The Green Woodpecker. 13 



uncertain what to do. At last, away it went, with 

 a heavy, undulating flight, and we caught sight of it 

 through the leaves alighting at the base of an old 

 beech tree. 



The Green Woodpecker lives for the most part on 

 the various insects and larvae captured on and under 

 the bark of trees. At the same time it feeds more 

 often on the ground than the Spotted and Lesser 

 Spotted Woodpecker (Picus major and minor), the 

 only other representatives of the genus found in 

 Great Britain, for we have repeatedly disturbed it 

 on the grass, or in the act of scraping at an ant's 

 nest with its claws in search of eggs and grubs, 

 which it eagerly licks up with its tongue. 



This long tongue is well worthy of our attention. 

 It tapers to a hard, sharp point like that of a needle, 

 while the tip is furnished with several minute, hair- 

 like barbs set backwards like the point of a fish-hook. 

 To the base of the tongue are joined two extremely 

 elastic bones (hyoid cornua), each of which is enclosed 

 in a delicate sheath. These sheaths passing through 

 the lower mandible divide and hang down in the 

 form of a loop, one on each side of the neck, then 

 they curl round and upwards, and passing over the 

 top of the head are again united, and joined to the 

 skull in the right nostril (Fig. 1). Besides the 

 bones there is a muscle enclosed in each sheath, 



