'Dryobates pubescens' definitions:
Definition of 'Dryobates pubescens'
From: 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]