Also 7 -picker. [f. WOOD sb.1 + PECK v.1 + -ER1. (Cf. the Gr. names δρυ(ο)κολάπτης, δρυοκόλαψ, δρυοκόπος, f. δρῦς tree + κολάπτειν to peck, κοπ- to strike.)]
1. A bird of the family Picidæ, esp. of the sub-family Picinæ, comprising very numerous genera and species found in most parts of the world; usually having variegated plumage of bright contrasted colors with various markings; characterized by their habit of pecking holes in the trunks and branches of trees.
1530. Palsgr., 289/2. Woodpecker a byrde, espec.
1591. Sylvester, Du Bartas, I. v. 228. As the Wood-pecker, his long tongue doth lill Out of the clov’n pipe of his horny bill, To catch the Emets.
1604. Drayton, Owle, 191. The Wood-pecker, whose hardned beake hath … pierc’d the heart of many a sollid Oke.
1624. Capt. Smith, Virginia, V. 171. Numbers of small Birds … Wood-pickers.
1778. J. Carver, Trav. N. Amer., xviii. 471. The Woodpecker … is a very beautiful bird; there is one sort whose feathers are a mixture of various colours; and another that is brown all over the body, except the head and neck, which are of a fine red.
1806. Moore, Ballad Stanzas, ii. I heard not a sound But the woodpecker tapping the hollow beech-tree.
1859. Darwin, Orig. Spec., vi. (1860), 184. In North America there are woodpeckers which feed largely on fruit. Ibid. (1862), Orchids, iii. 127. As a woodpecker … climbs up a tree in search of insects.
1872. Coues, N. Amer. Birds, 191. Woodpeckers nest in holes in trees.
b. With defining words, denoting various species.
The three British species are the Green Woodpecker (Gecinus viridis), the Pied or Greater Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopus major), and the Barred or Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (D. minor). Others are the Great Black Woodpecker (Picus or Dryocopus martius) of the northern parts of Europe and Asia, and many N. American species, as the Downy W. (Picus or Dendrocopus pubescens), the Golden-winged W. (Colaptes auratus), the Hairy W. (Picus or Dendrocopus villosus), the Pileated W. (Hylotomus or Dryotomus pileatus), etc. Several of these are locally known by special names, as FLICKER, HICKWALL, IVORY-bill, LOG-cock, POPINJAY, SAP-sucker, WITWALL, WOODSPITE, YAFFLE, etc. (see these words).
1668. Charleton, Onomast., 86. Picus Martius … the great Wood-pecker.
1731. Catesby, Nat. Hist. Carolina (1754), I. 21. Picus varius minor, ventre luteo. The yellow belly’d Wood-pecker.
1782. Latham, Gen. Syn. Birds, I. 558. Red-necked woodpecker. The whole head and neck … are crimson. Ibid., II. 591. Yellow Woodpecker … less than our green Woodpecker: being only nine inches in length … is common at Cayenne.
1782–1890. [see SPOTTED ppl. a. 4 b].
1802. Bingley, Anim. Biog. (1813), II. 129. The Black Woodpecker subsists on insects, which it catches on the bark of trees…. It is able to pierce … hard trees, as the oak and hornbeam.
1808. A. Wilson, Amer. Ornith., I. 142. His tri-colored plumage … is so striking … that almost every child is acquainted with the Red-headed Woodpecker.
1884. E. P. Roe, in Harper’s Mag., March, 622/2. The downy, the hairy, the golden-winged, and the yellow-bellied woodpeckers … are also with us at this season.
1898. Maria R. Audubon, Audubon & Jrnls., II. 51. Harris and Bell had gone shooting and returned with several birds, among which was a female Red-patched Woodpecker.
† 2. Cant. At gaming, a bystander who encourages novices by putting up small stakes. Obs.
1608. Dekker, Lanth. & Candle Lt., iii. D 2. He that winnes all, is the Eagle. He that stands by and Ventures, is the Woodpecker.
a. 1700. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew.
