WOODPECKER 
Woodpeckers are among the most useful 
of all the feathered tribe. By destroying 
the insects and worms which are so fatal 
to the growth of forest trees they do im- 
mense service. They should never be 
shot. The tongue of the Woodpecker is 
furnished at the end with spines, which 
curve backwards, and is pushed forwards 
and drawn back by a peculiar construction 
of tongue-bone. Their tail has ten pen 
feathers with stilf, elastic stems, and 
serves to aid them in climbing trees. 
They strike the bark with their beak, 
partly to frighten the insects from their 
