WOODPECKERS 
277 
Order — Piciformes. Woodpeckers, Toucans, etc. 
The world-wide order Piciformes is a rather heterogeneous division in- 
cluding numerous subdivisions, and there is little uniformity of opinion as 
to their exact relations. In Canada, there is only one family of the order 
- — Picidae , the woodpeckers. 
FAMILY PICIDAE. WOODPECKERS 
General Description. The Woodpeckers are an easily recognized family. They have 
either three or four toes ending in well-hooked claws for clinging to the rough bark of trees, 
and, as in the cuckoos, two are directed forward. In one group, the Three-toed Wood- 
peckers, one of the hind toes is absent (Figure 391c). The bill is straight, stout, and 
chisel-shaped at the tip (Figure 391a). The tail is well developed; not remarkably long, 
but stout, and ending in stiff bristles that are commonly worn and frayed by pressure 
against rough bark (tigure 391b). 
Distinctions. Feet, bill, and tail characters make reliable distinctions. 
Field Marks. Tree-climbing habits; and flight by series of quick wing-strokes with 
slight pauses between, causing a waved course like a succession of festoons. 
Nesting. In holes excavated in trees or stubs. 
The woodpeckers are well known for their ability to cling to per- 
pendicular or overhanging surfaces. The stout, chisel-shaped bill is 
admirably adapted to drilling into wood whence the larvae of borers or other 
insects are extracted. The tongue is long and extensible, and in most 
species furnished with a sharp point, armed with minute barbs to assist 
in holding the impaled prey and withdrawing it from the wood (Figure 
Figure 391 
Characteristic details of Woodpeckers. 
a, chisel-shaped bill. c, three-toed foot. e, tongue tip of sapsucker (greatly enlarged). 
b, stiff tail of pointed feathers, d, four-toed foot. f, tongue tip of typical woodpecker (greatly 
enlarged). 
