WOODPECKER, Picas, a Linnffian genus of birds, now divided into a number of gen era, and belonging to the family pickles, of the order scansores. The toes are in pairs, two before and two behind, with sharp strong claws; the bill is rather long. straight, and wedge-shaped, with a hai'd tip, the tip and sides compressed; the tairis usually lengthened and rigid, although in some it is short and rounded; the vertebrre of the neck are greatly developed, and the last of the caudal vertebr•e is very large, with a long ridge-like spinous proces; the whole structure adapting these birds to run and climb with the greatest facility on the stems and branches of trees, in which they aid themselves by the tail, like creepers (q.v.), and to seek their food, which consists chiefly of insects and their larvm, by digging into the bark and wood of trees with their bill. In addition to the particulars already noticed, they have the tongue fitted to serve as an important instrument in obtaining their food; the branches of the hyoid bone being greatly elongated backward, and in front moving as in a sheath; a peculiar arrange ment and development of muscles enabling them to extend the tongue far beyond the bill; its tip horny, and furnished with barbed filaments, while its surface is cov ered with a glutinous saliva, secreted by two large glands. Their powers of flight are very moderate, and the keel of the breast-bone is small. The barbels (q.v.) and wrynecks (q.v.) are referred to the family picidcs. Woodpeckers are diffused over almost all parts of tlie globe, but abound chiefly in warm countries. The species are very numerous. They are mostly solitary in their habits, and live in the depths of forests. They feed in part on fruits and seeds as well as on insects; but much of their time is spent in pur suit of these, and they may be heard at a considerable distance, tapping the wood of trees with their bill, to discover the place where an insect is lodged, and to get at it when discovered. The common notion, that they are very injurious to trees, is erroneous, as they do more good by preventing the ravages of insects than harm by their pecking. They stake out chips of wood with their strong bill, and in this way enlarge holes in J-Icayed parts of trees for a roosting-place or a nest, carrying away the chips to a dis tance, especially in the case of a nest, as if for precaution that it may not be discovered. The nest consists of a mere hole in a tree, perhaps with a few chips in the bottom of it, but with no other lining. The plumage of woodpeckers is generally of strongly con trasted colors, black and white, or green and yellow, with red marks about the head_ There are several well-marked groups of wood-peckers, form, plumage, and habits, which also are of different geographic distribution, some of them being entirely, and some chiefly, confined to particular parts of the world.
Only four species are found in Britain, and one of them, the GREAT BfacE WOOD PECKER (picas or dryocopus martius), is of rare occurrence. It is about sixteen inches long; black, with a red cap on the head. It is found in the pine-forests of many parts of Europe.—The GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER (P. major), also called FRENCH PIE and WOOD PIE, is not uncommon in some parts of England, but is rare in Scotland. It is
found on the continent of Europe from Norway to the Mediterranean. It is about nine inches and a half in length. The color is black, varied with white, the under parts grayish-white; the back of the head in the male bright scarlet. The LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER (P. minor) is not uncommon in the s. of England. Its whole length is about five inches and three-quarters. It is widely distributed in Europe and the n. of Asia. Its colors are similar to those of the last species, but differently arranged. It is frequently to be seen searching for insects on the moss-covered branches of orchard trees.—The most plentiful of all the British species of woodpecker is the GREEN Woon PECKER (picas or gecinus snridis). It is found in the wooded parts of Scotland as well as in England, but is rare' in Ireland. It is common on the continent of Europe from Scandinavia to the furthest south. It is about thirteen inches in length; and is mostly of a dark-green color, tinged with yellow; the feathers over the nostrils and round the eye, black; the crown and back of the head, bright scarlet, a black mustache extending back ward and downward from the base of the lower mandible, with a brilliant scarlet patch along the middle of it; the edges and tips of the wings spotted, black and white. It chiefly inhabits elm and ash trees, making its roosting-place and nest in them in the manuer already described. Among its popular English names are teoodspite, yaifie, ache tile, and 'wadi/wit. The green woodpecker belongs to a group or section of woodpeckers entirely confined to the old continent, and which are more frequently to be seen seeking their food on the ground than the more typical species. The American species of wood pecker are very numerous, and some of them, which want of space prevents us from describing, are among the best-known birds of the United States and Canada; as the HAIRY WOODPECKER (ptcus villosus), which is to be found at all seasons in woods, orchards, fields, and even in the midst of cities, visiting farm-yards in winter to pick up grain—a lively, noisy, and active bird; the IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER (Ficus or cam. pelpolalus principalis), which inhabits the southern parts of the United States and Mex ico: is called carpentero by the Spaniards, from the great quantity of chips which it makes; and is valued by the Indians for its ivory-like bill and scarlet crest, which they use as ornaments. The RED-HEADED WOODPECKER (piens or metanerpes erythrocephalus) is very common in anost parts of North America, and feeds much upon fruits and upon young heads of Indian corn, so that a reward is given for killing it. The largest species in the northern parts of America is the BLACK WOODPECKER, or LOG-COCK (picas or dryotomus pileatus), which is about eighteen inches long, the general color greenish-black, with stripes of white from the eyes along the neck and sidesa—The genus picumnus is the type of a group of pickles called piculets, very small birds, with bill hard at the tip, broad rounded wings, and a short tail with broad rounded feathers, not used for support, departing from the typical characters of the family. They inhabit tne warm South America, India, and the eastern.archipelago.