HBtctumarp at &mmatrtr 



747 



jestic, afford withal a peculiar scene of solemn 

 grandeur, on which the mind dwells for a 

 moment with sublime contemplation, con- 

 vinced that there is no scene in nature devoid 

 of harmonious consistence. Nor is the per- 

 formance of this industrious hermit less re- 

 markable than the peals of his sonorous 

 voice, or the loud choppings of his powerful 

 bill. He is soon surrounded with striking 

 monuments of his industry : like a real 

 carpenter (a nickname given him by the 

 Spaniards), he is seen surrounded with cart- 

 loads of chips and broad flakes of bark, which 

 rapidly accumulate round the roots of the 

 tall pine and cypress where he has been a 

 few hours employed ; the work of half a 



I dozen men, felling trees for a whole morning, 

 would scarcely exceed the pile he has pro- 

 , duced in quest of a single breakfast upon 

 [ those insect larvae which have already, per- 

 : haps, succeeded in deadening the tree pre- 

 I paratory to his repast. The plumage of this 

 I bird is black with a gloss of green : forepart 

 of the head black, the rest of the crest crim- 

 : son, with some white at the base : a stripe 

 ; of white proceeding from a little below the 

 eye, down each side of the neck, and along 

 the back nearly to the rump. Tail black, 

 tapering from the two exterior feathers, legs 

 lead colour. Bill an inch broad at the base, 

 channelled, and of the colour and consistence 

 of ivory. Tongue white : iris vivid yellow. 

 The female lays four or five white eggs, 

 which are generally deposited in a hole in 

 the trunk of a cypress tree. 



The BLACK WOODPECKER. (Picas [Dryo- 

 copus] martius.) Of all the species of Wood- 

 peckers known in Britain this is the largest 

 and the scarcest. It is about sixteen inches 

 in length; bill nearly two and a half, of a 

 horn colour, and pale yellow on the sides ; 

 the top of the head, occiput and moustaches 

 brilliant red ; face black, upper parts a beau- 

 tiful green ; tail shaded with brown and 

 striped transversely ; rump tinged with yel- 

 lowish ; quills brown, and all the rest of the 

 plumage dull black. The legs are lead gray, 

 having the fore part covered with feathers 

 half their length. The female differs from 

 the male, the hinder part of her head only 

 being red, and in some specimens the red is 

 entirely wanting ; the black parts of her plu- 

 mage are also duller. They form their nest 

 in the deep hollows of old trees, and lay two 

 or three white eggs. 



We have given descriptions of only three 



species of Woodpeckers, although the number 



is very considerable, and they are to be met 



with in each quarter of the globe. Among 



the Asiatic Woodpeckers may be named the 



species Picas squamatus and Picas occipitalis, 



I described by Mr. Gould ; among those of 



I Africa, Picas cafer, the head, belly, and rump 



j of which are yellow, and the upper coverts of 



I the tail orange ; and among those of Ame- 

 rica is the Gold-winged Woodpecker ( Colaptes 

 \ auratus), at once distinguished by the com- 

 parative slightness and length of its bill and 

 its beautifully varied plumage, part of the 

 quills being of a yellow colour, whence its 

 name ; another species is black and white 

 speckled or mottled " the finest," says 



Lawson, " I ever saw. The cock has a red 

 crown. He is not very wild, but will let 

 one come up to him ; then shifts on the 



OOLD-WINOKD WOODPECKER. 

 (COLAPTE8 ADRA.TtJ8.) 



other side of the tree from your sight ; and 

 so dodges you for a long time together. 

 This would seem to be the RED-IIKADED 

 WOODPECKER ( PICKS erythrocepfialus), of 



which the subjoined cut gives a very good 

 representation ; M. Malherbe of Metz has 

 made the extensive family of Woodpeckers a 

 particular object of study, and has described 

 many new species. 



WOOD-SWALLOW. (Artamus.) Seve- 

 ral species of this genus of birds are described 

 by Mr. Gould, in that magnificent work, 

 ' The Birds of Australia ; ' from his account 

 of one of which (A rtamus sordidus) we take 

 the liberty of making the following extract : 

 " This Wood-Swallow, besides being the 

 commonest species of the genus, must I think 

 be rendered a general favourite with the 

 Australians, not only from its singular and 

 pleasing actions, but by its often taking up 

 its abode and incubating near the houses ; 

 particularly such as are surrounded by pad- 

 docks and open pasture-lands skirted by 

 large trees. It was in such situations as 

 these in Van Diemen's Land, at the com- 

 mencement of spring, that I first had an 



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