The family name of Goatsuckers was given to the birds from the foolish notion that they took milk from the goats. By watching them, it has been found that when they are so busy around the goats or cattle, they are really catching the insects which torment them. So they are doing a kindness to the beasts, instead of an injury. FOOTNOTE: [22] See Appendix, 21. XXIX THE WOODPECKER FAMILY (_Picidæ_)[23] YOU may generally know a woodpecker the moment you see him on a tree. He will--if he follows woodpecker fashions--be clinging to the trunk, or a big branch, propped up by his stiff tail, and not perched crosswise like most other birds. There are a good many of this family in the world. We have twenty-four species in North America. They differ from other birds in two or three ways. First their toes are always in pairs, two turned forward and two turned backward, except in one genus, which has but three toes. So they can hold on better than anybody else. Then again the tails of woodpeckers are not like most birds' tails. They are strong and stiff, so that they can be used as props to hold the bird in the queer position he likes so well. Oddest of all are the woodpecker tongues. They are round, worm-shaped it is called, and except in the genus of sapsuckers, very long. They can be pushed out far beyond the end of the beak. That is so that they can reach into a deep hole for the insects they eat. They have little barbs or sharp points on the tip, to catch their prey, and they are sticky besides. The tongue of the sapsucker has a brush at the end and is not barbed. One of the most notable things about a woodpecker is his bill, which he uses as a drill and also to drum with. Woodpeckers are made to take care of the large limbs and trunks of trees, to get out from under the bark the grubs which would kill them. They are perfectly fitted for the work. As you learn more about birds and beasts, you will see that every one is exactly fitted for his work in life. A worm is as well fitted to be a worm as a bird is to be a bird. How this came to be so has long been a study of the wise men, and they have not found out all about it yet. The largest of this family that is common is the GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER, or FLICKER. He is as large as a pigeon. In the Eastern States is the golden-wing, in the West and California the red-shafted, who differs merely in the dress. The gold-winged woodpecker has a brown back with black bars, and a light breast with heavy black spots. His wings and tail are yellow on the inside. He has a bright red collar on the back of his neck, a heavy black crescent on his breast, and black cheek patches or bars running down from the corners of his mouth.