&2 DOWNY WOODPECKER.
at all times lively and happy. Their shrill rolling notes are heard at a
considerable distance, as well as those which they use when calling to
each other. Their food, during summer, consists of insects and their
larvae; but, at the approach of autumn, they feed on fruits of various
kinds, especially small grapes, and the berries of the poke-weed. The
extensile portion of the tongue of this species, as well as of Picus varius,
P. villosus, and P. querulus, is cylindrical or vermiform, while the extremity,
or tongue itself, is linear, flat above, convex beneath, with projecting
edges which are serrated backwards, the tip pointed.
The flight of the Downy Woodpecker, like that of the other species,
is performed by glidings and undulations, between each of which it utters
a single click note; and, although usually short, is capable, on occasion,
of being protracted. The bird is by no means shy or suspicious, and
scarcely pays any attention to man, even when standing close to the tree
on which it is at work. Towards winter many individuals migrate southward,
and spend their time in the immediate neighbourhood of the planter's
dwelling.
I have observed that during their stay in the Floridas, Georgia, and
the Carolinas, their breast and belly are so soiled by the carbonaceous
matter adhering to the trees, in consequence of the burning of the grass
at that season, that one might be apt to take a specimen in that state, as
belonging to a different species.
Picus PUBESCENS, Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 175. Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds
of the United States, p. 46. Nuttall, Manual, part i. p. 576.
DOWNY WOODPECKER, PICUS PUBESCENS, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. i. p. 153. pi. 9.
fig. 4.
Adult Male. Plate CXII. Fig. 1.
Bill longish, straight, strong, tapering, compressed, slightly truncated
and cuneate at the tip; mandibles of equal length, both nearly straight in
their dorsal outline, their sides convex; nostrils basal, oval, covered by
recumbent bristly feathers. Head of moderate size, neck of ordinary
length, body robust. Feet rather short, strong; tarsus strong, scutellate
before; two toes before and two behind, the inner hind toe shortest;
claws strong, arched, very acute.
Plumage soft, with rather disunited barbs, slightly glossed; wings
.large, the third and fourth quills longest; tail longish, cuneate, of ten
tapering stiff feathers, worn to a point.
DOWNY WOODPECKER. 83
Bill bluish-black; iris dark red; feet bluish-green; claws light blue,
black at the end. The top of the head is black, as are a broad band behind
the eye, another below the cheek, as well as the shoulders, wings, and tail;
there is a bright red narrow band on the occiput. A band over the eye, and
meeting on the hind neck ; another from the base of the upper mandible,
passing under the eye, and down the neck; six bars on the wings, and the
greater part of the middle of the back, together with the three lateral
tail-feathers on each side, white, the latter marked with black spots. The
lower parts in general are dull white.
Length 6 J- inches, extent of wings 12; bill along the ridge {§;
Adult Female. Plate CXII. Fig. 2.
In the female, the red band on the head is wanting, the place occupied
by it in the male being white. The lower parts are brownish-white.
THE RAMPING TRUMPET-FLOWER.
BIGNONIA CAPREOLATA. See vol. i. p. 334.
This species is met with only in the Southern Districts. It is rather
rare in Louisiana, but abounds in Georgia, Alabama, and the Floridas.
The flowers are destitute of odour. Humming-birds delight to search
for food in them, as well as in those of other species of the genus.