. A history of British birds : the figures engraved on wood . borious and pain-ful as the Woodpecker : nature has condemned it to in-cessant toil and slavery. While others freely employtheir courage or address, and either shoot on rapid wingor lurk in close ambush, the Woodpecker is constrainedto drag out an insipid existence in boring the bark andhard fibres of trees to extraCl its humble prey. Neces-sity never suffers any intermission of its labours, nevergrants an interval of sound repose; often during the 14a BRITISH BIRDS. night it sleeps in the same painful posture as in the fa-tigues of
. A history of British birds : the figures engraved on wood . borious and pain-ful as the Woodpecker : nature has condemned it to in-cessant toil and slavery. While others freely employtheir courage or address, and either shoot on rapid wingor lurk in close ambush, the Woodpecker is constrainedto drag out an insipid existence in boring the bark andhard fibres of trees to extraCl its humble prey. Neces-sity never suffers any intermission of its labours, nevergrants an interval of sound repose; often during the 14a BRITISH BIRDS. night it sleeps in the same painful posture as in the fa-tigues of the day. It never shares the sports of the otherinhabitants of the air, it joins not their vocal concerts,and its wild cries and saddening tones, Avhile they dis-turb the silence of the fojest, express constraint and ef-fort. Its movements are quick, its gestures full of in-quietude, its looks coarse and vulgar ; it shuns all society,even that of its own kind ; and when it is prompted toseek a companion, its appetite is not softened by delicacyof feeling,*. THE GREEN WOODPECKER. WOODSPITE, HIGH-HOE, HEW-HOLE, OR PICK-A-TREE.*{Picus FirUis, ILin.—Le Pic Ferd, Buff.) This is the largest of the British kinds, being thirteen * Wallis, in his History of Northumberlaud, observes that itis called by the common people Pick-a-tree, also Rain Fowl, fromits being more loud and noisy before The old Romans-called them Plunjia aves for the same reason. BRITISH BIRDS. u% inches in length. Its bill is two inches long, of a trian-gular shape, and of a dark horn colour j the outer circleof the eye is white, surrounding another of red ; the topof the head is of a bright crimson, which extends downthe hinder part of the neck, ending in a point behind jthe eye is surrounded by a black space; and from eachcorner of the bill there is a crimson streak pointing down-wards j the back and wing coverts are of an olive green;the rump yellow; the quill feathers are dusky, barredon the outer web wi
Size: 1599px × 1563px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1800, bookidhistoryo, booksubjectbirds
