!U 



VEIITEBRATA. 



LOW-HELLIF.D WoonrECKEu, Sjtlnjrnpicns rarius ; Atlantic Ocean to Hooky Mountains, and in 

 Grcenhuiil. JIkd-tuhoatki) Wuunri:cKEii, )S'. nuchaUs ; liocky ^Mountains. IIed-gkeasted 

 Woodpecker, S. ruber ; I'acific slope of the United States. Williamson's AYoodpecker, S. 

 WiUiamsouii ; Rocky Mountains. Hed-ijellikd Woodpecker, Ccntitrvs CaroUnus ; Northern 

 America, from Atlantic to llocky Mountains. Yellow-bellied Woodpecker, C. Jlavivcntris ; 

 Rio (Jrandc Uo<Tion, in United States, and south into Mexico. Gila Woodpecker, C. tiropygi- 

 alls; Lower Colorado River of the West. California Woodpecker, Mdanerpcs formicivorzis ; 

 California and Northern Mexico. Lewis's AYoodpecker, M.torquatus; W'estern America. To 

 these may be added the Mdancrpes thijroidcus figured by Cassin, found in California and Mexico ; 

 and the Dnjotomus impcrialis of Gould, a splendid species, more than two feet long, and the 

 largest of known woodpeckers, also figured by Cassin; found in the forests whicli skirt the 

 mountains of Oregon, California, and Mexico. 



THE WRT-XECK. 



THE TUNCINJE OR "WRY-NECKS. 



This group includes only a few species : the Wry-Neck or Cuckoo's Mate, Yunx torquilla — 

 Torcol of the French — is the most noted ; it is a beautiful bird, though its colors are diff"ereut 

 shades of brown and gray ; its name is derived from its habit of twisting its neck about in various 

 directions, which has also given it the title of Snake-Bird. It is six inches long, and feeds largely 

 on ants, which it catches upon its glutinous and extensile tongue; it also eats elder-berries. It 

 makes its nest in a hollow of a tree, and lays about eight eggs. It inhabits Europe, Asia, and 

 Africa; it is easily tamed, and becomes a pleasing pet in confinement. 



THE PICULETS OR PICUMMN^. 



These are small birds, closely resembling the woodpeckers, nidifying in holes in trees, which 

 they excavate, and laying only two eggs : found in South America, India, and Asiatic islands. 



The Capitonince or Barbcts are placed in this connection by some naturalists, but we have 

 united them with the Bucconince. 



THE PSITTACIDJE OR PAEROTS. 



The general form of those birds may be stated as short, strong, and compact, but as deficient 

 in elegance, especially in the short and even-tailed species, in which the great bulk of the head and 

 bill seems disproportioned to the rest of the body. In the Parrakeets this disproportion is in a 

 great degree counteracted by the elongation of the tail, and many of them exhibit an elegance and 

 gracefulness of carriage surpassed by few other birds. The formation of the feet, which are sygo- 

 dactyle, or with the toes placed two forward and two backward, and in all but a few aberrant spe- 

 cies, expressly formed for firm prehension and climbing, evidently points to woods and forests a.s 



