184 NEW-YORK FAUNA — BIRDS. 



FAMILY PICIBM. 



Bill stout, straight, angular : margins entire. Nostrils basal, elliptical or oblong, concealed 

 by reversed feathers. Legs short. Toes usually jour. Claws large, strong and much 

 curved. Tail moderate, of ten or twelve feathers. Tongue slender, protractile, serrated 

 towards the tip. 



Obs. A well defined family, and abounding in species in the United States. 



GENUS PICUS. Linn^us. 



Bill in some species slightly curved ; in others, perfectly straight. In some the head is fur- 

 nished with a crest of feathers, while in others it is not so. In a few species, there are 

 but three toes. 



Obs. The twenty American species here described, have been arranged by modern system- 

 atists under seven genera. We shall include them under one. 



THE CRESTED WOODPECKER. 



PlCUS PILEATUS. 

 PLATE XVIII. FIG. 39. 



(STATE COLLECTION.) 



Pkus pileatus. L.INN.EUS, Syst. Nat. p. 173. Pennant, Arct. Zool. Vol. 2, p. 269. Wilson, Am. Om. Vol. 



4, p. 27, pi. 29, fig. 2 (male). Bonapakte, Ann. Lye. N. Y. Vol. 2, p. 44. Audubon, folio 



pi. 111. Ncttall, Man. Orn. Vol. 1, p. 567. 

 P. (Dryotovms) id. Ricn. & Svvainson, F. B. A. Vol. 2, p. 304. Kirtland, Zool. Ohio, p. 162. Peabody, 



Zool. of Mass. p. 334. 

 P. id. Audubon, B. of A. Vol. 4, p. 226, pi. 257. 



Characteristics. Crested. Brownish black. Crest and mustachios red. Chin, a stripe 

 on each side of the neck, base of quills, and under wing-coverts green- 

 ish white. Length, 18 inches. 



Description. Bill sharply carinate above, depressed towards the base ; lateral carina; 

 distinct : mandibles equal. Fourth and fifth quills longest. Tail long, wedge-shaped ; the 

 feathers worn to a point, 2*5 longer than the tips of the closed wings. 



