F emale.
the head is crimfon, fpotted with brown black: Tides of the head
blackifh : on the lower jaw a fpot of red: the upper parts of the
body are of an olive green, towards the rump greatly verging to
yellow: quills dulky, fpotted with- whitilh; the under parts
greenilh white, or very pale green : tail barred, dulky and,
greenilh : all except the outer ones black at the end : legs
greenilh alh.
The female, differs from the male in wanting the red-mark on
the lower jaw. Willughby * fays, it lays five or fix eggs j which
Pennant f obferves alfo, and fays, that they are of a beautiful fe-
mi-tranfparent white. . V
Thefe birds fometimes build in a hollow- afp, or other tree, fifteen
or twenty feet from the ground. The male and female take it by
turns to bore through the living part of the wood, till they come
to the rotten part, wherein, after being hollowed out to a proper
depth, they lay their eggs J, which are generally five, and fometimes
fix || in number, greenilh, with fmall black lpots. The
young ones climb up and down the trees before they can fly. It
is worthy remark, to obferve with what nicety the holes of the
"Woodpecker are made, as perfectly round as if made by the af-
fiftance of a pair of compaffes. Nuthatches, Starlings, and Bats,
frequently build in thefe holes when deferted.
* 'Or», p. t$ 6 .
• + Br. Zool. p. 24.2. where Tome pertinent obfervations on thefe birds may be
found. Let the reader alfo'confuit Ray on the-Creation, p. 143. and Derbam’z
P/pfaMbeol. p. 193, 339, 342. . t
I This is fometimes fo deep that they muft feed their young quite in tne
dark ; for I have been told by one, that he was obliged to thruft his whole'arm
to the Ihoulder down the hollow of a tree, before he could reach the eggs.
II “ I have feen fix young ones together in one neft.” Will. orn. p. 136.
Both
Both Fnfchzod Klein mi&ske in faying that the females have
not the red crown, for even the young ones in the neft have the
appearance of i t ; and I have had them brought to me when they
could fcarcely fly, when the red was mixed with brown; but they
do not become of a full red" till after the firft moult. They are
faid to be fond of bees in winter, making great havock among
them. Salerne * obferves, that they are found in the markets in
Italy, at Bologna; but this is not extraordinary, for the Italians
eat all fmall birds almoft without exception.
In Sir A. Lever's Mufeum there is a variety of this bird, o f a - Variett.
ftraw-colour throughout, except the crown, which is faintly
marked with red.
Pic verd, Ferm, Defer, de Sarin. vol. ii. p, 169. _ 2-
Le Pic verd du Mexique, B r if orn. iv. p. 16. N° 3 ? . V ar . A.-
T R± defeription of this given b y Fermin fo e x a c t ly coincides D escr ip t ion .;
with that of. the laft, that we muft conclude it to be the
fame; if fo, we cannot deny the poffibility of its being at Mexico,
as related by Seba : indeed the toes are not placed after the
manner of Woodpeckers in his figure, but three and one; a mif-
take committed by later authors as well as him; for I muft own
that his defeription fuits the, green Woodpecker rather than any
other bird; and the length, which is thirteen inches and a half, very
nearly correfponds with it. Buffon will not allow of Seba’s bird
belonging to this genus ; nor does he fuggeft to which other it
has moft affinity. I have given my fuggeftion of one in page 557,
+ Ardea Mexicana altera, Seia,^ Vol. i. t. 64. f. 3.
4 E 1 and
Orn. p. 103.