THE DOWNY WOODPECKER. 251 



cuneate at the tip; mandibles of equal length, both nearly straight in their 

 dorsal outline, their sides convex; nostrils basal, oval, covered by recumbent 

 bristly feathers. Head of moderate size, neck of ordinary length, body 

 robust. Feet rather short, strong; tarsus strong, scutellate before; two toes 

 before and two behind, the inner hind toe shortest; claws strong, arched, 

 very acute. 



Plumage soft, with rather disunited barbs, slightly glossed; wings large, 

 the third and fourth quills longest; tail longish, cuneate, of ten tapering stiff 

 feathers, worn to a point. 



Bill bluish-black; iris dark red; feet bluish-green; claws light blue, black 

 at the end. The top of the head is black, as are a broad band behind the 

 eye, another below the cheek, as well as the shoulders, wings, and tail; there 

 is a bright red narrow band on the occiput. A band over the eye, and 

 meeting on the hind neck; another from the base of the upper mandible, 

 passing under the eye, and down the neck; six bars on the wings, and the 

 greater part of the middle of the back, together with the three lateral tail- 

 feathers on each side, white, the latter marked with black spots. The lower 

 parts in general are dull white. 



Length 6f inches; extent of wings 12; bill along the ridge |f; tarsus f. 



Adult Female. 



In the female, the red band on the head is wanting, the place occupied by 

 it in the male being white. The lower parts are brownish-white. 



In a male preserved in spirits, the width of the mouth is A\ twelfths, the 

 tongue is 8| twelfths long, its horny part 3^ twelfths, slender, tapering, flat 

 above, furnished on the edges with a single row of rather strong deflected 

 bristles, about 12 in number. The hyoid bones converge on the top of the 

 head as usual, but do not proceed farther forward than opposite the centre of 

 the eye, terminating at the distance of 4 twelfths from the base of the bill, in 

 which respect they contrast strongly with those of the Hairy Woodpecker. 

 The oesophagus is 2\ inches long, its width scarcely 1 twelfth, it being in its 

 contracted state narrower than the trachea; the proventriculus enlarges to 3 

 twelfths. The stomach is elliptical, 7-| twelfths long, 5^ twelfths in breadth, 

 its muscles well developed; the epithelium thin, tough, rugous, and of a 

 reddish-brown colour. It is filled with farinaceous vegetable substances of a 

 whitish colour. Intestine of moderate length, wide, 8 inches long, its width 

 at the upper part 2 twelfths. No coeca. Trachea 1 inch 5 twelfths long, its 

 breadth nearly 1 twelfth; its contractor muscles moderate; its rings about 

 50; the bronchial half rings 12. The salivary glands are of large size. 



