The EUROPEAN BLACK WOODPECKER (_Dryocopus martius_) has the plumage of a
uniform black, with the exception of the top of the head, which is of a
bright crimson; in the female the bright feathers are limited to a small
patch at the back of the head. The eye of both sexes is pale yellow, the
beak pearl-grey, tipped with blueish grey, and the foot lead-colour. The
young closely resemble the adult birds. This species is from seventeen to
eighteen inches long, and twenty-eight to twenty-nine broad. The wing, in
which the fifth quill is the longest, covers two-thirds of the tail, which
measures from six inches to six inches and a half; the tarsus is almost
entirely covered with feathers, and exceeds the centre toe and claw in
length. The strong beak is broader than it is high, and straight at its
culmen.
Although all the wooded tracts of Europe, from sixty-eight degrees
north latitude as far as Greece and Spain, are inhabited by the Black
Woodpecker, it is seldom met with in England, and is but rarely seen
in Holland. It also frequents Asia, as far as the northern side of the
Himalayas. Everywhere fir and pine forests are its favourite resorts, even
when these extend over mountain ranges; indeed, it rarely visits tracts
covered with any other description of trees, except during its wanderings
from one place to another. Like all other European Woodpeckers, this
species does not migrate, and but rarely travels to any great distance
from its native haunts.
[Illustration: THE WOODPECKER TREE-CHOPPER (_Dendroplex picus_).]
The Black Woodpecker is shy and retiring in its habits, and, if
approached, studiously conceals itself from observation by creeping round
the tree or branch on which it happens to be at work. Its food is obtained
by perforating the bark or searching the fissures of trees, a process
which it performs with great dexterity, the tail being habitually employed
as a means of support whilst climbing. The night is passed in holes in the
trunk of some old tree; and in a cavity of this description the glossy
white eggs are also deposited. We learn from Temminck that the Black
Woodpecker lays three eggs; and that when other food is scarce it will eat
seeds or berries. Its voice somewhat resembles a harsh, loud laugh.
* * * * *
The GIANT WOODPECKERS (_Campephilus_), a group comprising the largest
members of the family, inhabit America. These birds are characterised
by their powerful body, large head, and long, thin neck. Their beak is
long, straight, and strongly formed; their feet muscular, and the tarsi
unfeathered. Of the toes, the outermost of the hinder pair exceeds the
rest in length. The wings and tail are long, the third and fourth quills
of the former being the longest. The plumage is black, marked with
white. The feathers on the head form a crest, which in the male is of
considerable size, and of a red colour.
[Illustration: THE EUROPEAN BLACK WOODPECKER (_Dryocopus martius_).]
Two species of Giant Woodpeckers are worthy of special notice, named
respectively the IMPERIAL and the IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKERS.