Black Woodpecker
Dryocopus martius (Linnaeus, 1758)
Photo © By Andrewhirnij - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52737223
STATUS
Eurasia. Polytypic.
OVERVIEW
Montagu (1813) says: 'There is no British-killed specimen of this handsome bird, and our ornithologists, all of whom give the species as British, fail to suggest any hypothesis to account for its immigration.'
J. H. Gurney and Prof. Newton (1876-82) carried out a review of all records to date (Yarrell's Brit. Birds II. p. 482) and found that none were satisfactory.
Other records in Harting (1872) that are without a year and locality have been omitted as unworthy of a scientific record. These include Donovan's, one in Scotland, Somerset and Hampshire.
NOT PROVEN
0). 1785-90 Devon No locality, undated.
(Latham, 1787; Yarrell, 1845; Harting, 1872).
[Yarrell, 1871-85].
History Latham (1787 (1): 104) says: 'I have heard mention made of this species having been once seen in the southern parts of this kingdom; and Mr. Tunstall tells me, that he has been informed, by a skilful ornithologist, of its being sometimes seen in Devonshire.'
0). 1799 Dorset Blandford, shot, undated.
(Pulteney, 1799; J. C. Dale, Wood's Naturalist 1837: 177; Yarrell, 1845; Harting, 1872).
History J. C. Dale (1837) in Wood's edition of The Naturalist, Vol. II. p. 176, says: 'Black Woodpecker. Shot in the nursery garden at Blandford; also at Whitchurch, and other places in Dorsetshire, Dr. P. Lately shot in Norfolk and Lincolnshire.'
0). 1799 Dorset Whitchurch, shot, undated.
(Pulteney, l. c.; J. C. Dale, Wood's Naturalist 1837: 177; Harting, 1872)
History J. C. Dale (1837) in Wood's edition of The Naturalist, Vol. II. p. 176, says: 'Black Woodpecker. Shot in the nursery garden at Blandford; also at Whitchurch, and other places in Dorsetshire, Dr. P. Lately shot in Norfolk and Lincolnshire.'
0). 1805 Great London Battersea Fields, Middlesex, shot, winter.
(Montagu, 1813; Harting, 1866; Harting, 1872).
[Yarrell, 1871-85].
History Montagu (1813) says: '...and we have heard that another was shot in the winter of 1805, on the trunk of an old willow tree in Battersea Fields.'
Harting (1866: 112) says: 'Col. Montagu, in the supplement to his Ornithological Dictionary, states that a Great Black
Woodpecker was shot, in the winter of 1805, on the trunk of an old willow tree in Battersea Fields. It is not very likely that the author could have mistaken the bird, or intended to refer to the Great Black and White Woodpecker (Picus major), seeing that he has given the latter species a separate consideration in thejsame volume. It is, moreover, observable that, besides being an accurate observer himself, Col. Montagu was usually careful to sift and prove the correctness of reports furnished to him whenever they related to the occurrence or capture of rare species.'
0). Pre 1813 Lancashire & North Merseyside No locality, shot, undated.
(Montagu, 1813; Harting, 1872).
[E. Newman, Zoologist 1865: 9626-27; Yarrell, 1871-85].
History Montagu (1813) says: 'Lord Stanley assures us that he shot a Picus martius in Lancashire [This is an error as his Lordship subsequently stated.]
Edward Newman (1865) in The Zoologist, 1st series, Vol. XXIII. pp. 9626-27, says: 'Mr. Stevenson, with that laudable love of truth which characterizes all that he has published, has entirely demolished (Zool. 9249) the "two examples of the Great Black Woodpecker killed in a small wood near Scole Inn, in Norfolk". They were the large spotted woodpecker, as the shooter of them states his belief. Lord Derby's specimen thus becomes the only undoubtedly British-killed example of the species. It is therefore very desirable to test the authority on which this specimen is retained. For this purpose I refer to Dr. Collingwood's Historical Fauna of Lancashire and Cheshire, and find, at page 16, the following passage: - "Another and much rarer woodpecker is the Great Black Woodpecker (Picus martius), concerning which not a little doubt has been experienced as to its ever having been met with in this country. Montagu, in his Supplement to the Ornithological Dictionary, says, 'Lord Stanley assures me that he shot a Picus martius in Lancashire. Yarrell repeats this statement, and the same may be found in Latham's General History of Birds, 1822, Vol. III. p. 430. Under these circumstances we might have hoped to have found the specimen in our museum. But in the edition of Latham, annotated by the late Earl of Derby, and now in the possession of the present Earl, the passage 'One was killed in Lancashire by Lord Stanley is erased, and in the margin is written, in his lordship's own hand, 'a mislaken idea'!
Is any reader of The Zoologist in possession of information respecting other reputed British examples of this bird ? if not it must share the fate of many others introduced in error.'
Newton (1876-82 (2): 483, 4th ed.) in Yarrell's British Birds, says: 'One of the strongest pieces of evidence in favour of the admission of this Woodpecker was Montagu's assertion, afterwards repeated by Latham and many other authors, of the then Lord Stanley having shot a Picus martius in Lancashire. But Mr. T. J. Moore found that in Lord Stanley's copy of Latham's work he had erased the passage and written on the margin "a mistaken idea". This remark, it is believed, will apply to all the other supposed cases, except a few which there is reason to think have been recorded from unworthy motives.'
0). c. 1830 Devon Near Crediton, female, shot, no date.
(Rowe, 1848; Harting, 1872; Pidsley, 1891; Jenks, 2004).
[Pidsley, 1891].
History Rowe (1848: 233) under sub-header 'D.B.M.', says: 'A specimen is in Mr. Newton's collection, which was shot near Crediton.'
Pidsley (1891: 59-60) recording the record in square-brackets, says: 'A doubtful visitant, not included in the present census of the avifauna of Devon, but here inserted in order that its claims to be considered a Devonshire bird may be open to criticism. The Rev. M. A. Mathew writes that he thinks the claims of this species are valid, "In a collection of birds formed by the late Mr. Newton of Millaton Hall, Bridestowe, on the N. W. borders of Dartmoor, is a specimen of the Great Black Woodpecker which was shot about the year, 1830, in the neighbourliood of Crediton. I have seen this bird, a female, now in rather a dilapidated condition, and presenting the appearance of having been mounted from a freshly killed specimen. Indeed, Mr. Newton's daughter informed us (this was in the summer of 1876), that she well remembers the day when her father received the bird, and his excitement at adding such a rarity to his collection. He was ill in bed at the time from gout, and made her write off at once to his friend Mr. Moore of Plymouth to acquaint him of this most interesting acquisition" (Rev. M. A. Mathew, in litt.). Dr. Moore evidently believed the specimen to be authentic, since he retained it as late as 1818, in the account of the ornithology of Dartmoor which he furnished to Rowe's Perambulation of Dartmoor....It may be interesting to add that Mr. Brooking Rowe included the Great Black Woodpecker in his list of 1863, but afterwards struck it out from the revised copy which he sent to the British Museum Library, as though he had changed his mind about it.'
Comment Jenks (2004) states that D.B.M. are the authorities (Mr. Drew, Mr. Bolitho, Mr. E. Moore) for the following records of which this is.
0). c. 1830 Greater London Near London, shot, undated.
(E. Blyth, Field Naturalist 49; Harting, 1872).
History Harting (1872: 120) says: 'One shot near London about 1830: Blyth, Field Naturalist, p. 49.
0). Pre 1834 Worcestershire No locality, undated.
(Hastings, 1834).
[Yarrell, 1871-85].
History Hastings (1834: 65, 66) says: 'The undermentioned are all of unfrequent occurrence: - ...the Great Black Woodpecker, Picus artius.'
0). 1834 Norfolk Near Scole Inn, Billingford, two, one shot, undated.
(A. White, Transactions of the Linnean Society 17: 560; Yarrell, 1845; Harting, 1872)
[H. Stevenson, Zoologist 1864: 9248-51; Stevenson, 1866].
[Yarrell, 1871-85].
History Anon. (1835) in the Transactions of the Linnean Society, Vol. XVII. p. 560, under 'Extracts from the Minute-book', read 17th Nov., says: 'Read a Notice by Mr. Adam White of a male Picus martius, L., having been shot in 1834 at Billingford, Norfolk. Another individual was seen at the same time.'
H. Stevenson (1864) in the Zoologist, 1st series, Vol. XXII. pp. 9248-51, says: 'The introduction of the Great Black Woodpecker (Picus martius) into the list of Norfolk birds rests entirely upon the following passage in Yarrell's British Birds (2nd edition, Vol. II. p. 134), where, in enumerating the various records of the appearance of this species in England, that author says: - "A few years since a communication was made to the Zoological Society of London, that two examples of the Great Black Woodpecker had been at that time killed in a small wood near Scole Inn, in Norfolk."
This note, on Mr. Yarrell's authority, has been since copied by Macgillivray and Morris, and amongst local authors by the Rev. R. Lubbock, in his 'Fauna', by Messrs. Gurney and Fisher, in The Zoologist for 1846 (Zool. 1315), and still more recently by myself in a paper on the 'Ornithology of Norfolk', written in 1863 for the third edition of White's 'Gazetteer' of this county (see also Zoologist, 1864, p. 9025). I had long had an impression that in this instance a mistake might have arisen between the Great Spotted and the Great Black Woodpecker, when this idea was confirmed very recently by circumstances originating in a conversation with Mr. Spalding, of Westleton.
Whilst inspecting that gentleman's collection in the summer of 1864, I happened to mention the Scole woodpeckers with some expression of doubt as to the identity of those specimens, when he referred me to Mr. Francis Drake, of Billingford, as an individual most likely to be able to afford information. At once taking the hint, I shortly received the following obliging letter from Mr. Drake, who, to my great surprise, proved to be the very person who had shot the birds in question.
Billingford, June 29, 1864.
"Dear Sir, In reply to yours, and being equally interested with yourself and Mr. Spalding in birds, I feel inclined to think the birds I shot many years since at Billingford, near Scole, were the large spotted woodpecker, although I was told at the time they were the black." Yours very truly, "Francis Drake."
In a subsequent letter, in answer to further inquiries, Mr. Drake says, "It must have been more than thirty years since I shot the birds. They were evidently larger than the wryneck, with red heads. I was not aware they were in print, until I saw them mentioned in Mr. Lubbock's work on the Fauna of Norfolk. They were not preserved. I cannot remember if they had white about them". Having pursued the inquiry thus far, I was desirous of finding the notice referred to by Yarrell, in the Zoological Society's 'Proceedings', but failing in this, I wrote to the Secretary, Dr. Sclater, to know if he could in any way assist me in discovering by whom the "communication" had been originally made. In a few days I received the following reply, assuring me of that gentleman's persevering, though fruitless, efforts to comply with my request.
Zoological Society of London, July 16, 1864. "My dear Sir, I have searched in vain in our 'Proceedings', and also in our written remarks, for any traces of the paper you mention. I cannot find anything like it. I fear it was only mentioned in the way of conversation at the Meeting, or perhaps specimens exhibited, and was never entered in our Minutes." "Very truly yours, "P. L. Sclater."
Here, therefore, my researches must end, but I think enough has been elicited to render it more than doubtful whether the birds referred to were really specimens of the great black woodpecker, and that, until some more authentic instance of the occurrence of that species shall entitle it to be replaced, it will be best removed altogether from the Norfolk 'List'. Mr. Drake particularly remarks that the birds were not preserved, which would undoubtedly have been the case had they been exhibited before the Society in London, and Mr. Yarrell speaks only of a "communication" made without any reference to specimens. Supposing also, as Dr. Sclater suggests, that the matter was only "mentioned in the way of conversation", without any entry being subsequently made in the Minutes, it is most probable that Mr. Yarrell was himself present at the Meeting, or was informed of the circumstance by some other Member of the Society.
Henry Stevenson. Norwich, August 14. 1864.
[I am extremely gratified to find Mr. Stevenson taking up this subject. I heartily wish that one or other of my correspondents would investigate, in an equally searching manner, every instance in which the great black woodpecker is reported to have visited this country. The habits of this bird are so well known, and are so opposed to anything like an oceanic flight, that it seems in the highest degree improbable that it ever made its appearance here. - Edward Newman.]
0). Pre 1840 Nottinghamshire Near Nottingham, two, shot, undated.
(MacGillivray, 1840; Harting, 1872).
[Yarrell, 1871-85].
History Macgillivray (1840 (3): 79) says: '...The above descriptions are taken from two specimens in my collection, a male and a female, which I purchased from Dr Madden, to whom they had been sent by their owner, as having been shot near Nottingham. That gentleman afterwards obtained for me a certification of the fact by the person who had procured them.'
0). 1844 Berkshire Home Park, Windsor, seen, April.
(Clark-Kennedy, 1868; Harting, 1872; Noble, 1906).
[Yarrell, 1871-85].
History Noble (1906 (1): 151) in the Victoria County History of Berkshire, says: 'The admission of this bird to the British list rests on somewhat slender basis (see Mr. J. H. Gurney's criticism in Dresser's Birds of Europe, V. 13-14), and I give the following for what it is worth from Clark Kennedy's Birds of Berks and Bucks. (p. 178). In April, 1844, one seen for several consecutive days in Home Park, Windsor, by Mr. Walter. In March, 1867, one seen by Clark Kennedy in Ditton Park, who states that he was sufficiently near to identify the bird with certainty. A far more satisfactory notice is that sent by Capt. Savile G. Reid to The Zoologist for March, 1888 (p. 107), in which he mentions a great black woodpecker seen by Capt. Coleridge in his garden at Twyford. He says: 'Capt. Coleridge got within twenty yards of the bird; he is well acquainted with all our common British birds and knows the other woodpeckers perfectly well; he is also most unlikely to have made a mistake on this occasion, as his father's collection, familiar to him from boyhood, contained two stuffed specimens of D. martius.'
0). Pre 1845 Cleveland/Yorkshire Yarm, two, seen, undated.
(J. Hogg, Zoologist 1845: 1107; Harting, 1872).
History J. Hogg (1845) in The Zoologist, 1st series, Vol. III. p. 1107, says: 'Mr. Hewitson, in his Eggs of British Birds (part 13, p. 193), mentions Mr. T. Meynell, of York, says that he well remembers having seen a pair in the grounds of the Friarage at Yarm. This bird is not included in Mr. Selby's Catalogue.'
0). Pre 1845 Dorset Christchurch, Hampshire, two, seen, undated.
(Yarrell, 1845).
[Yarrell, 1871-85].
History Yarrell (1845 (2): 134, 2nd ed.) says: '...and still more recently, a pair were frequently seen in a small preserved wood, near Christchurch in Hampshire. It was hoped that they would have remained to go to nest; but the birds disturbed by being too frequently watched, left the wood.'
0). Pre 1845 Lincolnshire No locality, killed, undated.
(Yarrell, 1845; Harting, 1872).
[Yarrell, 1871-85].
History Yarrell (1845 (2): 134, 2nd ed.) says: 'This species is also recorded to have been killed in Lincolnshire.'
0). Pre 1845 Wight Shanklin, shot, undated.
(C. A. Bury, Zoologist 1845: 915; Harting, 1872)
[Yarrell, 1871-85].
History C. A. Bury (1845) in The Zoologist, 1st series, Vol. III. p. 915, says: 'The Great Black Woodpecker has appeared once. The Ven. Archdeacon Hill shot one many years ago in his garden at Shanklin Parsonage.'
0). Pre 1845 Yorkshire No locality, killed, undated.
(Yarrell, 1845; Harting, 1872).
[Yarrell, 1871-85].
History Yarrell (1845 (2): 133-134, 2nd ed.) says: 'I have been told of two instances of the Black Woodpecker having been killed in Yorkshire, but the birds falling into the hands of those who were not aware of the Ornithological interest attached to them, the specimens were not preserved.'
0). 1845 Greater London Caen Wood, Hampstead, seen, May.
(Harting, 1866; Harting, 1872).
[Yarrell, 1871-85].
History Harting (1866: 112-113) says: 'With regard to the other instance to which I have referred, I am assured of the facts by no other than the person who saw the bird, and whose word I have never had reason to doubt.
Mr. Spencer, the well-known taxidermist of Great Portland Street, having a brother who was keeper to Lord Mansfield at Hampstead, had many opportunities of visiting and exploring the large woods called Caen Wood, Mutton Wood, Wild Wood, and Bishop's Wood, and of observing, shooting, and examining many of our rarer birds whose shy habits conceal them from the general observer. Early one morning in May, 1845, while walking through the thickest part of Caen Wood, Mr. Spencer was suddenly startled to see a Black Woodpecker dart between the trees and alight upon an oak at some distance. It was extremely shy, and he was scarcely ever able to approach within a hundred yards of it.
On the following morning he again visited the spot, on the chance of getting a shot at the bird, and again saw it; but it was too wary to allow of a sufficiently near approach. On the third day he was unavoidably prevented from visiting the wood, but on the morning of the fourth day he saw the bird again for the third and last time.
My informant is still living, and able to vouch for the truth of the above statement.'
0). 1846 Yorkshire Ripley, near Knaresborough, killed, March.
(J. C. Garth, Zoologist 1846: 1298; Harting, 1872).
[Yarrell, 1871-85].
History J. C. Garth (1846) in The Zoologist, 1st series, Vol. IV. p. 1298, says: 'About ten days ago, near Ripley, on the estate of Sir Wm. A. Ingleby, Bart., a fine specimen of that very rare British bird, the Great Black Woodpecker (Picus Martius) was shot, and is now in the possession of Mr. Jno. Stubbs, bird-stuffer, of Ripon. I understand it is a male bird.'
0). 1847 Essex Audley End, Saffron Walden, seen, 5th June.
(A. Newton, Zoologist 1851: 3278).
[Yarrell, 1871-85].
History Alfred Newton (1851) in The Zoologist, 1st series, Vol. IX. p. 3278, says: 'As you some time ago begged that any occurrence of the black woodpecker in England, not hitherto recorded, might be made known to you, and as this bird still occupies a distinguished place in controversial ornithology, I am induced to tell you of the following instance: and although the example in question was not obtained, yet I have no doubt, from the knowledge of birds possessed by my informant, that no mistake was made as to the species. One was seen in the park at Audley End, near Saffron Walden, June 5, 1847. It was put up first from off the ground, where it appeared to have been feeding, and flew into a high tree, uttering a note like that of the green woodpecker, but hoarser and louder. My informant was at the time walking with two other persons, one of whom had a single-barrelled gun; they went round to the other side to drive the bird out, and it flew, passing first behind another tree, and then came round almost over my friend's head, affording him a full view of it. His chance was, however, by that time gone, for he fired at the bird through the tree the moment it appeared, fearing that it would be his only opportunity of doing so. It then entered a plantation ; and although no efforts were spared to obtain it, and a large reward was offered for it, it was not even so much as seen again. I am sure that in this case no mistake respecting the bird was made; and the observer related the occurrence as he was showing me the collection at Audley End, remarking how nearly it had been enriched by the substitution, for a foreign skin, of that of a bona fide British-killed specimen of this rare bird: and my friend, only a day or two ago, showed me a note of the occurrence which he made at the time.'
0). Pre 1850 Surrey Claremont, obtained, no date.
(J. McIntosh, Morris & Bree's Naturalist 1857: 91)
[Harting, 1872].
History J. McIntosh (1857) in Morris & Bree's edition of The Naturalist, Vol. VII. p. 91, dated January 1857, says: 'Vol. I. page 20, I have recorded the existence and breeding of this bird in England, particularly in the county of Surrey. This announcement, the readers of The Naturalist will remember, was met by some of our learned zoologists as an attempt on my part to "gull". and that I had mistaken a Tom-Tit for a Black Woodpecker. How far I have gulled! the readers of The Naturalist, the following little fact will speak for itself: - In July, 1856, I paid a visit to a particular friend in Surrey, and having occasion to pass the well-known "Black Bear Inn" at Esher, I pulled up to refresh myself, when, on entering the door, what caught my eyes but a fine specimen of a "Black Woodpecker", which I then remembered having, while I resided at Claremont, been shot by Mr. Storey, in whose possession it still remains. In conversation with Mr. Storey about this bird, and others in his possession, he informed me that some gentlemen from London, who professed to have some knowledge of birds and Natural History, (?) had the impudence to assert that he never shot the bird in question in the county of Surrey. Now every bird in Mr. Storey's possession has been shot by his own hands, and in the county of Surrey. What is, after this, the value of mere assertion made by bookworm Zoologists?'
Harting (1872) says: 'Evidently a mistake.'
0). Pre 1861 Shetland Belmont, Unst, killed, undated.
(W. D. Crotch, Zoologist 1861: 7341; Harting, 1872).
History W. D. Crotch (1861) in The Zoologist, 1st series, Vol. XIX. p. 7341, says: 'Picus martius. A specimen was killed at Belmont, in Unst. I heard also of another species said not to be P. major, but like it, which as yet I am unable to trace.'
0). 1862 Hampshire Pignel Wood, Brockenhurst, New Forest, seen, and eggs taken 9th June.
(W. Farren, Zoologist 1862: 8091-92; Wise, 1863; Harting, 1872).
History W. Farren (1862) in The Zoologist, 1st series, Vol. XX. pp. 8091-92, says: 'I was wandering about the forest last Monday evening (June 9th), picking up whatever came across my path in the way of insects, when, on passing an old (though rather small) oak tree, flash went a large black bird from out of a hole in the trunk, about nine feet up the tree. I thought I perceived some red about its head; and there was no doubt of its being a Picus, their flight is so peculiar to them.
Visions of the Great Black Woodpecker stole over me; but no, I must be mistaken, one is so apt to fancy every bird or insect one sees to be something very rare, or even a nondescript. However, it made such an impression on me that I thought I would just wait awhile and see if the bird came back again. So down I sat a few yards from the tree, under cover of a friendly bush, and waited - dear me, it seemed an age. An hour gone and no bird. I suppose I must be nrlsiaken, and will see if there are any eggs in the hole. I make a movement to get up, when plump pitches the bird about a yard below the hole; and there, before my eyes, and within ten yards of me, was the first Black Woodpecker I had ever seen alive, - a fine fellow indeed, and his head, didn't it shine!
There was no mistake this lime. But what should I do ? I must have the bird: if there are eggs, and I do not get the bird too, there are many who will doubt it; but why, said I to myself. "Oh," I thought a voice in my ear said, "you are a collector, a dealer. They won't believe a dealer! You must be a great rogue if you collect for sale; every collector is. Have there not been some one or two or more found out to be rogues? and don't you remember the fable of the Robin and Sparrow ?" But while I sat and stared, and thought how best I could catch my black friend, he had concluded all was right, and had stole into his hole in the tree again, as though he rather thought I was lurking somewhere near. Now for you, thought I. I had my insect net with me (and have done service with it in ihe way of catching birds in their nests), so, after waiting sufficient time (as I thought) to cjuiet all fears on the part of my intended victim, I rose to catch him, trembling as though I had the ague. Ah! that did it. All quiet, and I within a yard of the hole. A flutter and out he goes. It is no use. I must try again. So I wailed, watched, and cursed my own folly in being so awkward; but to no purpose: be returned no more. There being several men working about the wood, I was afraid to leave it and try again on the morrow; so I set to work and cut the hole larger, which I very soon accomplished, and bad the pleasure of bringing out four beautiful white eggs. Two of them are quite clear, and appear to be addled; the others appeared to have been sat upon for about a week. They were laid upon a few chips and dust, the same as the rest of the woodpeckers. The hole went into the tree for about five or six inches, and thence down to about a foot or not quite so much. The eggs are shaped more like the Spotted Woodpecker's than those of the Green Woodpecker, but come off to a finer point than either; in fact they are almost as large and about the same shape as snipe's eggs, and are of course pure white. I cannot give the exact measurements just now, but will do so shortly. I have not yet blown them, as I wish to show them to Mr. Wise first (I expect him here in a day or two), so as to remove, if possible, all doubts as to their authenticity. This, I believe, is the first known instance of the black woodpecker breeding in England.'
0). 1867 Berkshire Ditton Park, seen, March.
(Clark Kennedy l. c.; Harting, 1872).
History Harting (1872) says: 'One seen in Ditton Park, March 1867: Clark Kennedy, l. c.'
0). 1868 Greater London Leadenhall Market, 6th November.
(J. H. Gurney, jnr., Zoologist 1869: 1515; J. Cordeaux, Zoologist 1869: 1515-1516; Harting, 1872).
History J. H. Gurney, jnr., (1869) in The Zoologist, 2nd series, Vol. IV. p. 1515, says: 'I am indebted to Mr. Gatcombe
(who has been successful in obtaining some of our rarest birds in the London markets) for an unskinned specimen of the Great Black Woodpecker, obtained by him in Leadenhall on the 6th of November. Mr. Gatcombe supposes it was from Sweden, as it came with some Capercaillie, but the dealer who had it said that it was consigned to him from Hull. The stomach was remarkably thin, and contained (as Mr. Cordeaux, who examined it, informs me) nothing but turpentine and insect remains.'
J. Cordeaux, (1869) in The Zoologist, 2nd series, Vol. IV. pp. 1515-1516, says: 'I lately received, through the kindness of Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., the stomach of this bird to dissect. This stomach, the muscular coat of which was very thin, smelt very strongly of turpentine, and contained a dark, thick, oily fluid, which I believe was almost pure turpentine. It was well filled with insects, all of one sort: they are probably the larvae of the snake-fly (Raphidia ophiopsis) or some closely-allied species.'
0). 1868 Hampshire Binstead, male, shot, undated.
(J. Gould, Zoologist 1869: 1516).
History J. Gould (1869) in The Zoologist, 2nd series, Vol. IV. p. 1516, in a Letter to E. H. Rodd, says: 'I have just received a letter stating that a Great Black Woodpecker (male) was shot a few days since, at Benstead, in Hampshire.
My informant (Smithers) had the bird in his hand before it was skinned. I am none the more certain, however, that it was shot at the place mentioned; for I have known many instances of rare British birds being sent to our markets in the flesh, and from the markets sent into the country for the purpose of deceiving the unwary. Still the statement may be true, and I will leave no stone unturned to ascertain if such be the case.'
[I am much obliged to Mr. Rodd for permission to copy and publish the preceding note, and shall feel it an increased obligation if he, or Mr. Gould, or any lover of truth, will push the inquiry to a satisfactory conclusion. Anyone visiting Leadenhall Market so frequently as I do (being compelled twice a day to pass the entrance) will admire the unquestionable honesty of the dealers, as demonstrated by the excessive paucity of the records of rarities, which could so readily be obtained from that prolific source: prior to those which have been recently noticed in The Zoologist (without any attempt to prove them British), it is marvellous how very small is the amount of records of rarities purchased in that great mart of Continental and British Ornithology. - Edward Newman.]
0). 1876 Devon Mount Edgecombe, seen, no date.
(Pidsley, 1891).
[Pidsley, 1891].
History Pidsley (1891: 59-60) recording the record in square-brackets, says: 'A doubtful visitant, not included in the present census of the avifauna of Devon, but here inserted in order that its claims to be considered a Devonshire bird may be open to criticism....The Rev. Clement Ley writes that he is well acquainted with the note of the Great Black Woodpecker, and that the last occasion he heard it "was in 1876, at Mount Edgecombe in Devonshire". and that "waiting for a few minutes, we got a fine view of the bird". (B. of Herefordshire, p. 92).'
0). c. 1881 Berkshire Twyford, seen, undated.
(S. G. Reid, Zoologist 1888: 107).
[BOU, 1915].
History Savile G. Reid (1888) in The Zoologist (3rd series) Vol. XII. p. 107, says: 'I have much pleasure in recording what I take to he an undoubted occurrence of this rare British bird, Dryocopus martius, in Berkshire. My friend Capt. F. G. Coleridge, of Twyford, recently informed me that about seven years ago the attention of his wife and himself was suddenly called to the presence of a large black bird with red head in a fruit tree in his garden. Capt. Coleridge got within twenty yards or so of the tree, and had a good opportunity of examining the bird. He describes it as of the size of a Jackdaw, black with red crown. It was tapping away at a dead bough on the fruit tree. I have not the slightest doubt that it was a veritable Great Black Woodpecker. Captain Coleridge is acquainted with all our common British birds, and knows the other Woodpeckers perfectly well. He is also most unlikely to have made a mistake on this occasion, as his father's collection—familiar to him from boyhood—contained two stuffed specimens of D. martius.'
0). 1897 Yorkshire Otley, shot, 8th September.
(Harting, 1901)
[BOU, 1915].
History Harting (1901) says: 'This bird was shot in the presence of Col. W. C. Dawson, of Weston Hall, Otley, who obligingly forwarded it for my inspection, and I exhibited it at a meeting of the Linnoan Society on the 18th November following. A bird of this species had been lost from the Regent's Park Zoological Gardens, but on inquiry it was found that it did not escape until Oct. 9, a month after Col. Dawson's bird had been shot. See Proc. Linn. Soc, 1897-98, p. 2.'
BOU (1915) say: 'The Great Black Woodpecker has frequently been reported from various parts of England since the time of Latham, but Mr. J. H. Gurney and Prof. Newton (ed. Yarrell's Birds, II. p. 482) have disposed satisfactorily of all these so-called occurrences. An undoubted example shot at Otley, Yorkshire, Sept. 1897, may have been one of those previously liberated by the late Lord Lilford.
The Great Black Woodpecker is widely distributed in the Palaearctic region from Scandinavia and northern Spain to Kamchatka.'
0). 1933 Berkshire Sunningdale Golf Course, seen, 14th January.
(Times 30th Jan., 1933; C. M. Meares, Field 11th Feb., 1933: 262).
[B. W. Tucker & W. B. Alexander, Report of the Oxford Ornithological Society on the Birds of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire 1933: 25].
History C. M. Meares of Sunningdale (1933) in The Field of 11th Feb., Vol. CLIX. p. 262, says: 'When playing golf at the 12th hole on the old course here on January 14th a Great Black Woodpecker (Picus martius) flew slowly across the fairway within 20ft. of us. As this is one of our rarest visitors it is worth recording as I have never before seen one in this country. It was so close as to be quite unmistakable as it flew undulating across us.'
[Although the Great Black Woodpecker has often been recorded there has not - in the opinion of most ornithologists - been sufficient evidence to warrant the species being added to the British list. Your note is, therefore, very interesting. - Ed.]
B. W. Tucker & W. B. Alexander (1933) in the Report of the Oxford Ornithological Society on the Birds of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, p. 25, recording the record in square brackets, say: 'A Woodpecker supposed to be this species was seen by Mr. C. M. Meares and three other players on the Sunningdale Golf Course on Jan. 14 and recorded in the Times, Jan. 30, and in the Field, Feb. 11, 1933, p. 262. Mr. Meares has kindly supplied full details, and it is quite certain that a more or less black Woodpecker with a red crest was seen flying across the course not twenty feet from the players. Mr. Meares states: "It struck me as being rather stumpier and fuller than a Green Woodpecker; its red crest was obvious, but it was less coal-black than I should have expected, ad was a shade of true black - the difference, say, between a piece of coal and a piece of coke or a half-burnt cinder". On Jan. 25 Mr. F. le Marchant, Secretary of the Golf Club, saw it in the frost round the meat and bread scraps thrown out for the birds on the Club lawn, and it was seen there again on by the Club butler on Jan. 27, but after we had got in touch with Mr. Meares it was unfortunately not observed again. We incline to the opinion that the bird may have been a melanistic Green Woodpecker.'
0). 1938 Devon Dunster, seen, 10th December.
(Anon., Devon Bird-Watching and Preservation Society Report 1938: 32-33).
[Witherby et al., 1938-52].
History Anon. (1938) in the Devon Bird-Watching and Preservation Society Report, Vol. XI. pp. 32-33, says: 'While shooting in the Dunster neighbourhood on December 10th, a Black Woodpecker flew by Mr. G. F. Luttrell so close that he could have shot it.
The occurrence of the Black Woodpecker (also called Great Black Woodpecker) Dryocopus martius, in Great Britain were summarized in The Field for March 7th, 1936, by Dr. C. R. Haines.
Witherby's new Handbook (Vol. II. pp. 291-2 note) states that none of "numerous supposed occurrences" of this species is "sufficiently authenticated to admit of its inclusion". and adds that "caged birds are known to have been turned out on one occasion at least".
In face of the evidence produced by Mr. Haines this attitude seems open to criticism. In 1935 Major E. C. Clegg saw near Porlock a bird which he described as like a small Rook behaving like a Woodpecker. This at least suggests another local record of the species. (E.W.H.).'
0). 1945 Cornwall Pendarves Woods, between Camborne and Helston, seen, 29th July.
(B. H. Ryves, D. Valentine & H. M. Quick, Cornwall Bird-Watching & Preservation Society Report 1946: 19).
[B. H. Ryves, D. Valentine & H. M. Quick, Cornwall Bird-Watching & Preservation Society Report 1946: 19].
History B. H. Ryves, D. Valentine & H. M. Quick (1946) in the Cornwall Bird-Watching & Preservation Society Report, Vol. XVI. p. 19, recording the record in square brackets, say: 'On 29th July, 1945, about 2.30 p.m. in good weather my wife and I were motoring on the Camborne to Helston road. At a point where the road turns West after skirting the Pendarves Woods, we saw a large black bird coming towards us from the South with an unusual wing action. We stopped the car hoping that it would continue to approach and, in fact, it flew over the road and above the car a few yards in front of us and then perched on a tall blackthorn bush, at about thirty yards distance, and turned almost facing us. It remained for about a minute in clear view, partly in silhouette, as it was not only above us in the bush, but up the hill from us.
It was about the size of a rook, with plumage uniformly black. It had a long strong beak, with apparently a downward curve. The head was hammer shaped, i.e., it had a projection posteriorly. The wings were humped up giving a hunch-backed appearance. The tail appeared long, presumably owing to the lifted wings, as it did not show as a long tailed bird in flight. Unfortunately, as the bird was facing us and above us, the back of the head was not visible, but there was no complete red crown as in the adult male. The bird looked around as if finding its bearings in country new to it, and then flew off with undulating flight and disappeared in the extensive Pendarves Woods. This short flight from bush to the woods was much more undulating than the flight as it came towards us up the valley, but the undulations were less frequent than in the Green and Spotted Woodpeckers.
I returned later the same afternoon with Doctor Turk but we failed to see more of our bird. It was noticeable that the Green Woodpeckers in the wood were very vocal and appeared to be in a state of excitement. The bird, which appeared to be very tired, came from the South, where the sea is only a few miles away and the Continent not far distant. Doctor Turk informs me that in the distant past there was a link between the Pyrenees and Cornwall, as shown by fossil remains. I had to wait a long time before seeing a museum specimen of Martius, but having seen one I am in no doubt that it was a female or juvenile of the species that we saw. I was satisfied that viewed from the angle from which our bird was visible, no red would have been seen. I cannot account for the apparent downward curve of the beak. R.H.B.'
