GREEN WOODPECKER. 93 



The plumage is soft and blended ; the feathers ovate, with 

 a rather large plumule ; those of the nasal membrane stiff", 

 bristly, and directed forwards ; of the head ovate and downy, 

 with a narrowed stiff" glossy extremity. The wings are rather 

 long, broad and rounded ; the quills nineteen ; the primaries 

 tapering to a roundish point, the secondaries broad and rounded ; 

 the first quill less than a third of the length of the longest, 

 the second one inch shorter than the third, which is two and 

 a half twelfths shorter than the fourth, the fifth almost as long 

 as the latter. The tail is rather short, cuneate, of ten feathers, 

 all pointed and slightly decurved, except the lateral, together 

 with two small incumbent feathers. 



The bill is greyish-black, the lower mandible with a yellow- 

 ish longitudinal band near the base. The irides are white. 

 The feet are dull bluish-grey, the claws light greyish-brown, 

 with a tinge of blue. The upper part of the head and the nape 

 are bright crimson, the tips of the feathers only being of that 

 colour, while the downy parts are bluish-grey. The lower 

 part of the forehead, the loral space, the parts about the eye, 

 at the base of the lower mandible, and a mystachial band, black, 

 but the latter having a patch of crimson. The upper parts in 

 general are yellowish-green, the rump and upper tail-coverts 

 greenish or lemon-yellow ; the wing-coverts of a somewhat 

 less pure green, being slightly tinged with brown. The edge 

 of the wing is white ; the alula, primary coverts and primary 

 quills greyish-black, their outer webs, excepting towards the 

 end, barred with yellowish-white, the inner with transversely 

 oblong white spots ; the secondaries and their coverts barred 

 with whitish, but that colour not apparent externally, the outer 

 webs being green, with faint light spots, as are the margins of 

 the primaries at the base, except on the outer three. The tail 

 is dusky, faintly barred with brownish or greenish-white, the 

 margins greenish-yellow. The lower parts are pale greenish- 

 yellow, tinged with grey, the throat and sides lighter ; the 

 abdomen, and part of the sides, and lower tail-coverts, faintly 

 undulated with dusky. 



Length to end of tail 13:j inches ; extent of wings 21 ; wing 

 from flexure 6 k ; tail 4} ; bill along the ridge lj%, along the 



