PICID>E — THE WOODPECKERS. 491 



Family FICIDiE. — Tiik WoonrKCKEns. 



Char. Outer toe turned backwards permanently, not versatile laterally, the basal 

 portion of the tongue capable of jjrcat protrusion. 



The preceding characters combined a]>pear to express the essential char- 

 acters of tlie Plcidcc. In addition, it ni.ay be stated tliat tlie tongue itself is 

 quite small, tlat, and short, acute and horny, usually sirmed along the edges 

 with recurved hooks. The horns of the liyoid apparatus are generally very 

 long, and curve round the back of the skull, frequently to the base of the 

 bill, playing in a sheath, when the tongue is thrown forward out of the 

 mouth to transfix an insect. 



There are twelve tail-feathers, of which the outer is, however, very small 

 and rudimentary (lying concealed between the outer and adjacent feathers), 

 so that only ten are usually counted. Tiie tail is uparly even, or cuneato, 

 never forked, the shafts very rigid in the true Woodpeckers ; soft in Piciimni- 

 vw and Yungina;. The outer primary is generally very short, or spurious, 

 but not wanting. The bill is chisel or wedge shaped, with sharp angles 

 and ridges and straight culmeu ; sometimes the culmen is a little cur\ed, 

 in which case it is smoother, and without the ridges. The tarsi in the North 

 American forms are covered with large plates anteriorly, posteriorly with 

 small ones, usually more or less polygonal. The claws are compressed, 

 much curved, very strong and acute. 



The Picidcv are found all over the world with the exception of Madagascar, 

 Australia, the Moluccas, and Polynesia. America is well provided with 

 tiiem, more than half of the described species belonging to the New World. 



The subfamilies of the Picii/w may be most easily distinguished as follows, 

 although other characters could readily be given : — 



Picinae. Tii.. feathers pointed, and lanceolate at end; the shafts very 

 ri^iil, thickened and elastic. 



Picumninse. Tail soft and short, about half the length oCwing ; the feath- 

 ers without stifTened shafts, rather narrow, linear, and rounded at end. 

 Tunginae. Tail soft and rather long, about three fourtho the length of 

 wing; the feathers broad, and obtusely rounded at end. 



Of these subfsimilies the Picina; alone occur north of Mexico. The 

 F«/iY/iHrt', to which the well-known Wryneck of England (Ji/nx torquiUa) 

 belongs, are exclusively Old World ; the Picumnincc belong principally to 

 the tropical regions of America, although a few species occur in Africa and 

 India. One species, Piciimnvs micromcf/as, Sundevall, belongs to St. Do- 

 mingo, although erroneously assigned to Brazil. This is the giant of the 

 group, being about the size of the Wliite-bellied Nuthatch {Sitta ('((ra/innisis) 

 the other species being mostly very diminutive, varying from three to fo. 

 inches in lenLith. 



