PJEU WOODPECKER. 81 



sively distributed. The individuals from which my descrip- 

 tions are taken were killed in the northern part of the middle 

 division of Scotland ; and I have examined skins of many 

 others shot in various parts of England, as well as in France. 



The form is rather slender, the body elongated, the neck of 

 moderate length, the head oblong. The bill is straight, strong, 

 conical, angular, and considerably shorter than the head. The 

 upper mandible has the dorsal line almost perfectly straight, 

 the ridge sharp, the sides flat and sloping, an oblique angle or 

 prominent line from the nasal groove to the edge near the end, 

 the tip truncate. The lower mandible also has the ridge sharp, 

 and almost straight, the sides nearly flat, but towards the in- 

 flected edges rounded, the tip truncate in a slight degree. The 

 mouth is of moderate width. The tongue vermiform, termi- 

 nated by a narrow, flat horny point, which is ciliated back- 

 wards w'ith short bristles. The oesophagus is four inches long, 

 rather narrow, the proventricular part however very wide ; the 

 stomach roundish, a little compressed, its muscular coat thin, 

 and its cuticular lining smooth, somewhat villous, and without 

 rugae ; the intestine fifteen inches long, its duodenal portion 

 four-twelfths in diameter ; no coeca. Plate XY, Fig. 4. 



The tarsus is very short, moderately stout, with seven ante- 

 rior scutella, and numerous small scales behind. The first toe 

 is very short, with five scales ; the other toes gradually longer 

 and larger, the fourth directed backwards and outwards, the se- 

 cond with nine, the third with eleven, the fourth with fifteen 

 scutella. The claws are much arched, deep, extremelycompressed, 

 broadly grooved on the sides, and somewhat abruptly pointed. 



The plumage is soft, blended, and somewhat silky. The 



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