The WOODPECKER TREE-CHOPPER (_Dendroplex picus_) is recognisable by
its straight, pointed beak, which is much compressed at its sides, and
furnished with a high sharp ridge at its culmen. The wing is comparatively
short, the tail long, and the foot large. The plumage is entirely of
a reddish brown, the feathers on the head, throat, and breast being
enlivened by broad white patches, surrounded by a greyish brown margin.
This bird is eight inches long; the wing measures four and the tail three
inches.
The _Dendroplex picus_ is found over almost the whole of South America,
and everywhere frequents the primitive forests, obtaining its food from
the bark of trees, after the manner of the True Woodpeckers. At the
conclusion of the breeding season it quits its native fastnesses with its
companions, and ventures freely down, even near the abode of man. The
voice is clear, but confined to one note. The eggs are laid in the holes
of trees.
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The WOODPECKERS (_Picida_), the last group of the tree-climbing races,
possess a slender body and powerful peak, which is usually straight,
conical, and furnished with a sharp ridge at its culmen. The short,
strong feet turn inwards; the toes are long, and placed in pairs, the
exterior pair being connected as far as the first joint; the hinder toe,
which is the smallest of all, is so situated as to pair with the innermost
and longest toe; in some instances this short fourth toe is but slightly
developed, or entirely wanting; the claws are long, strong, very sharp,
and much hooked. The wings are rounded, and of medium size; their ten
primaries are narrow and pointed, whilst the secondaries (from nine to ten
in number) are broader, but not much shorter, than the primary quills.
Of these latter, the first is very small, those next in order graduated
to the third or fourth, which is the longest. The very remarkable tail
is formed of ten large and two small feathers. These latter are placed
above instead of under the rest; the centre tail-feathers are the largest,
and very stiff. The strangely constructed tongue, by the aid of which
the Woodpeckers are enabled to capture the small insects upon which they
in a great measure subsist, is sharp, barbed, pointed, and endued with
a glutinous secretion, derived from glands situated in the throat, and
communicating with the mouth by two long ducts, the glutinous coating
being thus renewed every time the tongue is drawn within the bill. The
plumage of these birds is thick; the feathers on the head (which in
some species form a crest) are small and slender, whilst those on the
hinder parts of the body are short and broad. The Woodpeckers inhabit
the woods and forests of both hemispheres, and are especially numerous
in warm latitudes. Fruits, seeds, and insects constitute their food, and
in pursuit of the latter they exhibit wonderful dexterity--climbing with
astonishing activity upon the trunks and branches of trees; and when, by
tapping with their bills, a rotten place has been discovered, they dig at
once vigorously in search of the grub or larvæ snugly embedded beneath the
bark--thus rendering inestimable service to man, by destroying hosts of
insects.
The Woodpeckers both roost and breed in hollow trunks, or holes in
trees, enlarged to the requisite size by the aid of their strong,
sharp mandibles. The eggs, which are smooth, glossy, and white, vary
considerably in number; they are deposited upon a bed of chips, or
_débris_, placed at the bottom of the hole selected for their reception.
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The BLACK WOODPECKERS (_Dryocopus_) comprise the largest and most powerful
of the race, and are at once recognisable by the crest that adorns their
head, and the prevalence of black in the coloration of their plumage.
America must be regarded as the central home of these birds, as there
several kinds inhabit every latitude; whilst, in the Eastern Hemisphere,
but one species is met with in Europe, and few are found even in India.