86 LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 
ceeds, first black and white, then black, ending in a triangular 
black spot, the lower part of which shades off into dusky 
shaft streaks; iris, red; the feathers around it are brownish 
yellow: over it, and extending down the sides of the neck, 
is a white streak; greyish brown bristles surround the parts 
near the bill. Forehead, brownish yellow or greyish white; 
head and crown, bright red, palest towards the front and 
darker towards the nape; the sides are margined with black, 
which, meeting behind, forms an irregular patch, pointing 
downwards, and running into the black of the neck, (which 
has a patch of white on the side,) nape, and back; the sides 
of the head are white; chin, throat, and breast, dull white, 
with a tinge of brown on the sides, the feathers brownish 
black in the centre; back, white, barred across with black, 
and black downwards. 
The wings expand to the width of one foot; underneath 
they are greyish black, with white bars; greater wing coverts, 
black, spotted with white; lesser wing coverts, black; prima- 
ries, dull black; the first quill is very short, the third, fourth, 
and fifth nearly equal, the fourth the longest in the wing, 
the second and seventh the same length, nearly as short as 
the first; the outer webs have angular spots of white, and 
the inner webs rounded ones, almost forming white bars; 
secondaries, dull black, very broad, and abruptly rounded; 
tertiaries, dull black; greater and lesser under wing coverts, 
white, with a few oval-shaped greyish black spots. The four 
middle feathers of the tail are black, the two next have 
white marks at the tip, the fourth is white, black at the 
base and tip; the fifth white, with five black bars; the outer 
black, with a white spot near the tip; underneath it is dull 
black and yellowish white; upper tail coverts, black; under 
tail coverts, spotted with dusky. Legs, lead-coloured, small, 
and not robust; they are feathered two thirds of their length 
down in front, and the remaining part is scaled; toes, lead- 
colour, yellowish beneath; claws, lead-coloured, black at the 
tips, short, weak, and dull. 
The female wants the red on the head, which is yellowish 
white, and there is more white on the side of the head; the 
black of her plumage is more dull than in the male, and the 
white less pure. 
In the young bird, the red on the head, which is assumed 
in the autumn, is at first interspersed with white; the iris 
chesnut; the breast light chocolate-colour, with dusky streaks. 
