374 INSESSORES. PICUS. WOODPECKER. 



Nest &c. nest, but the eggs, four or five in number, and of a bluish- 

 white colour, are deposited on the bare wood, at the bottom 

 of the hole. 



PLATE 38. Fig. 1. natural size. 



General Base of the bill, nasal bristles, and region surrounding the 

 eyes, black. Crown of the head and moustaches arterial 

 blood-red ; the base of the feathers bluish-grey. Hind 

 part of the neck, upper part of the back, and wing- 

 coverts siskin-green, inclining to sap-green. Lower part 

 of the back and rump gamboge-yellow. Under parts 

 yellowish -grey, inclining to asparagus -green. Quills 

 barred with dusky black and yellowish-grey. Tail 

 barred with oil-green and blackish-brown. Irides grey- 

 ish-white. Bill bluish-black, two inches long, and wedge- 

 shaped. Tarsi and toes blackish-grey. Claws much 

 hooked, black. 

 The red upon the head of the female is not so bright, and 



the moustaches are generally black. 



The young birds, when they quit the nest, have the head 

 of a yellowish-grey colour, with a few red feathers in- 

 terspersed. The green of the upper parts is duller, and 

 varied with grey. The moustaches are also imperfect. 

 The lower parts yellowish-grey, with darker transverse 

 bars. The irides are bluish-grey. 



