164 PICIDJ3. 



of black ; upper surface of the tail-feathers mottled with 

 grey and brown, and marked with four irregularly trans- 

 verse bars of black ; chin, throat, ear-coverts, and neck in 

 front, pale yellow brown, with narrow transverse black lines; 

 breast, belly, sides, and under tail-coverts, dull white, 

 tinged with pale yellow brown, and spotted with black ; 

 under surface of tail-feathers pale greyish brown, speckled 

 and barred with black ; legs, toes, and claws, brown. 



The whole length of the bird seven inches. From the 

 carpal joint to the end of the wing, three inches and one 

 quarter ; the first and third quill-feathers nearly equal in 

 length, longer than the fourth, but a little shorter than the 

 second, which is the longest in the wing. 



The female is rather larger than the male, and the 

 colours of her plumage are less pure and bright. M. Tem- 

 minck says the dark band on the neck and back is shorter. 



The vignette here inserted represents the foot and the 

 head of the Wryneck, both of the natural size ; the foot, 

 as referred to in the generic characters, the head as de- 

 scribed at page 1 60. Of the two small thread-like muscles 

 seen at the throat on the side of the windpipe, one, with 

 its fellow on the other side of the neck, belongs to the 

 trachea itself; the other assists in drawing the tongue back 

 into the mouth after it has been thrust forward. 



