PICID.E. 257 



As I said before it is not a very gay bird, the 

 colours of its plumage being confined to various 

 shades of brown, but these are so curiously inter- 

 mixed and blended together that when one examines 

 it closely one must consider it a very pretty bird. 

 The beak is brown ; the irides hazel ; the feathers 

 on the forehead and top of the head are greyish 

 brown, barred with dark reddish brown ; the sides of 

 the head and neck, as well as the back and scapulars, 

 are greyish brown, each feather having a dark streak 

 down the centre, which broadens into a sort of 

 arrow-head near the tip ; down the back of the neck 

 and middle of the back there is a streak of dark 

 umber-brown and reddish brown mixed, the wing- 

 coverts and tertials are darkish brown, spotted, and 

 the tertials also tipped with light greyish brown 

 there is a dark dusky streak in the centre of each 

 spot ; the primary and secondary quills have the 

 inner web a uniform dull brown, the outer web the 

 same, barred with light yellowish brown ; the tail- 

 feathers have two shades of greyish brown, much 

 freckled and slightly barred with dusky ; the throat 

 is buff, narrowly but regularly barred with very dark 

 brown, almost black ; the breast is much the same 

 as the back, but lighter ; the belly is a much lighter 

 bun 7 than the throat, almost white, barred with narrow 

 streaks of dark brown ; legs, toes and claws brown. 



The egg is white, much about the size of that of 

 the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. 



z 3 



