PICUS INSULARIS, Gould. 

 Formosan Spotted Woodpecker. 



Picus insularis, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc. 1862, p. 283.— Swinh. in Ibis, 1863, p. 390. 



During the progress of the present work, and that on the Birds of Great Britain, I have frequently had 

 occasion to mention the great similarity of the birds of China and Japan to those of Europe, and even to 

 those of the British Islands. In many instances the species are identically the same, even to the most minute 

 marking of a feather. From what we know of the ornithology of Formosa, on the other hand, it would seem 

 that few of our insessorial birds are represented in that island. Here, however, we have a bird nearly allied 

 to the Picus leuconotus of Europe and Siberia, but not so closely as to be confounded with it. Mr. Swinhoe, 

 who discovered this new bird, appears to have had but little opportunity of studying its habits and economy ; 

 for he has recorded less respecting it than he has done of most of his novelties. He merely says, " In this 

 we have a small but somewhat close ally of P. leuconotus, a bird found throughout Siberia and Northern Japan. 

 The species from the Formosan forests has, like it, a red crown in the male, and the lower part of the back 

 white." 



The male has the forehead crossed by a narrow band of buff; crown of the head scarlet; lores, cheeks, 

 sides of the neck, and throat white; a black line, commencing at the base of the lower mandible, passes 

 down between the ear-coverts and the throat, on to the sides of the chest, where it forms a broad patch ; 

 flanks buffy white, strongly striated with black ; lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts rosy scarlet ; 

 mantle, shoulders, upper tail-coverts, and four middle tail-feathers black ; centre of the back white, crossed 

 with irregular rays of black, as in P. leuconotus ; wings black, spotted with white on both webs of the feathers, 

 as in that species ; outer tail-feathers alternately barred with black and white ; " bill leaden grey, washed with 

 brown ; the gonys and apical fourth of the lower mandible light pinkish brown ; legs and claws deep leaden 

 grey, the latter with whitish bases." (Swinhoe.) 



The female is like the male in every respect, except in having a black instead of a red crown. 



" In the young bird the black is dull and brownish ; the light parts are whiter, and the crimson on the vent 

 and belly is very pale ; the white on the lateral tail-feathers is also somewhat differently distributed." (Swinhoe.) 



The figures represent the two sexes, of the size of life. 



