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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1850 Excerpt:... as the old birds do not supply them with all the food they can devour, they are continually chirping, and may be discovered by their noise. THE COMMON GREEN WOODPECKER (Picus viridis) 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 s with bristles. The tongue is very long, slender, cylindrical, bony, hard, and jagged at the end. The toes 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 great alacrity, which manoeuvre 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 sou nd, 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 turn...