246 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 
a tree, which a deep keel would interfere with. The 
tail also is of considerable service to them, the 
middle feathers of which, in all the Picide except 
the Wryneck, are very stiff and strong and pointed 
at the end: on these feathers the bird is in the habit 
of resting, when, in the course of its search for food 
on the upright stem of a tree, it finds it necessary to 
throw its head much back. The tongue is another 
great peculiarity of the Woodpecker family, as it is 
capable of being thrust forward to a considerable 
distance beyond the end of the beak: the tip of the 
tongue is covered with a glutinous substance secreted 
by the bird; by this means it is able to capture small 
insects amongst the bark of trees, which it would 
not be able to reach with its beak, but shooting out 
its long tongue it reaches these small insects, which, 
sticking to the glutinous substance, become the 
prey of the bird. The narrow keel of the Wood- 
peckers, as I said before, considerably curtails their 
power of flight; consequently these birds seldom 
attempt a longer flight than from one tree to another 
in a well-wooded district. Should a Woodpecker be 
approached when engaged in climbing a tree it 
seldom seeks safety in flight, but dodges behind the 
stem or branch which it may be on, and thus keeps 
itself out of sight. The British Woodpeckers are 
now said to include nine species besides the 
Wryneck; but of these nine it is very doubtful if 
one, the Black Woodpecker, has ever been obtained 
