HAIRY WOODPECKER. 103 
straight, and about an inch and a quarter long; touches of black, 
proceeding from the lower mandible, end in a broad black strip that 
joins the black on the shoulder; back, black, divided by a broad, 
lateral strip of white, the feathers composing which are loose and 
unwebbed, resembling hairs, — whence its name ; rump and shoulders 
of the wing, black; wings, black, tipped and spotted with white, three 
rows of spots being visible on the secondaries, and five on the prima- 
ries; greater wing-coverts, also spotted with white; tail, as in the 
others, cuneiform, consisting of ten strong-shafted and pointed 
feathers, the four middle ones black, the next partially white, the two 
exterior ones white, tinged at the tip with a brownish burnt color; 
tail-coverts, black; whole lower side, pure white; legs, feet, and 
claws, light blue, the latter remarkably large and strong; inside of the 
mouth, flesh colored; tongue, pointed, beset with barbs, and capable 
of being protruded more than an inch and a half; the os hyoides, in 
this species, passes on each side of the neck, ascends the skull, passes 
down towards the nostril, and is wound round the bone of the right 
eye, which projects considerably more than the left for its accommoda- 
tion. The great mass of hairs, that cover the nostril, appears to be 
designed as a protection to the front of the head, when the bird is 
engaged in digging holes into the wood. The membrane which 
encloses the brain in this, as in all the other species of Woodpeckers, 
is also of extraordinary strength, no doubt to prevent any bad effects 
from violent concussion while the bird is employed in digging for 
food. The female wants the red on the hind head; and the white 
below is tinged with brownish. The manner of flight of these birds 
has been already described under a former species, as consisting of 
alternate risings and sinkings. The Hairy Woodpeckers generally 
utter a loud, tremulous scream as they set off, and when they alight. 
They are hard to kill; and, like the Red-headed Woodpecker, hang 
by the claws, even of a single foot, as long as a spark of life remains, 
before they drop. 
This species is common at Hudson’s Bay, and has lately been found 
in England.* Dr. Latham examined a pair which were shot near 
Halifax, in Yorkshire ; and, on comparing the male with one brought 
irom North America, could perceive no difference, but in a slight 
interruption of the red that marked the hind head of the former; a 
circumstance which J have frequently observed in our own. The two 
females corresponded exactly. 
* This, I believe, is a mistake ; and although this bird is beginning to creep into 
our fauna in the rank of an occasional visitant, I can find no authentic trace of 
the Hairy Woodpecker being ever killed in Great Britain. It is a bird belonging 
to a northern climate ; and although it closely resembles a native species, it can 
never be mistaken, with any ordinary examination or comparison. The Halifax in 
Yorkshire will turn out in reality the Halifax of the New World. — En. 
