216 



PEKCHING BIRDS. 



CHAPTER XI. 



The CLIMBING BIRDS The Woodpeckers Their habits and 

 haunts The Green, the Great, and the Lesser spotted 

 Woodpeckers The Green Woodpecker The Wryneck 

 The Nuthatch The Creeper Its diminutiveness, agility, 

 and hardihood The Cuckoo Its strange habit of deposit- 

 ing its egg in the nests of other birds * A Cuckoo carrying 

 her egg in her bill Unaccountable attachment of other 

 birds to the Cuckoo Its mode of hunting for food The 

 Bee eater The Hoopoe The Kingfisher" Halcyon days" 

 Parrots Account of Parrots at large in Norfolk 

 Curious anecdote of two Parrots in the Zoological Gardens. 



WE come next, -to the CLIMBERS ; i. e., birds which 

 are remarkable for their power of climbing; for 

 which purpose, most of them are "yoke-toed;" 

 /. e., have their toes arranged in pairs. 



The WOODPECKERS are a peculiar family, whose 

 habits are well known. They ar^e shy and retired 

 birds; living in or near woods, and concealing 

 themselves from view, by passing to the side of 

 the tree or branch opposite to the observer. They 

 search the bark of trees for insects, creeping, or 

 climbing along the trunk and stems. Their tongues 

 are capable of great elongation, and are baibed at 

 the end ; and they have a glutinous secretion in 



