RECEIVES his name from his habit of pecking the insects from the chinks of trees and holes in the bark. The bill is straight, strong, and angular at the end; and in most of the species is formed like a wedge, for the purpose of piercing the trees. The nostrils are covered with bristles. The tongue is slender, and cylindrical in shape, and to the touch is hard and bony. The Woodpecker, in common with the Humming Bird, though for a different object, possesses the remarkable property of being able to dart out its tongue and secure insects at a considerable distance from its beak. For the purpose of effectually capturing the stronger insects, the tongue is barbed at the end, and provided with glutinous secretion. The toes of this bird are placed two forward and two backward; and the tail consists of ten hard, stiff, and sharp-pointed feathers. A Woodpecker is often seen hanging by his claws, and resting upon his breast against the stem of a tree; when, after darting his beak against the bark, with great strength and noise, he runs round the tree with much alacrity, which manœuvre has made the country people suppose that he goes round to see whether he has not pierced the tree through, though the fact is, the bird is in search of the insects, which he hopes to have driven out by his blow. The following lines, from Moore’s beautiful song, allude to the noise which the Woodpecker makes in searching for its food: “I knew by the smoke that so gracefully curl’d Above the green elms, that a cottage was near, And I said, if there’s peace to be found in the world, A heart that was humble might hope for it here. Every leaf was at rest, and I heard not a sound, But the Woodpecker tapping the hollow beech-tree.” The fact is, that this beating against the bark is for no other purpose than to rouse the insects which the chink contains, and to force them to come out, which they do from their alarm at the noise, when the Woodpecker turning round takes them unawares, and feeds upon them: if the insects do not answer the delusive call, he darts his long tongue into the hole, and brings out, by this means, his reluctant prey. The plumage of this bird is a compound of red and green, two colours, the approximation of which is always productive of harmony in the works of nature. They nestle in the hollows of trees, where the female lays five or six whitish eggs, without making any nest, trusting to the natural heat of her body to hatch them.