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WHITE-SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 



Dendromm nivosus, SWAINS. 



Olive-green ; above immaculate ; beneath covered with round 

 white spots ; head above blackish. 



IT is so usual for the males of this family to he 

 ornamented with crimson, or some other striking 

 colour upon their head, that we cannot he without 

 suspicion that the present hird may possibly he of 

 the female sex. Be this however as it may, it cer- 

 tainly does not helong to any other species we have 

 yet seen either from Africa or any other country. 

 In the olive colour of its hack it resembles the last 

 described, but the bill is much larger ; and the 

 under plumage, instead of being banded, is spotted. 



The structure of this species is typical in regard 

 to the bill, but aberrant in respect to its feet ; the 

 two outer toes being exactly equal. The lateral 

 ridge of the bill is nearer to the culmen than is 

 usual in this group. 



The upper part of the head, as far as the occiput, 

 is greenish-black, which gradually changes to a uni- 

 form olive-green that spreads over the whole of the 

 upper plumage : the ground colour of the under 

 parts is of the same green, but entirely covered with 

 round whitish spots, of which there are two pair 



