36 
HAIRY WOODPECKER. 
hop about, and dig into the crevices of the tree. They inhabit 
the continent, from Hudson’s Bay to Carolina and Georgia. 
The Hairy Woodpecker is nine inches long, and fifteen in 
extent; crown black; line over and under the eye white; the eye 
is placed in a black line, that widens as it descends to the back; 
hind-head scarlet, sometimes intermixed with black; nostrils 
hid under remarkably thick, bushy, recumbent hairs or bristles; 
under the bill are certain long hairs thrown forward, and up- 
wards, as represented in the figure; bill a bluish horn colour, 
grooved, wedged at the end, straight, and about an inch and a 
quarter long; touches of black, proceeding from the lower man- 
dible, end in a broad black stripe, that joins the black on the 
shoulder; back black, divided by a broad lateral strip of white, 
the feathers composing which, are loose and unwebbed, resem- 
bling hairs, whence its name; rump and shoulders of the wing, 
black; wings black, tipped and spotted with white, three rows 
of spots being visible on the secondaries, and five on the pri- 
maries; greater wing-coverts also spotted with white; tail as in 
the others, cuneiform, consisting of ten strong-shafted and point- 
ed feathers, the four middle ones black, the next partially white, 
the two exterior ones white, tinged at the tip with a brownish 
burnt colour; tail-coverts black; whole lower side pure white; 
legs, feet and claws, light blue, the latter remarkably large and 
strong; inside of the mouth flesh coloured; tongue pointed, beset 
with barbs, and capable of being protruded more than an inch 
and a half; the os hyoides, in this species, pass on each side of 
the neck, ascend the scull, pass down toward the nostril, and 
are wound round the bone of the right eye, which projects con- 
siderably more than the left for its accommodation. The great 
mass of hairs, that cover the nostril, appears to be designed as 
a protection to the front of the head, when the bird is engaged 
in digging holes into the wood. The membrane, which encloses 
the brain, in this, as in all the other species of Woodpeckers, 
is also of extraordinary strength, no doubt to prevent any bad 
effects from violent concussion, while the bird is employed in 
digging for food. The female wants the red on the hind-head; 
