ORDER PICI THE WOODPECKERS, ETO. 871 



ORDER PICI. THE WOODPECKERS, ETC. 



CHARACTERS. Bill straight, pointed or chisel- shaped at tip: tongue barbed at point 

 and extensile ; feet zygodactyle ; tail-feathers 12. but outer pair rudimentary and concealed. 



FAMILY PICID^E. THE WOODPECKERS. 



"CHAR. Outer toe turned backwards permanently, not versatile laterally, the basal 

 portion of the tongue capable of great protrusion. 



"The preceding characters combined appear to express the essen- 

 tial character of the Picida. In addition, it may be stated that 

 the tongue itself is quite small, flat, and short, acute and homy, 

 usually armed along the edges with decurved hooks. The horns of 

 the hyoid apparatus are generally very long, and curve round the 

 back of the skull frequently to the base of the bill, playing in 

 a sheath, when the tongue is thrown forward out of the mouth to 

 transfix an insect. 



"There are twelve tail-feathers, of which the outer is, however, 

 very small and rudimentary (lying concealed between the outer and 

 adjacent feathers), so that only ten are usually counted. The tail 

 is nearly even, or cuneate, never forked, the shafts very rigid in 

 the true Woodpeckers; soft in Picumnince and Jyngina. The outer 

 primary is generally very short, or spurious, but not wanting. The 

 bill is chisel- or wedge-shaped, with sharp angles and ridges and 

 straight culmen; sometimes the culmen is a little curved, in which 

 case it is smoother, and without ridges. The tarsi in the North 

 American forms are covered with large plates anteriorly, posteriorly 

 with small ones, usually more or less polygonal. The claws are 

 compressed, much curved, very strong and acute. 



"The Picldce are found all over the world with the exception of 

 Madagascar, Australia, the Moluccas, and Polynesia. America is 

 well provided with them, more than half of the described species 

 belonging to the New World. 



"The subfamilies of the Picida may be most easily distinguished 

 as follows, although other characters could readily be given: 



Pieinse. Tail-feathers pointed, and lanceolate at end; the shafts very 

 rigid, thickened, and elastic. 



Picumninse. Tail soft and short, about half the length of wing; the feath- 

 ers without stiffened shafts, rather narrow, linear, and rounded at end. 



Jynginge. Tail soft and rather long, about three fourths the length of 

 wing; the feathers broad, and obtusely rounded at end. 



