374 



LAND BIRDS 



way, and the parent, inserting his long bill into the open 

 mouth of a youngling, shakes it vigorously, thereby emp- 

 tying the food from his throat into that of his offspring. 

 Each in turn is fed in this odd fashion. 



The newly hatched Pileated Woodpeckers are even 

 homelier than young flickers. They have the same ball- 

 shaped body with long, help- 

 lessly weak legs set very far 

 back on it, and two long 

 appendages that look like fat 

 earthworms rather than 

 like wings. Their in- 



405 a. Northern 

 Pileated Wood 

 pecker. 



"After a few trials he 

 learns to hammer right 

 merrily. 1 ' 



ordinately 

 long necks 

 end in a giraffe- 

 like head with 

 sightless eyes, 

 large ear-holes, 

 and a grotesque bill in which the lower mandible pro- 

 jects beyond the upper. They roll helplessly about, 

 unable to squat on account of their round bodies, and 

 unable to steady themselves with either their legs or 

 wings; their chief means of support being the neck, 

 which braces itself by the head as well as it may. 



If a finger be offered to their open mouths, they swal- 

 low two inches of it, eagerly sucking on it with surprising 

 strength. 



