37 



t)ut from the clefts of the bark by means of the 

 tongue, which is bony at the end, barbed, and fur- 

 nished with a curious apparatus of muscles for the 

 purpose of throwing it forward with great force. 

 They build in decaying and dead trees, which they 

 perforate with their hard, wedge-shaped bill. Their 

 feet are very strong, having the toes placed two be- 

 fore and two behind, and in climbing are assisted by 

 the strong pointed feathers of their tail : some of 

 them are found in England. There are upwards of 

 forty in this Case, in which are also a few of the 

 next genus in the Linncean arrangement, the Nuthatch 

 (Sitta), whose mode of life are much like the Wood- 

 pecker, from which they differ in having the toes 

 placed three before and one behind. 



KING-FISHER (ALCEDO). 



The birds of this family vary much in size ; some 

 of them are very splendid in their plumage, in which 

 bright blue is the colour that predominates in the 

 whole tribe. They mostly frequent rivers, and feed on 

 fish, which they catch with much dexterity : they 

 swallow their prey whole — their wings are short, yet 

 they tly with great swiftness. The only one found 

 in this country is the common King-fiahcr (Alcedo 

 Ispida). 



