The FIELD WOODPECKER (_Geocolaptes campestris_) is an inhabitant of the
South American prairies, and represents a group that, unlike those already
described, seek their principal food, not upon the trunks of trees,
but from the surface of the ground. The Field Woodpecker possesses a
slightly-curved bill, of about the same length as the head; its wings are
long, pointed, and powerful, their fourth quill longer than the rest; the
strong tail is pointed, and the slender foot furnished with very delicate
toes. The variegated plumage is not very brightly tinted; the crown of
the head and neck are black; the cheeks, throat, and upper breast golden
yellow; the back and wings pale yellow, striped with blackish brown; the
lower portion of the back, the breast, and belly are whitish yellow,
each feather having black markings; the quills are greyish brown, with
gold-coloured shafts, the primaries striped with white on the inner web,
and the secondaries on both webs. The tail-feathers are blackish brown,
those at the exterior streaked with yellow on the outer, and those in the
centre on the inner web. The female is somewhat paler in hue than her
mate. The eye is bright red, the beak blackish grey, and the foot dull
grey.
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The SOFT-TAILED WOODPECKERS (_Picumnus_) constitute a group of very small
birds, with long, straight, conical beaks, which are pointed at the tip.
The shape of the leg and claw resembles that of the True Woodpecker. The
short wings, in which the fourth and fifth quills are the longest, are
very blunt and rounded; the tail is composed of twelve soft, rounded
feathers, the outermost of which are very short; the plumage is soft, and
its feathers few and of unusual size. Most of these birds inhabit South
America; Africa possesses one and India three species. We are almost
entirely without reliable particulars as to their habits.