Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/734

 WOODPECKER WOODRUFF bluish black ; general color dull greenish black ; a narrow white streak from over eyes to hind head, and a wider one from under eyes along Black Woodpecker (Dryotomus plleatus). neck ; crown, crest, and patch on cheeks scar- let ; under wings and chin white, tinged with sulphur yellow ; in the female there is no red on the cheeks, and the anterior half of the head is black. This is the largest species in the northern states, and is found throughout North America from the Atlantic to the Pa- cific. The three-toed woodpecker (picoide* arcticu*, Baird) is found from the northern states to the arctic regions, and from the At- lantic to the Pacific ; species occur in the northern parts of both hemispheres, preferring generally forests of pines and spruces. The melanerpincs or black woodpeckers are all American, and have the bill slightly curved. The red-headed woodpecker (melanerpc* ery- throcephalus, Swains.) is 9J in. long and 17$ in. in alar extent ; it is bluish black, with head and nock all round crimson red, margined with a narrow crescent of black on upper breast ; lower parts, rump, and broad band across wings, white. It is found over North America from the Atlantic to the Rocky moun- tains ; it is very gay and frolicsome, fond of cherries, strawberries, and other ripe fruits, and young juicy corn, and so destructive to the Pigeon Woodpecker (Colaptes auratus). latter that in many places a price is set upon its head ; it also eats insects and larvae, and sucks the eggs of small birds. In the colap- Unas or American ground woodpeckers, the bill has very slight lateral ridges ; they are found very frequently on the ground, obtaining their food among ants' nests and the dung of ani- mals ; they also alight on trees, in the hollows of which they nest ; fruit and corn form a part of their food. The flicker, yellow-shafted, or pigeon woodpecker (colaptes auratw, Swains.) is I'-'i in. long and l'.i in. in alar extent; it is also called high-holder. The color above is light olivaceous brown with a slight green tinge, each feather with a crescentic band of black near the end ; head and upper neck blu- ish ash, with black patch on each side of cheek and red crescent on nape; throat pale lilac brown ; crescentic patch on breast and round- ed spots on belly black ; shafts and under sur- face of wings and tail yellow ; below yellow- ish or brownish white ; bill slightly curved ; the female has no black cheek patches. It is found in eastern North America to the Rocky mountains. Of the gecinina or old world ground woodpeckers, the green wood- pecker (gecinut riridi*, Boie) feeds chiefly on nnts and bees, and is generally seen on the ground. The picumnina or piculets are very small birds, having a short bill, sharp at the tip, rounded wings, and a short tail with broad rounded feathers, evidently not used as n means of support ; they are found in the warm parts of South America, and in India and its archi- pelago ; they nest in holes of trees, and lay two eggs. For details on other North Amer- ican species of woodpeckers, see vol. ix. of the Pacific railroad reports, pp. 79-125 (1858). WOOD BAT. See RAT, vol. xiv., p. 212. WOODRUFF (Ang. Sax. wude-rofe), sometimes written woodroof, and by the old writers wooddorowffe, a low perennial herb (aqperula odorata) of the madder family (rubiacete), na- tive of Europe and Russian Asia, often cultiva- Woodrnff(Aaperula odorata). ted in gardens. Its square stems, erect from a slender creeping rootstock, are 6 to 12 in. high ; the oblong-lanceolate leaves usually eight in a