HOW TO KNOW A WOODPECKER 5 



kinglets) ever shows the patch of yellow or scar- 

 let which always marks the head of the male 

 woodpecker, and which sometimes adorns his 

 mate, there is no danger of making mistakes. 



The nuthatches are the only birds likely to 

 be confused with woodpeckers, and these have 

 the peculiar habit of traveling down a tree-trunk 

 with their heads pointing to the ground. A 

 woodpecker never does this ; he may move down 

 the trunk of the tree he is working on, but he 

 will do it by hopping backward. A still surer 

 sign of the woodpecker is the way he sits upon 

 his tail, using it to brace him. No other birds 

 except the chimney swift and the little brown 

 creeper ever do this. A sure mark, also, is his 

 feet, which have two toes turned forward and 

 two turned backward. We find this arrange- 

 ment in no other North American birds except 

 the cuckoos and our one native parroquet. How- 

 ever, there is one small group of woodpeckers 

 which have but three toes, and these are the only 

 North American land-birds that do not have four 

 well-developed toes. 



In coloration the woodpeckers show a strong 

 family likeness. Except in some young birds, 

 the color is always brilliant and often is gaudy. 

 Usually it shows much clear black and white, 

 with dashes of scarlet or yellow about the head. 



