HAIEY WOODPECKER. 89 



the orchard for breeding in, and even an old stake of the 

 fence, which they excavate for this purpose.' 



The eggs are white, five, or thereabouts, in number, and 

 are laid in June. 



Male; length, eight or nine inches; bill, bluish horn-colour, 

 straight, grooved, and wedged at the end; from its base a 

 white band passes under the eye, almost forming by a junction 

 a ring round the back of the neck; beneath it is a black 

 band; over the eye is a broad white band, and a black line 

 runs through it, widening as it descends; tufts of bristles, or 

 hair-like feathers, of a dull yellowish white colour, surround 

 the base of the bill. Head on the crown, black, behind 

 scarlet, sometimes with black intermixed; neck and nape, black; 

 chin, throat, and breast, white; back, above and below, black, 

 white on the middle; down its middle the feathers are loose, 

 webbed, and of a hairy appearance. 



The wings expand to the width of one foot three inches; 

 greater and lesser wing coverts, black, each feather with two 

 or three rounded white spots on the outer and inner webs; 

 primaries and secondaries, black, slightly tinged with brown, 

 with eight, (five on the former and three on the latter,) 

 well-defined, rather elongated spots of white on the outer 

 web, and rounded patches of white on the inner web, forming 

 eight distinct bands; the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth feathers 

 tipped on the outer web with white; shafts, black; the first 

 feather is very short, the second two inches longer than the 

 first, and one inch shorter than the third; third, fourth, fifth, 

 and sixth feathers nearly of equal length, but the fourth and 

 the fifth rather the longest in the wing. The tail, of ten 

 feathers, has the four middle feathers black, stiff, and pointed, 

 the next on each side black on the inner half, white on the 

 outer, most of the latter on the outer web, two outer feathers 

 on each side white, tipped with a brownish burnt colour; 

 upper tail coverts, black or greyish black ; under tail coverts, 

 white. Legs, toes, and claws, blackish blue, the latter are 

 very strong. 



The female is black on the back of the head, and the white 

 of the chin, throat, and breast is tinged with brown. 



