Part 7

The THREE-TOED WOODPECKER (_Apternus tridactylus_), as the most striking of all the European members of this family is called, represents a group recognisable by their straight beak, which is broader than it is high, and equals the head in length. All the three toes are shorter than the tarsus; of these the outermost is the smallest, and the two others of equal length. In the wing the fourth quill is the longest. The centre feathers of the conical tail are furnished with very stiff shafts, and sharply pointed at their tip. The upper portions of the body are black, and the under side dirty white; the brow black, spotted white, and the crown of the head pale golden yellow. A white line, more or less marked with black, passes from the eyes to the middle of the back; the bridles and a second line that terminates at the throat are black; as are the markings on the sides of the belly. The quills and exterior tail-feathers are black, striped with white, and the centre tail-feathers entirely black. The eye is pearl-grey or silver-white, the beak light grey, tipped with black, and the foot dark grey. The female has the crown of the head spotted with white, instead of being yellow as in the male. The length of this species is nine and its breadth fourteen inches; the wing measures four inches and three-quarters, and the tail three inches and three-quarters.

It is at present undecided whether all such of these birds as inhabit Europe are to be regarded as identical; but if it be so the habitat of this species extends over a large portion of both the European and Asiatic continents. In the northern parts of Europe it is met with in the course of its wanderings as far north as sixty degrees north latitude, and is by no means rare; in Scandinavia, Finland, and Russia it is especially numerous, and in the country about the mouth of the Amoor is one of the commonest of birds. North America also possesses a deceptively similar or identical species. Everywhere it frequents well-wooded mountain regions, and closely resembles the Common Variegated Woodpecker in all the various particulars of its habits, movements, and means of subsistence. It is active and restless in its habits, and generally occupies the topmost branches of the trees. Its cry is loud and shrill, somewhat resembling that of some small quadruped when in great pain. Towards noon it is silent, and retires to rest in a quiet spot. Its rapid, gliding, and undulating flight is always accompanied by a succession of loud notes. The nest is usually from twenty to twenty-four inches deep, and is bored in the trunk of a sound tree. One brood of four to six pure white eggs is laid in the season.

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The GREEN WOODPECKERS (_Gecinus_) are readily known by the large size of their elongate body, their slightly conical and curved beak, and short powerful foot, furnished with four toes. The wing, in which the fourth and fifth quills are the longest, is rounded at its extremity, the tongue is of unusual length, and the plumage principally green, of a pale shade on the under side, and marked with undulating lines; the head is occasionally adorned with a brightly-coloured crest.

THE GREEN WOODPECKER.

The GREEN WOODPECKER (_Gecinus viridis_) is bright green on the upper portions of the body, and pale greyish green on the under side; the face is black, the top of the head and nape greyish blue, shaded with bright red; the wing is light yellow; a line on the cheeks of the male is red, in the female black. The quills are pale brownish black, spotted with yellowish or brownish white, and the tail-feathers pale greyish green, striped with black. The eye is blueish white, the beak dull grey tipped with black, and the foot greenish grey. The young are greyish green, spotted with white on the mantle, and whitish grey spotted with black on the under side; the eye is dark grey. The length of this bird is twelve and its breadth twenty inches; the wing measures seven and the tail four inches and a half.

The Green Woodpecker frequently seeks its insect food upon the ground. This species is met with over the whole of Europe; but though common in the wooded districts of England and Scotland, it is very rare in Ireland.

"Nature," says Mudie, in speaking of this species, "has appointed the Woodpeckers conservators of the wood of old trees, furnished them admirably for their office, and so formed their habits that an ancient tree is an Eden for them, fraught with safety, and redolent of fatness and plenty. So exquisitely are they fitted for their office that the several species vary in tint with the general colour of the trees that they select; if they exhibit an alternation of green moss, yellow lichen, and ruby-tinted cups, with here and there a spot of black, then this, the Green Woodpecker, comes in charge; but if they are covered with the black and white lichens of the Alpine forest, we may look for the spotted race upon the bark. When the renovation of the spring begins to be felt through all nature, the Woodpecker creeps from his hole and tries the trunk till he comes to a hollow place, and upon that he beats the drum in loud and rolling taps, but yet without in the least perforating the tree. The sound swells and sinks, hurries and lingers alternately, so that at a distance it resembles the sound of rustic glee heard through the woodland; if the Woodpecker's mate catches the sound she answers to it, the bargain is concluded, and the business of the season begins; if not, the male glides on to another tree, uttering his short cry, 'Plu-i, plu-i,' and again resumes his serenade. If there happen to be an odd bird in the forest, this call for a mate may occasionally be heard far into the summer. If the tree selected by a pair of Woodpeckers affords no natural hole for the purpose of nidification, they at once set about excavating one with their bills, working so fast that the strokes cannot be counted either by the eye or ear. They know the tree by the sound, and though they will cut through a few layers of perfect wood, they never mine into a tree unless it has begun to decay in the interior. Nature guides them to those trees where their labour is light and they have plenty to eat. In working they proceed as a mason does when he perforates a block of granite with a pointed pick, they thump away with so much rapidity and force that the timber is ground to powder, and they work in a circle no larger than will admit themselves. They generally burrow so deep that no spoiler can reach the eggs in their absence, and further security is afforded by the opening being in some hidden part of the tree. Materials are seldom carried into the nest, the bed for the reception of the little family being formed of the soft powder from the wood. The eggs, from five to seven in number, have a glossy white shell. The young are fledged in June, and creep about their native tree-hole for some time before they are able to fly."

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The CUCKOO WOODPECKERS (_Colaptes_) comprise several species at once recognisable by their decidedly curved beaks and variegated plumage.

THE GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER.

The GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER (_Colaptes auratus_) has a long, broad, curved beak, which is compressed at its tip; the tarsus is considerably longer than the exterior toe, and in the wing the fourth and fifth quills exceed the rest in length. All the shafts of the pinion and tail-feathers are bright yellow or red. Upon the back the plumage is of a dull reddish brown, striped with black; the head and nape are grey, the former adorned with a crescent-shaped scarlet patch; the rump is white; the upper tail-covers are yellowish white, the sides of the head and throat greyish red, and the bridles and a streak upon the lower throat black; the rest of the under side is white, spotted with black. The quills are sulphur-yellow, and the tail-feathers bright yellow, with dark tips. The female is without the black cheek-stripes. The body is twelve inches and a half long and sixteen broad; the wing measures six inches and the tail four inches and a half.

This species, which is common in all parts of the United States, where it is known by the name of the Flicker (that word being supposed to resemble its cry), has been described at great length by Audubon. "The flight of these birds," says that graphic writer, "is strong and prolonged; they propel themselves by numerous beats of the wings, with short intervals of sailing. Their migrations are carried on at night, as is known by their note and the whistling of their wings. When passing from one tree to another on wing, they fly in a straight line until when within a few yards of the spot where they intend to alight, when they suddenly raise themselves a few feet and fasten themselves to the bark by their claws and tail. If they intend to settle on a branch they do not previously rise; and in either case no sooner has the bird alighted than it nods its head and utters its well-known note, 'Flicker.' It usually moves sideways on a small branch, keeping itself erect; and with equal ease it climbs by leaps along the trunks of trees or their branches, descends and moves sideways or spirally, keeping at all times its head upward and its tail pressed against the bark as a support. On the ground it also hops with great ease. Insects, seeds, berries, and fruit of various kinds constitute the principal food of these Woodpeckers. No sooner has spring returned than their voice is heard from the tops of high, decayed trees. Their note at this period is merriment itself, as it simulates a prolonged and jovial laugh, heard at a considerable distance. Several males pursue a female, and, to show the force of their love, bow their heads, spread their tails, and move sidewise, backwards, forwards, performing such antics as might induce any one witnessing them to join his laugh to theirs. The female flies to another tree, where she is closely followed by half a dozen of these gay suitors, when again the same ceremony is gone through. No fighting occurs, no jealousy seems to exist among them until a marked preference is shown for one, when the rest proceed in search of another female. Each pair proceeds to excavate the trunk of a tree and make a hole large enough to contain themselves and their young; they both work with great industry and apparent pleasure. Should the male be employed the female keeps close to him, and seems to congratulate him on every chip he throws in the air. They caress each other on the branches, climb about and around the tree with delight, rattle with their bill against the top of the dead boughs, chase all their cousins, the Red-heads, defy the Purple Grakles to enter their nest, feed plentifully on insects, beetles, and larvæ, cackling at intervals, and ere a week be elapsed the female has laid four or five eggs, with a pure, white, transparent shell."

Their flesh is esteemed good by many sportsmen, and they are now and then exposed for sale in the markets of New York and Philadelphia.

THE RED-SHAFTED OR COPPER WOODPECKER.

The RED-SHAFTED or COPPER WOODPECKER (_Colaptes Mexicanus_), a very similar species, inhabiting the Southern States of North America, Texas, and Mexico, is of a light reddish brown on the top of the head and brow; the upper part of the back is greyish brown, with undulating black markings, and the lower portion white; the tail-feathers are greyish brown with bright orange shafts; the chin and throat are light reddish grey; the breast and belly somewhat deeper in shade, and spotted with black; the throat is encircled by a red collar, and the upper breast decorated with a black line; the chin is also indicated by a reddish line.

The manners of this species much resemble those of the species last described; it is, however, shyer in its habits, and but rarely comes to the ground. In the breeding season the male birds display considerable animosity towards each other, and constantly utter a note resembling the word "Whitto, whitto, whitto." The nest is made in a tree-trunk, and it is not uncommon to hear the eager active couple hammering and bumping away like carpenters until a late hour in the evening. The eggs have a pure white shell.

THE FIELD WOODPECKER.

The FIELD WOODPECKER (_Geocolaptes campestris_) is an inhabitant of the South American prairies, and represents a group that, unlike those already described, seek their principal food, not upon the trunks of trees, but from the surface of the ground. The Field Woodpecker possesses a slightly-curved bill, of about the same length as the head; its wings are long, pointed, and powerful, their fourth quill longer than the rest; the strong tail is pointed, and the slender foot furnished with very delicate toes. The variegated plumage is not very brightly tinted; the crown of the head and neck are black; the cheeks, throat, and upper breast golden yellow; the back and wings pale yellow, striped with blackish brown; the lower portion of the back, the breast, and belly are whitish yellow, each feather having black markings; the quills are greyish brown, with gold-coloured shafts, the primaries striped with white on the inner web, and the secondaries on both webs. The tail-feathers are blackish brown, those at the exterior streaked with yellow on the outer, and those in the centre on the inner web. The female is somewhat paler in hue than her mate. The eye is bright red, the beak blackish grey, and the foot dull grey.

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The SOFT-TAILED WOODPECKERS (_Picumnus_) constitute a group of very small birds, with long, straight, conical beaks, which are pointed at the tip. The shape of the leg and claw resembles that of the True Woodpecker. The short wings, in which the fourth and fifth quills are the longest, are very blunt and rounded; the tail is composed of twelve soft, rounded feathers, the outermost of which are very short; the plumage is soft, and its feathers few and of unusual size. Most of these birds inhabit South America; Africa possesses one and India three species. We are almost entirely without reliable particulars as to their habits.

THE DWARF WOODPECKER.

The DWARF WOODPECKER (_Picumnus minutus_) is greyish brown on the mantle; the under side is white, streaked with black; the crown of the head is black, delicately sprinkled with white; the brow of the male is red, that of the female is of the same colour as the rest of the head; and the blackish brown quills are edged with yellow. The tail-feathers are black; those at the exterior have a broad white stripe on the outer, and those in the centre on the inner web. The eye is greyish brown, the beak lead-colour at its base and blackish at the culmen and tip, the foot is lead-grey. This small bird is only three inches and seven lines long and six inches broad; the wing measures one inch and ten lines, and the tail one inch. The Dwarf Woodpecker is met with in all the wooded tracts of coast from Guiana to Paraguay, and is frequently seen in the immediate vicinity of the houses. In summer it lives in pairs, in winter in small parties, that fly to a considerable distance over the surrounding coast.

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The WRY-NECKS (_Yunx_) inhabit the Eastern Hemisphere, and are recognisable by their slender body, long neck, small head, short blunt wing, in which the third quill is the longest, and a broad soft tail of moderate size. The short, straight, conical beak is pointed, and but slightly compressed at its sides; the foot is furnished with four toes placed in pairs; the plumage lax and soft, and the very protrusile tongue of thread-like tenuity.

THE WRY-NECK.

The WRY-NECK (_Yunx torquilla_) is of a light grey on the upper portion of its body, marked and spotted with a deeper shade; the under side is white, sparsely sprinkled with dark triangular spots; the entire throat is yellow, with undulating markings; a black line passes from the crown of the head to the lower part of the back, and the mantle is decorated with numerous black and brown spots of various shades; the quills are striped with reddish and blackish brown; the tail-feathers are sprinkled with black, and relieved by five narrow, curved stripes; the eye is yellowish brown; the beak and legs greenish yellow. In the young the coloration is paler and the markings less delicate than in the adults; their eye is greyish brown. This species is seven inches long and eleven broad; the wing measures three inches and one-third, and the tail two inches and a half. The actual habitat of the Wry-neck appears to be the central parts of Europe and Asia. In a northerly direction it is found as far as Scandinavia, and during its migrations often wanders as far as Egypt and Eastern Soudan. Jerdon tells us that it is met with throughout all parts of India during the winter.

The Wry-neck, so called from its strange manner of turning its head, so as to give its neck a twisted appearance, is commonly met with in England, but is rare in Scotland, and, according to Yarrell, has not been met with in Ireland. This species usually resorts to woodland districts, fields, and gardens. "When found in its retreat in the hole of a tree," says the last-mentioned writer, "it makes a loud hissing noise, sets up an elongated crest, and writhing its body and head towards each shoulder alternately, with grotesque contortions, becomes an object of terror to a timid intruder; and the bird, taking advantage of a moment of indecision, darts with the rapidity of lightning from a situation whence escape seemed impossible." Caterpillars and various insects, especially ants, constitute the principal food of these birds. Bechstein states that they will eat elder-berries. The young are easily tamed; and in France are often taken from one tree to another, with a string fastened round the leg, to search the bark for insects.

Colonel Montague thus describes the manner in which a female of this species that he had tamed took its food:--"A quantity of mould with emmets and their eggs was given to it; and it was curious to observe the tongue darted forth and retracted with such velocity and such unerring aim that it never returned without an ant or an egg adhering to it, not transfixed by the horny points, but retained by a peculiar tenacious moisture provided for that purpose. While feeding, the body is kept motionless, only the head being turned from side to side; and the motion of the tongue is so rapid that an ant's egg, which is of a light colour, and therefore more conspicuous than the tongue, has the appearance of moving to the mouth by attraction, as the needle flies to the magnet. The bill is rarely used, except to remove the mould, in order to get more rapidly at the insects where the earth is hollow. The tongue is thrust into all the cavities to rouse the ants, and for this purpose the horny appendage is extremely serviceable as a guide to the tongue."

The following interesting account of an attempt to drive a pair of these birds from the nesting-place they had selected is given by Mr. Salmon, in the _Magazine of Natural History:_--"I wished to obtain the eggs of the Wry-neck to place in my cabinet, and accordingly watched a pair very closely that had resorted to a garden in the village for the purpose of incubation. I soon ascertained that they had selected a hole in a decayed apple-tree for that purpose, the entrance to which was so small as not to admit my hand. The tree being hollow and decayed near the ground, I reached the nest by putting my arm upwards, and I found on withdrawing the nest that the underneath part of it was composed of moss and hair, having every appearance of being the deserted home of a Redstart; the upper part was made of dry roots. The nest did not contain any eggs, and I returned it by thrusting it up inside the tree. On passing the same way a week afterwards my attention was arrested by observing one of the birds leaving the hole; upon which I gently withdrew the nest, and was gratified to find it contained five most beautifully glossy eggs, the shells of which were perfectly white, and so transparent that the yolks shone through, giving them a delicate pink hue. I replaced the nest and visited it during the ensuing weeks, when, to my astonishment, I found that the birds had not deserted the hole, but the female had six eggs more, which I obtained by thrusting the nest up the tree. Next week I again visited the spot, and found that they still pertinaciously adhered to their domicile, having further laid four eggs more. I repeated the experiment, but not having an opportunity of revisiting the spot until ten days after, I thought at the time that the nest was abandoned, and was not undeceived till I again withdrew the nest, having taken the precaution of endeavouring to frighten off the old bird should she be within, which I found was the case; nevertheless she suffered me to pull the nest to the bottom of the tree before she attempted to escape. There were seven eggs slightly sat upon. It seems to me very extraordinary that the female should allow her nest to be disturbed five times, and the eggs (amounting to twenty-two) to be taken away at different periods within the month, before she finally abandoned the spot she had selected."

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HUMMING BIRDS.

THE HUMMING BIRDS (_Stridor_), a family of most beautiful and fairy-like beings, inhabiting the Western Hemisphere, comprise some of the smallest members of the feathered creation. In these birds the beak is generally long, slender, straight, or curved, usually round, and sharp at the tip; the nostrils are basal, and covered with a large scale; the wings and tail are very variously formed, the latter being always composed of ten feathers; the very short tarsi are most delicately constructed; the long slender toes are covered with small scales, and either partially united or completely free from each other; the sharp-pointed claws frequently exceed the toes in length. The glorious plumage possessed by the members of this most attractive family has been enthusiastically described by many writers, but never more eloquently than by Buffon. "Of all animated beings," says that naturalist, "the Humming Bird is the most elegant in form and brilliant in colour. The stones and metals polished by art are not comparable to this gem of nature; she has placed it in the order of birds, but amongst the tiniest of the race--_maxime miranda in minimis_--she has loaded it with all the gifts of which she has only imparted a share to other birds--agility, nimbleness, grace, and rich attire, all belong to this little favourite. The emerald, the ruby, and the topaz glitter in her garb, which is never soiled with the dirt of earth, for, leading an aërial life, it rarely touches the turf even for an instant. Always in the air, flying from flower to flower, it shares their freshness and their splendour, imbibes their nectar, and only inhabits those climes in which they are unceasingly renewed. The Humming Bird seems to follow the sun, to advance, to retire with him, and to fly on the wings of the wind in pursuit of an eternal spring."