L198 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
forwards. In one Ceylon genus, Micropternus, the hallux is 
rudimentary. ‘The wings are short and pointed, and the 
flight undulatory. The tail feathers are twelve in number 
(the outermost pair being frequently concealed by the tail 
coverts), and are provided with stiff shafts. Woodpeckers 
seldom perch, but cling to trees in an upright position with 
the tail pressed as a support against the stem ; hence the tail 
feathers are often much worn. The birds generally alight at 
the foot of a tree and work their way up the trunk in a 
spiral, moving rapidly for a short distance, and then stopping 
to tap on the bark for insects. Their cry is generally a harsh 
scream, or in the smaller species a shrill trill. Their food 
consists wholly or mainly of ants and other similar insects. 
All Woodpeckers lay white eggs in a nest hole, which in 
nearly all cases is hollowed in the stem or branch of a tree. 
One genus, however, Micropternus, makes the nest hole in 
the interior of the hanging nest of a certain species of ant. 
Nine species, divided among six genera, occur in Ceylon, 
two species being peculiar to the Island. 
Rough Key to Ceylon Picine. 
A.—Mantle green. Genus Gecinus. 
(1) Length 11. Rump tinged with bright yellow. 
Male : Crown and crest crimson. ° 
Female : Crown and crest black. 
Gecinus striolatus (The Little Scaly-bellied Green 
Woodpecker). 
(2) Length 9°5. Rump green. 
Male : Crown and crest crimson. 
Female : Crown dark olive, crest crimson. 
G. chlorogaster (The South Indian Yellow-naped 
Woodpecker). 
B.—Mantle black and white. 
(1) Length 7. A small crest, pale crimson in males, 
yellow in females. 
Liopicus mahrattensis (The Yellow-fronted Pied 
Woodpecker). 
