86 LESSEE SPOTTED WOODPECKEE. 



ceeds, first black and white, then black, ending in a triangular 

 black spot, the lower part of which shades off into dusky 

 shaft streaks; iris, red; the feathers around it are brownish 

 yellow: over it, and extending down the sides of the neck, 

 is a white streak; greyish brown bristles surround the parts 

 near the bill. Forehead, brownish yellow or greyish white; 

 head and crown, bright red, palest towards the front and 

 darker towards the nape; the sides are margined with black, 

 which, meeting behind, forms an irregular patch, pointing 

 downwards, and running into the black of the neck, (which 

 has a patch of white on the side,) nape, and back; the sides 

 of the head are white; chin, throat, and breast, dull white, 

 with a tinge of brown on the sides, the feathers brownish 

 black in the centre; back, white, barred across with black, 

 and black downwards. 



The wings expand to the width of one foot; underneath 

 they are greyish black, with white bars; greater wing coverts, 

 black, spotted with white; lesser wing coverts, black; prima- 

 ries, dull black; the first quill is very short, the third, fourth, 

 and fifth nearly equal, the fourth the longest in the wing, 

 the second and seventh the same length, nearly as short as 

 the first; the outer webs have angular spots of white, and 

 the inner webs rounded ones, almost forming white bars; 

 secondaries, dull black, very broad, and abruptly rounded; 

 tertiaries, dull black; greater and lesser under wing coverts, 

 white, with a few oval-shaped greyish black spots. The four 

 middle feathers of the tail are black, the two next have 

 white marks at the tip, the fourth is white, black at the 

 base and tip; the fifth white, with five black bars; the outer 

 black, with a white spot near the tip; underneath it is dull 

 black and yellowish white; upper tail coverts, black; under 

 tail coverts, spotted with dusky. Legs, lead-coloured, small, 

 and not robust; they are feathered two thirds of their length 

 down in front, and the remaining part is scaled; toes, lead- 

 colour, yellowish beneath; claws, lead-coloured, black at the 

 tips, short, weak, and dull. 



The female wants the red on the head, which is yellowish 

 white, and there is more white on the side of the head; the 

 black of her plumage is more dull than in the male, and the 

 white less pure. 



In the young bird, the red on the head, which is assumed 

 in the autumn, is at first interspersed with white; the iris 

 chesnut; the breast light chocolate- colour, with dusky streaks. 



