RADIOLATED WOODPECKER. 271 



RADTOLATED WOODPECKER.* 



Centuries radiolatus. — Wagl. 



Edw. 244. 



This species greatly resembles the Red-bellied 

 Woodpecker of Wilson, (C Carolinus,) from which 

 it may be distinguished by the plumage of the 

 rump and tail-coverts being barred as the back, 

 and the tail being black, with the two middle 

 feathers crossed by narrow bars of white on their 

 inner vanes, and the outmost feathers spotted with 

 white on the outer edge. 



This is among the commonest of Jamaican birds, 

 being abundant in all situations, from the shores 

 to the summits of the mountains. His loud screams 

 as he darts along from one dead tree to another, 

 perpetually betray his proximity even before we 

 see him. Like the rest of his tribe, his flight 

 consists of a series of undulations, or rather a 

 succession of arcs of a circle, performed by alter- 

 nate strokes and closures of the wings. Though 

 rapid and rushing in its character, it does not ex- 

 tend to long distances, nor does it appear capable 

 of protraction, the wings having the shortness and 

 hollowness which mark a subordinate power of 

 flight. Occasionally he alights on a horizontal 



* Length 11 inches, expanse 17|, flexure 5|, tail 3^, rictus l-|f, tar- 

 sus l^, middle toe ly^, versatile toe 1^, nearly. Irides bright hazel, 

 or scarlet. 



