PICI.
Bill straight and strong ; feet strong, 2 toes in front and 2 behind (sometimes 3 toes, i behind 2 in front); affect forests or open country with old trees; nest in holes in trees ; eggs white.
Characters those of the Order.
Plumage more or less green ; tail feathers pointed and stiff for support in climbing; 4 toes ; neck thick.
4 Above green, crown and nape grey, most feathers with crimson tips, rump bright greenish yellow ; beneath paler green, cheeks black, rictal stripe crimson bordered with black, under tail coverts barred Bill dark blue pale below at base. and feet leaden 9 as d but rictal stripe black. d Y 165-172 (H.). Bill 40-45. are barred on underparts.
Resident—Scandinavia to near Arctic Circle, Baltic Provinces, N. and C. Russia east to River, N.E. Germany.
P. viridis virescens (Brehm). d 4 shorter, 155-165. Tarsus Bill 35-4o, also shorter.
Resident—Central Europe, east to Pomerania and Hungary, south to Alps and S. France, north to Holland and ; also and Wales, rare N. ; very rare Scotland and Ireland.
P. viridis pronus Hartert. Measurements as in "virescens" but bill weaker and thinner.
Resident.—S. Switzerland, Italy.
P. viridis sharpei (Saunders). Like "viridis" but cheeks in front of eye a black patch ; crimson malar stripe not bordered with black ; under tail coverts not .barred. j 9 Bill Resident.—C. and S. Spain, S. Portugal.
In N.W. Spain examples seem intermediate, always having some trace of black round malar stripe.
P. viridis saundersi (Taczanowski). Upper parts than in typical form ; bill sometimes entirely dark. 161-168 (H.). Resident.—Caucasus.
P. viridis dofleini Stresemann. Upper parts than in "virescens" and underparts paler ; as in "virescens." Resident.—Macedonia, Greece.
P. viridis romaniw Strcsemann. Underparts as in "dofleini," upper parts as in "virescens" ; as in latter. Resident. — R uman ia, Bukowina.
Pious vaillanti (1•'falherbe).
1)iffers from " viridis" as follows : d Crimson on crown bordered yellow behind, cheeks ; rictal stripe black in both sexes. In 9 crown only occiput crimson. 16o 170 (II.).
Resident.—Morucco, and Tunisia.
Picus canus canus Grnelin. Fr. Pic cendre ; Ger. Grau specht ; Ital. Picchio cenerino ; Swed. Graspett.
d Above green, yellowish on rump, forecrown crimson, occiput (streaked black) and neck grey ; lores and narrow rictal stripe black ; beneath pale green, throat still paler, under tail coverts slightly mottled dark brown. Bill dark horn, pale at base below. Legs and feet greenish grey. Wing ? 143-150. Tarsus 25-27. Gulmen 39-44 (H.). ? Crown all grey. Young like adult, but flanks barred dark brown and rictal stripe indistinct.
Europe from about Arctic Circle east to Urals, south to France, Switzerland, Italian Alps, Albania, Bulgaria and Turkey, in S. Russia to Caucasus and Astrakhan ; also in W. Persia.