On the Cranial Peculiarities of the Woodpeckers. 357 



One of the very rarest species of Trochilidse. It has never yet 

 been seen elsewhere than in the island of Porto Uico, where I 

 have no reasons for supposing it to be otherwise than abundant. 



XLI. — Note on some of the Cranial Peculiarities of the Wood- 

 peckers. By A. H. Garrod^ B.A., Prosector to the Zoological 

 Society. 



Considering the method adopted by the Woodpeckers for ob- 

 taining their food, it is hardly surprising that they possess 

 cranial features peculiar to themselves ; for it is scarcely con- 

 ceivable that the head, the most delicately constructed portion 

 of the body, should be employed as a powerful hammer or axe 

 whose stroke can be heard at a considerable distance, without some 

 modifications in structure which would assist in increasing its 

 efficiency for the purpose. 



Accordingly, we find that the bones are thicker and stronger 



