226" THE WOODPECKER. 



tongue, with a sharp, stiff, bony horn at the end; their 

 legs, likewise, are short and strong ; two of their toes 

 stand backwards, and two forwards, which, as they live 

 upon insects, enables them easily to climb up trees. 



The green woodspite, or woodpecker, is about the 

 size of a jay ; the throat, breast, and belly are of a 

 pale green colour ; but the back, neck, and wings are 

 of a darker hue. As this bird feeds upon insects, the 

 tongue is peculiarly calculated for the destruction of 

 that tribe ; for the bony tip is dentated on both sides, 

 and it can dart it out at least four inches from the bill ; 

 when the insects become transfixed and drawn in by 

 its attractive power : by this means it contrives to rid 

 the tree of that which is calculated to obstruct its 

 growth. 



The woodpecker, however, does not confine its de- 

 predations solely to elevated bodies, but frequently 

 makes an attack upon the dwelling of the ant, when, 

 after making a hole with its beak, it stretches its tongue 

 into the hole, where it keeps it immoveably fixed until 

 it is completely covered with the desired food, when, 

 with a sudden jerk, it withdraws it, and at one mouth- 

 ful destroys some hundreds of lives. 



As this industrious little creature frequently makes 

 small holes in trees to search for the eggs of insects, it 

 forms large ones, for the purpose of hatching its young: 

 this abode is neither lined with feathers, grass, or 

 straw, but the eggs are deposited in the hole without 

 any thing to keep them warm, except the heat of the 

 parent's body. The woodpecker generally lays five or 

 six eggs, white, oblong, and of a middle size. 



In the warmer regions of Guinea and Brazil, the 

 woodpecker composes his nest of a fibrous kind of moss, 

 which it glues together by some viscous substance, ex- 



