(RED-CRESTED WOODPECKER.)
+Chrysoptilus melanochlorus+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 445
(Paraná, Cordova, Tucuman). +Chrysoptilus chlorozostus+, _Scl.
et Salv. P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 143 (Conchitas). +Chrysoptilus
cristatus+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 100; _Gibson, Ibis_,
1880, p. 11 (Buenos Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p.
618 (Catamarca); _Barrows, Auk_, 1884, p. 25 (Entrerios);
_Withington, Ibis_, 1888, p. 468 (Lomas de Zamora). +Colaptes
leucofrenatus+, _Leybola, Leopoldina_, Heft viii. p. 53 (1873).
_Description._--Above black, barred across with white; rump white,
with black spots; top of head black, nape scarlet; sides of head
white, bordered beneath by black, which carries a scarlet malar
stripe: beneath white, on the neck yellowish, thickly covered with
round black spots; throat white, striped with black; under surface
of wings white, tinged with yellow; tail black, lateral rectrices
slightly barred with yellowish; bill and feet black: whole length
10·5 inches, wing 5·8, tail 4·0. _Female_ similar, but without the
scarlet malar patch.
_Hab._ Paraguay and Argentina.
This Woodpecker ranges as far south as the vicinity of Buenos Ayres, and
is not uncommon there in the few localities which possess wild forests.
It is the handsomest of our Woodpeckers, having brighter tints than its
congener of the plains, _Colaptes agricola_. Like that bird, though
not to the same extent, it has diverged from the typical Picidæ in its
habits, alighting sometimes on the ground to feed, and also frequently
perching crosswise on branches of trees. It has a powerful, clear,
abrupt, and oft-repeated note, and a rapid undulating flight.
The following interesting account of its breeding-habits appears in one
of Mr. Gibson's papers:--"The excavation for the nest is begun as early
as September; but the eggs are only laid during the first half of
October. The hole is generally commenced where some branch has decayed
away; but care is taken that the remainder of the tree is sound. It
opens at a height of from six to nine feet from the ground, and is
excavated to a depth of nearly a foot. Occasionally it is sufficiently
wide to admit of one's hand, but such is not always the case. No
preparation is made for the eggs beyond the usual lining of some chips
of wood.
"The pair which frequented the garden excavated a hole in a
paradise-tree, and bred there for two consecutive years. The tree
stood near one of the walks, and on any one passing the sitting bird
immediately showed its head at the aperture, like a jack-in-the-box, and
then flew away. Last year this pair actually bred in one of the posts of
the horse-corral, notwithstanding the noise and bustle incident to such
a locality. While waiting there, at sunrise, for the herd of horses
to be shut in I used often to knock at the post, in order to make the
Woodpecker leave its nest, but the bird seemed indifferent to such a
mild attack, and would even sit still while a hundred horses and mares
rushed about the corral or hurled themselves against the sides of it.
In another case I had worked with hammer and chisel for half-an-hour,
cutting a hole on a level with the bottom of a nest, when the female
first demonstrated her presence by flying out almost into my face. This
last nest contained four (considerably incubated) eggs, which I took.
Happening to pass the spot a fortnight after, I inspected the hole and
was surprised to find that it had been deepened and other five eggs
laid, while the entrance I had cut was the one now used by the birds.
The nest was again resorted to the following year and a brood hatched
out, but since then a pair of Wrens have occupied the place to the
exclusion of the rightful owners."
The eggs are white, four or five in number, pear-shaped, and with
polished shells.
White obtained specimens of this Woodpecker in Catamarca, and Mr.
Barrows found it resident in Entrerios. The latter tells us it is
"abundant in the woods everywhere, and conspicuous for its activity,
bright colours, and large size."