. A history of British birds . umann, Voeg. Deutschl. v. p. 252). In other Picidce, as Macgillivrayobserves (Audubon, Orn. Biogr. v. p. 542 and B. Am. iv. p. 289), the arrange-ment is different. For instance in Dryohates vUlosus, the prolonged bones recurveround the right orbit to reach the line of the posterior angle of the eye, whilein Sphyrapicus ra7-ius, as well as in the two species next to be described, theyextend only to the middle of the occiput. GREEN WOODPECKER. 467 SO much feeds, while it is freely supplied with mucus eachtime that it is retracted into the mouth. An examination ofth
. A history of British birds . umann, Voeg. Deutschl. v. p. 252). In other Picidce, as Macgillivrayobserves (Audubon, Orn. Biogr. v. p. 542 and B. Am. iv. p. 289), the arrange-ment is different. For instance in Dryohates vUlosus, the prolonged bones recurveround the right orbit to reach the line of the posterior angle of the eye, whilein Sphyrapicus ra7-ius, as well as in the two species next to be described, theyextend only to the middle of the occiput. GREEN WOODPECKER. 467 SO much feeds, while it is freely supplied with mucus eachtime that it is retracted into the mouth. An examination ofthe crop shews that the prey is not transfixed, as manypeople have supposed, by the horny tip of the tongue, hutsimply captured by the application of its slimy and adhesivesurface, though probably the barbs assist in detaching theinsects from their hold. Another anatomical peculiarity which has been supposedto be obviously adapted to the habits of the bird is the shal-lowness of the keel of the breastbone : but when the skeleton. of this Woodpecker (as figured above) is compared mth thatof many other Picarian birds, the same character will befound in some of them which are not known to climb likethe Picidce, and in certain members of the latter, not alwaysthose which have the greatest power of flight, the keel seemsto be proportionally deeper than it is in the present species,though they are believed to climb as well as it does. Thus, 468 PiciDiE. though it must be admitted that in one position a low keelallows the bird to place its body close to the tree so as tobring its centre of gravity well forward, and that this maydiminish the strain in the muscles of the legs, the supposi-tion does not hold true for many attitudes commonly far more curious peculiarity of Woodpeckers is, however,that afforded by the shoulder-blade, the posterior extremity ofwhich is hooked in a way quite unknown among other birds,though with what object cannot at present be descen
Size: 1444px × 1730px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorsaun, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds
