The WOODPECKERS (_Picida_), the last group of the tree-climbing races, possess a slender body and powerful peak, which is usually straight, conical, and furnished with a sharp ridge at its culmen. The short, strong feet turn inwards; the toes are long, and placed in pairs, the exterior pair being connected as far as the first joint; the hinder toe, which is the smallest of all, is so situated as to pair with the innermost and longest toe; in some instances this short fourth toe is but slightly developed, or entirely wanting; the claws are long, strong, very sharp, and much hooked. The wings are rounded, and of medium size; their ten primaries are narrow and pointed, whilst the secondaries (from nine to ten in number) are broader, but not much shorter, than the primary quills. Of these latter, the first is very small, those next in order graduated to the third or fourth, which is the longest. The very remarkable tail is formed of ten large and two small feathers. These latter are placed above instead of under the rest; the centre tail-feathers are the largest, and very stiff. The strangely constructed tongue, by the aid of which the Woodpeckers are enabled to capture the small insects upon which they in a great measure subsist, is sharp, barbed, pointed, and endued with a glutinous secretion, derived from glands situated in the throat, and communicating with the mouth by two long ducts, the glutinous coating being thus renewed every time the tongue is drawn within the bill. The plumage of these birds is thick; the feathers on the head (which in some species form a crest) are small and slender, whilst those on the hinder parts of the body are short and broad. The Woodpeckers inhabit the woods and forests of both hemispheres, and are especially numerous in warm latitudes. Fruits, seeds, and insects constitute their food, and in pursuit of the latter they exhibit wonderful dexterity--climbing with astonishing activity upon the trunks and branches of trees; and when, by tapping with their bills, a rotten place has been discovered, they dig at once vigorously in search of the grub or larvæ snugly embedded beneath the bark--thus rendering inestimable service to man, by destroying hosts of insects. The Woodpeckers both roost and breed in hollow trunks, or holes in trees, enlarged to the requisite size by the aid of their strong, sharp mandibles. The eggs, which are smooth, glossy, and white, vary considerably in number; they are deposited upon a bed of chips, or _débris_, placed at the bottom of the hole selected for their reception. * * * * *