86 BIRDS OF THE PLAINS 



have to content myself with observing woodpeckers at 

 work ! There are few things more fascinating to watch 

 than an operation in which skill and brute force are 

 deftly combined. 



Even more useful than the beak as a weapon is the 

 woodpecker's tongue. This is such an important organ 

 that its owner is known in some parts of England as the 

 tongue bird. It is so long that there is a special 

 apparatus at the back of the bird's head for stowing it 

 away. Its surface is studded with backwardly pointing 

 bristles and the whole covered with sticky saliva. 

 When the woodpecker espies a crack in the bark it 

 inserts into it the long ribbon-like tongue. To this the 

 luckless insects stick and are ruthlessly dragged out to 

 their doom. 



The commonest woodpecker in India is the beautiful 

 golden-backed species (Brachypternus aurantius). The 

 head and crest of the cock are bright crimson, the 

 upper back is a beautiful golden yellow, hence the 

 popular name of the bird. The lower back and tail are 

 black ; the wing feathers are black and golden yellow, 

 spotted with white, and the sides of the head show a 

 white background on which there is a network of black 

 lines and streaks. 



The hen differs from the cock in having the top of 

 the head black with small white triangular spots. 



The golden-backed woodpecker is one of our noisiest 

 birds. It constantly utters its loud screaming call, which 

 is similar to that of the white-breasted kingfisher. Its 

 flight, like that of most, if not all woodpeckers, is labo- 

 rious and noisy, the whir of its wings being audible at a 



