THK TOUCAN. T9 



TITIi. GKEEN WOODPECKER, {Fleets viridis,) 



Receives his name from the facility with which he 

 pecks the insects from the chinks of trees and holes in the 

 bark. The bill is straight, strong, and angular at the end ; 

 and in most of the species is formed like a wedge, for the 

 purpose of piercing the trees. The nostrils are covered 

 with bristles. The tongue is very long, slender, cylindrical, 

 bony, hard, and jagged at the end. The toes are placed 

 two forward and two backward ; and the tail consists of ten 

 hard, stiff, and sharp-pointed feathers. A Woodpecker ia 

 often seen hanging by his claws, and resting upon his 

 breast against the stem of a tree ; when, after darting, with 

 great strength and noise, his beak against the bark, he loius 

 round the tree with great alacrity, which mauGDU\Te has 

 made the country people suppose that he goes round to see 

 whether he has not pierced the tree through its trunk ; 

 though the fact is, the bird is in search of the insects, which 

 he hopes to hava driven out by his blow. 



THE TOUCAN, yRampiastos tmanus,) 



Is a native of South America, very conspicuous for the 

 magnitude and shape of his bill. It is about the siie of 



