138 



is the critical stage in the salmon's Ufe beyond which its chances for 

 survival are greatly increased, the Kingfisher can possibly commit appre- 

 ciable depredation; but if on the other hand this critical point occurs later, 

 during the sea life of the fish for instance, the effect of the taking of even 

 a considerable number of fingerlings will be negligible. At any rate it 

 will take several Kingfishers to equal the damage done by one comparatively 

 small fish in the waters frequented by the salmon. It would seem, therefore, 

 that the good and e\dl in the case of the Kingfisher nearly balances. 



Order — Pici. Woodpeckers. 



The world wide order Pici is a rather heterogeneous division including 

 numerous subdivisions and there is little uniformity of opinion as to their 

 exact relations. In Canada there is only one family of the order — Picidoe, 

 the Woodpeckers. 



FAMILY — PICID^. WOODPECKERS. 



General Description. The Woodpeckers are aji easily recognized family. They have 

 either three or four toes, as in the Cuckoos, two permanently directed forward, ending in 

 well hooked claws for clinging to the rough bark of trees. In one group, the Three-toed 

 Woodpeckers, one of the hind toes is absent. The bill is straight, stout, and chisel-shaped 

 at the tip (Figure 41, p. 25). The tail is well developed; not remarkably long but stout 

 and ending in stiif bristles that are worn and frayed by pressure against rough bark. 



Distinctions. Feet, bill, and tail characters make reliable distinctions. 



Field Marks. Tree cUmbing habits; and flight by series of quick wing strokes with 

 slight pauses between, causing a waved coiirse like a succession of festoons. 



Nesting. In holes excavated in trees or stubs. 



The Woodpeckers are well known for their ability to cling to per- 

 pendicular or overhanging surfaces. The stout chisel-shaped bill is 

 admirably adapted to drilling into wood whence the larvse of borers or other 

 insects are extracted. The tongue is modified into a long, extensible 

 spear furnished with a sharp point and armed with minute barbs to assist 

 in holding the impaled prey and withdraw it from the wood. The hyoid 

 or tongue bones are so long that in the normal position of rest they wind up 

 over the base of the skull along the crown and in some species penetrate the 

 nostrils beneath the bill-sheath and finally rest their ends near the tip of 

 the bill. As a further aid, large salivary glands secrete a sticky fluid for 

 the tongue to which small insects stick and are caught as with bird lime. 

 A few species, for example the Sapsuckers, have the tip of the tongue frayed 

 out into a sort of brush that is evidently used in gathering up the sap. 



Economic Status. Of the general usefulness of the Woodpeckers, 

 with the exception of the Sapsuckers, there can be little doubt. They 

 are almost entirely insectivorous. They pursue wood-boring grubs by 

 drilling holes even in apparently healthy trees and hence they are bene- 

 ficial not harmful. 



393. Hairy Woodpecker, fr. — le pic chevelu. Dryobates villosus. L, 9-40. 

 Almost exactly hke the next species, but larger. Plate XVIII A. 



Distinctions. The Downy Woodpecker is the only species with which this is likely to 

 be confused. Size is the best point for differentiation, but the white of the outer tail feathers 

 being solid instead of barred with black, is diagnostic. 



Field Marks. The spotted black and white coloration to mark the genus and the size 

 to separate it from the Downy. 



