262 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE. 



the larger or "hairy" being more than two inches 

 longer than the " downy ; " the average length of the 

 former being nine inches from tip of bill to end of 

 tail, while that of the latter is but six and a half 

 inches. Only when w r e have them in hand do we de- 

 tect any other difference than that of size. Then, by 

 spreading out the tail, we find its outer feathers to be 

 pure white in the " hairy," while in the " downy" they 

 are cross-barred with black near the tip. 



These birds were both first described by Linnaeus, 

 who gave to the larger one the name of Picus villosus 

 and to the smaller one that of Picas pubescens. The 

 word "Picus" means "woodpecker," while villosus and' 

 pubescens both mean "downy" or " covered with very 

 fine soft hairs." Later writers have divided up the 

 genus Picus and have assigned certain of its members 

 to other genera. Among these are the two species 

 now in hand which, with a few others not occurring 

 in Indiana, are placed in the genus Dryobates, which 

 means "oak walker." The common names "hairy" 

 and "downy," have evidently been derived from the 

 specific names, and signify no difference whatever in 

 the character of the plumage of the two birds. 



The hairy woodpecker, Dry abates villosus (L.), has 

 many local names in different parts of the country, 

 chief among which are the "Virginia 

 woodpecker," "big sapsucker," "big 

 spotted woodpecker," and "big guinea 

 woodpecker," the adjective "big*" being prefixed to 

 distinguish him from his smaller cousin which in color 

 he so closely resembles. 



He is less sociable than the "downy," frequenting 



