Woodpecker

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Woodpecker \Wood"peck`er\, n. (Zool.)
     Any one of numerous species of scansorial birds belonging to
     {Picus} and many allied genera of the family {Picidae}.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: These birds have the tail feathers pointed and rigid at


           the tip to aid in climbing, and a strong chisellike
           bill with which they are able to drill holes in the
           bark and wood of trees in search of insect larvae upon
           which most of the species feed. A few species feed
           partly upon the sap of trees (see {Sap sucker}, under
           {Sap}), others spend a portion of their time on the
           ground in search of ants and other insects.
           [1913 Webster] The most common European species are the
           greater spotted woodpecker ({Dendrocopus major}), the
           lesser spotted woodpecker ({Dendrocopus minor}), and
           the green woodpecker, or yaffle (see {Yaffle}).
           [1913 Webster] The best-known American species are the
           pileated woodpecker (see under {Pileated}), the
           ivory-billed woodpecker ({Campephilus principalis}),
           which is one of the largest known species, the
           red-headed woodpecker, or red-head ({Melanerpes
           erythrocephalus}), the red-bellied woodpecker
           ({Melanerpes Carolinus}) (see {Chab}), the superciliary
           woodpecker ({Melanerpes superciliaris}), the hairy
           woodpecker ({Dryobates villosus}), the downy woodpecker
           ({Dryobates pubescens}), the three-toed, woodpecker
           ({Picoides Americanus}), the golden-winged woodpecker
           (see {Flicker}), and the sap suckers. See also
           {Carpintero}.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {Woodpecker hornbill} (Zool.), a black and white Asiatic
        hornbill ({Buceros pica}) which resembles a woodpecker in
        color.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  woodpecker
       n : bird with strong claws and a stiff tail adapted for climbing
           and a hard chisel-like bill for boring into wood for
           insects [syn: {peckerwood}, {pecker}]