146 



PICUS. WOODPECKER. 



Generic Character. 



Rostrum polyedrum, rectum: 



apice cuneato. 

 Naves pennis setaceis recum- 



bentibus obtectae. 

 Lingua teres, lumbriciformis, 



longissima, mucronata, a- 



pice retrorsum aculeata se- 



tis. 



Pedes simplices, digitis duo- 

 bus anticis, duobus posticis. 



Beak many-sided, straight ; 

 wedge-shaped at the tip. 



Nostrils covered with seta- 

 ceous recumbent feathers. 



Tongue round, worm-shaped, 

 very long and slender, bony, 

 hard, and with a sharp 

 barbed point at the end. 



Feet simple, with two toes 

 before, and tw o behind. 



A HE birds of this genus climb trees, particularly 

 those that are decaying or dead, in search of the 

 insects and larvae which destroy the tree within, 

 and which are their natural food : they are un- 

 justly persecuted in many places on a supposition 

 that they are injurious to the trees, when in fact 

 they do good, by destroying those insects which 

 would otherwise increase so much as to cause the 

 trees' overthrow in a short time. Their beak is 

 large, strong, and well fitted for its employment, 

 being terminated in a sort of wedge, by which it 

 is enabled to pierce the bark of trees, and bore 

 into the solid wood. Its neck is short and thick, 

 and being furnished with very powerful muscles, 



