THE GOLDEN-BACKED WOOD- 
PECKER 
HE golden-backed woodpecker (Brachypter- 
nus aurvantius) is the only member of the 
Picide family I have seen within Madras 
municipal limits ; other woodpeckers may 
visit the city of Madras, but I have never seen them. 
If they do come at all, it is only at rare intervals; pos- 
sibly the profession tax keeps them at a distance. 
Brachypternus auvantius is in its way a handsome bird. 
Its figure, it is true, is not beautiful, being workmanlike 
rather than ornamental. Its plumage, however, is as 
gaudy as the illustrations in the “tuppence coloured ” 
picture-books of the Lord Mayor’s Show, which are 
hawked in the streets of London on the goth of No- 
vember. 
The cock bird has a crested head of the brightest 
crimson, The upper part of his back is rich golden 
yellow, which becomes olive-brown lower down, and 
black towards the tail. The wings are similarly coloured, 
except that the feathers are marked with large white 
spots. The sides of the head are white, relieved by 
bold black streaks, The breast and lower parts are 
black and white. 
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