THE BIRDS 221 
(Conurus carolinensis), we next arrive at the cuckoos and 
kingfishers, which differ widely in their habits. The black- 
or yellow-billed cuckoos or rain-crows are shy, retiring 
birds, with drab plumage, and though seldom seen are often 
fairly abundant, and are of much service in destroying 
insects. Unlike their shiftless European relatives, which 
lay their eggs in the nests of others birds, they build their 
own airy homes in some bush or hedgerow, and raise their 
brood with tender care. The belted kingfisher (Ceryle 
alcyon) is also of a retiring disposition, and spends much 
of its time on some branch overlooking the water, occa- 
sionally varying the monotony by dashing after a fish, or 
flying with rattling cry to another locality. Their nests 
are built in holes in banks, and six or eight young are 
annually reared. 
208. The woodpeckers (Pici)—The woodpeckers are 
widely distributed throughout the world, and are preemi- 
nently fitted for an arboreal life. The beak is stout for 
chiseling open the burrows of wood-boring insects, which are 
extracted by the long and greatly protrusible tongue. The 
feet, with two toes directed forward and two backward, are 
adapted for clinging, and the stiff feathers of the tail serve 
to support the bird when resting. Almost all are bright- 
colored, with red spots on the head, at least in the males, 
which may further attract their mates by beating a lively 
tattoo with their beaks on some dry limb. The glossy 
white eggs are laid in holes in trees, and both parents are 
said to share the duties of incubation and feeding the 
young. Among the more abundant and well-known species 
is the yellowhammer or flicker (Colaptes auratus), which 
extends throughout the United States. Somewhat less 
widely distributed is the red-headed woodpecker (Melaner- 
pes erythrocephalus), and the small black-and-white downy 
woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens). This is often called 
sapsucker, but incorrectly so, as, like all but one of our other 
woodpeckers it feeds on insects. The yellow-bellied wood- 
