Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Woodpecker \Wood"peck`er\, n. (Zo["o]l.)
   Any one of numerous species of scansorial birds belonging to
   {Picus} and many allied genera of the family {Picid[ae]}.

   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 larv[ae]
         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. The most
         common European species are the greater spotted
         woodpecker ({Dendrocopus major}), the lesser spotted
         woodpecker ({D. minor}), and the green woodpecker, or
         yaffle (see {Yaffle}). 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 ({M.
         Carolinus}) (see {Chab}), the superciliary woodpecker
         ({M. superciliaris}), the hairy woodpecker ({Dryobates
         villosus}), the downy woodpecker ({D. pubescens}), the
         three-toed, woodpecker ({Picoides Americanus}), the
         golden-winged woodpecker (see {Flicker}), and the sap
         suckers. See also {Carpintero}.

   {Woodpecker hornbill} (Zo["o]l.), a black and white Asiatic
      hornbill ({Buceros pica}) which resembles a woodpecker in
      color.