266 AVES : PICI. — XLIV. 
coloration. In many the bill is disproportionately large. (Lat., 
alcedo, kingfisher.) 
a. Bili compressed, the culmen carinate; head crested; aquatic, feeding on 
fishess ow a le i eee | a a Re 
440, CERYLE Beie. (knpvdos, kingfisher.) 
841. C. alcyon (L.). BeLtTep KinGFIsHER. Ashy blue above, 
a bluish band across breast ; white below; tail black, speckled and 
barred with white; Q with sides and band across belly chestnut. 
L. 13. W.6. T. 34. B. 2.. N. Am., everywhere common. 
(Lat., kingfisher.) 
OrpveR XLIV. PICK. (THe Wooppreckers AND 
WRYNECKS. ) 
A small order composed of the Woodpeckers, and two closely 
related families. Feet zygodactyle, the outer toe permanently re- 
versed, the hind toe wanting in one genus; metatarsus modified in 
connection with the reversed toe; wing with 10 primaries and short 
secondary coverts; tail with 10 quills, besides which, in the wood- 
peckers, is an outer pair of partly concealed spurious quills; bill 
straight, hard and strong; palate saurognathous; sternum double- 
notched behind ; salivary glands large. (Lat., picus, woodpecker.) 
a. Nostrils covered by feathers; tail feathers rigid and acute. Pricip#, 159. 
Famity CLIX. PICIDAi. (THe WooppPeckers.) 
Bill stout, usually straight, with the tip truncate or acute, fitted 
for hammering or boring into wood. Tongue long, flattish, barbed, 
capable of great protrusion, adapted for securing insects (except in 
Sphyrapicus); hyoid apparatus peculiar, its horns generally quite 
long, curving around the skull behind and over forward again to 
the ear or beyond. Feet zygodactyle, the hind toe sometimes want- 
ing; claws compressed, sharp and strong. Tail feathers 12, rigid 
and acuminate, the outer pair short, concealed ; tail never forked ; 
nasal tufts present. 
Chiefly arboreal ; all (except Sphyrapicus, which is truly a “Sap- 
Sucker,”) are pre-eminently insectivorous. For this reason these 
birds are of the greatest service to the farmer. Voice loud and 
harsh. Colors generally bright, the male at least having almost al- 
ways red on the head; sexes usually slightly different. Species 
250, abundant almost everywhere. 
a. Outer hind toe longer than outer anterior (middle) toe. 
6. Head with a conspicuous crest; (size very large; bill pale). 
CAMPEPHILUS, 441. 
bb. Head not crested. 
c. Tongue pointed, highly extensible, as usual among woodpeckers; (no 
yellowish on belly). 
