CHAPTER XLVII. 



November 13 November 19. 



THE DOWNY WOODPECKER. 



Order Pici Family Picidse 



Genus Dryobates Species Dryobates pubescens 



Length 6.25 to 7.00; wing, 3.55 to 4.15 ; tail, 2.30 to 2.70. 

 Permanent resident. 



"Do you know a little bird that in mourning shades is dressed, 

 Black and white upon his wings, black and white upon his head 

 Underneath a bib of white on his pretty throat and breast; 

 While above upon his nape gleams a shining bow of red?" 



The downy woodpecker is the smallest of its family inhab- 

 iting the United States. As its name indicates it has a downy 

 coat. In appearance the sexes are alike, except that the female 

 has no red on the back of the head. The bill of the adult male 

 is of a bluish horn color, grooved, and wedge-formed like most 

 of his family ; tongue formed like that of the flicker, horny 

 towards the tip, where for one-eighth of an inch it is barbed ; 

 iris of the eye, hazel ; top of the head black ; across the back of 

 it is a red band ; over and underneath the eyes is a white stripe ; 

 extending around the head from eye to eye is a black band ; 

 wings black and spotted with white ; tail with recurved tips 

 feathers except outside ones, black and occasionally tipped 

 with white ; outer tail feathers white barred with black ; under 

 part of body white, slightly tinged with red ; tarsus, very short; 

 toes in pairs, two in front and two to the rear. 



The downy woodpecker is distributed over a large extent 

 of territory, but is a non-migrant. When once located it re- 



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