some curious discoveries about the bird : for example, the ear-cracking shrieks uttered by the young if they find themselves in difficulties'. It is hardly likely that the posts are used for drumming or food hunting, whichever species is responsible. Is the habit a mere idiosyncrasy of one or two birds ? Examples are on record of odd manias in all sorts of animals. It would be interesting to know from the engineers of the Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire electric company (a singularly effective and indeed public-spirited body) how far apart are the most widely separated of the damaged posts.
Previous page
