418 SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOO. AND THE WOODPECKERS. 



and legs dark gray, each scale being edged with a lighter tint. In size 

 it is rather superior to the common White Cockatoo. 



The species of Cockatoo which is most common in^ England is the 

 Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo, a representation of which will be found 



on page 415. 



This bird is an inhabitant of different parts of Australia, and is es- 

 pecially common in Van Piemen's Laud, where it may be found in 

 flocks of a thousand in number. Owing to the ease with which it is 

 obtained it is frequently brought to England, and is held in much es- 

 timation as a pet. 



The color of this species is white, with the exception of the crest, 

 which is of a bright sulphur-yellow, and the under surface of the wings 

 and the basal portions of the inner webs of the tail-feathers, which are 

 of the same color, but much paler in hue. The total length of this 

 species is about eighteen inches. 



We now take our leave of the Parrots, and come to a very interest- 

 ing family of scansorial birds, known popularly as Woodpeckers and 

 scientifically as Picidse. 



As is well known, the. name of Woodpecker is given to these birds 

 from their habit of pecking among the decaying wood of trees in order 

 to feed upon the insects that are found within. They also chip away 

 the wood for the purpose of making the holes or tunnels wherein their 

 eggs are deposited. In order to enable them to perform these duties, 

 the structure of the Woodpecker is very curiously modified. The feet 

 are extremely powerful, and the claws are strong and sharply hooked 

 so that the bird can retain a firm hold of the tree to w^hich it is cling- 

 ing while it works away at the bark or wood with its bill. The tail, 

 too, is furnished with very stiff and pointed feathers, which are pressed 

 against the bark, and form a kind of support on which the bird can 

 rest a large proportion of its weight. The breast-bone is not so prom- 

 inent as in the generality of flying birds, in order to enable the AVood- 

 peckerto press its breast closely to the tree, and the beak is long, strong, 

 and sharp. 



These modifications aid the bird in cutting away the wood, but there 

 is yet a provision needful to render the Woodpecker capable of seizing 

 the little insects on which it feeds, and which lurk in small holes and 

 crannies into which the beak of tlie Woodpecker could not penetrate. 

 This structure is shown when a Woodpecker's head is carefully dissect- 

 ed. The tongue or " hyoid " bones are greatly lengthened, and pass 

 over the top of the head, being fastened in the skull just above the 

 right nostril. These long, tendinous-looking bones are accompanied by 

 a narrow strip of muscle, by which they are moved. 



The tongue is furnished at the tip with a long horny appendage cov- 

 ered with barbs and sharply pointed at the extremity, so that the bird 



