292 
RED-SIIAFTED WOODPECKER. 
1, 1836,” is similar to the female as above described, but -has the lower 
surface of the wings and tail, with the shafts, of a much paler tint, approach 
ing to dull yellow, which induces me to think that this species does not 
attain its perfect colouring until at least the second year. 
Length to end of tail 13 inches, bill along the ridge l, 4 ^. 
FAMILY XXVII. — CU CULINiE. CUCKOOS. 
Bill long or of moderate length, broader than high at the base, compressed 
toward the end, straight or somewhat arched ; upper mandible with the 
dorsal line convex or arched, the ridge indistinct, the sides convex, the edges 
arched, sharp, without notch, the tip decurved ; lower mandible with the 
angle rather short, the dorsal line straight or decurved, the ridge thin, the 
sides erect or convex, the tip slightly decurved, acute. Nostrils basal, 
oblong, generally marginate. Head of moderate size ; neck of ordinary 
length ; body rather slender. Feet of moderate length ; tarsus with broad 
scutella ; toes long, slender, flat beneath, outer directed outwards or back 
wards. Claws long or of moderate length, arched, compressed, acute. 
Plumage blended ; wings generally long, with the first quill short, the third 
and fourth longest. Tail long, of ten feathers; upper mandible very narrow 
beneath, -with three longitudinal ridges ; tongue slender, emarginate, and 
papillate at the base, the tip horny, thin, lacerated, and slit ; oesophagus 
rather wide, without dilatation ; stomach large, round, with the muscular 
coat very thin, the epithelium soft, rugous ; intestine of moderate length 
and width ; coeca long, oblong, narrowed at the base. Trachea simple, with 
a single very slender pair of inferior laryngeal muscles. 
