THE PIGMY PTCULET. 



551 



The general colour of tins bird is brown on the upper parts of the body, spotted with 

 sulphur-yellow, a round mark of that tint being found on the end of each feather. The 

 head, chin, and part of the throat are black, and there is one white stripe behind the eye, 

 and another running from the angle of the mouth down the neck. The quill-feathers of 

 the wings are deep brown, edged with sulphur-yellow. The whole of the under surface 

 is yellow with a green tinge, and is profusely spotted with black. The total length of this 

 species rather exceeds seven inches. 



The Piculets seem to bear the same proportion to the Woodpeckers as the merlin 

 to the eagle, being about the size of sparrows, and more slenderly framed. Their bills are 

 shorter in proportion than those of the true woodpeckers, and are rather deeper than wide 

 at the base. Their wings are short and rounded, and their tails are also short. 



The Pigmy Piculet is a very 

 pretty example of this little sub- 

 family. It is a native of Southern 

 America, and is generally found 

 in the vast forests of that fertile 

 land. It is a lively little creature, 

 running quickly up the trunks 

 of trees after the manner of the 

 English creeper, but seldom ap- 

 pearing to use its tail in aid of 

 its progress, or to seek its food 

 on the tree-trunks in the usual 

 Woodpecker fashion. In general 

 it is seen among the branches, 

 where it sits across the boughs 

 when at rest, and hops quickly 

 from one branch to another while 

 searching after its food. 



It is not a gregarious bird, 

 being generally found either singly 

 or in pairs. The nest of this 

 species is made in hollow trees, 

 and its eggs are only two in 

 number. 



This species is a remarkably pretty one, elegant in shape and delicately coloured. 

 The general colour of the back and uppi r portions of the body is a very soft hair-brown, 

 and the wings are also brown, but of a deeper hue. Over the back are scattered a few 

 oval spots of a much lighter brown, each having a nearly black spot towards one end, and 

 contrasting in a very pleasing manner with the delicate brown of the back. The tail 

 is of the same dark brown as the wdngs, with the exception of the two central feathers, 

 which are of a light fawn. The most striking portion of this bird is the top of the head, 

 which is decorated with a bright scarlet crest-like crown, covered with velvety-black 

 dots. The rest of the head and the back of the neck are jetty black, interspersed with 

 white dots. The under surface of the body is pale brown variegated with the same 

 curious spots as those of the back. In size this bird hardly exceeds a wren. 



AVe now arrive at the true Woodpeckers, several species of which bird are familiar 

 from their frequent occurrence in this country. 



As is w^ell known, the name of Woodpecker is given to these birds from their habit of 

 pecking among the decaying wood of trees in order to feed upon the insects that are found 

 within. They also chip away the wood for the purpose of making the holes or tunnels 

 wherein their eggs are deposited. In order to enable them to perform these duties, the 

 structure of the ^^''oodpecker is very curiously modified. The feet are made extremely 

 powerful, and the claws are strong and sharply hooked, so that the bird can retain a firm 



PIGMY PICULET. — Picumiitis pyQimeus. 



