154 



by the Sylvians, who search for their food by creeping about 

 among the leaves and flowers ; and the inner circle by the 

 Creepers and Tomtits, or Chickadees, that hunt the bark and 

 incrustations of the branches for their pr6y. Inside of this in- 

 terior circle is the space occupied by the Woodpeckers, who 

 live upon the larva which is concealed in the solid substance of 

 the wood and bark, and lies beyond the reach of the Creepers 

 and Chickadees, who cannot bore into the wood. Lastly, out- 

 side of the outer circle just described, is the space occupied by 

 the Swallows, who take all their food while it is afloat in the 

 atmosphere. 



The Woodpeckers have a long tongue of great flexibility 

 and a powerful beak. They have also a sagacious instinct that 

 directs them how to discover their prey, without the exercise 

 of their sight. They listen carefully for the scratching sounds 

 of the grub while it is gnawing the wood, and having deter- 

 mined its exact location, they hammer upon the spot with their 

 beak, seize their victim, and draw him out with their long 

 tongue. The old birds are said to teach their young the art of 

 hunting this larva, and nature has made them very easy learn- 

 ers. By the opposite arrangement of the fore and hind claws, 

 these birds are enabled to climb a tree in all directions in search 

 for their prey. 



Woodpeckers live mostly in the forest, of which they are the 

 natural guardians ; and as the food of their choice is nearly as 

 abundant in winter as in summer, they are not • generally mi- 

 gratory. Hence the operations of these birds are incessant 

 throughout the year. As their food is not anywhere very 

 abundant, like that of some of the granivorous birds. Wood- 

 peckers are never seen foraging in flocks. The more they 

 scatter themselves, the better is their fare. All birds that 

 assemble in dense flocks, except the aquatic tribes, are either 

 entirely granivorous, like Pigeons, or partially so, like Black- 

 birds. Woodpeckers are indefatigable devourers of emmets, 

 taking them not only from the surface, but also drawing them 

 and their larva out of the crevices of timber. It is hardly 



