natural, although sufficiently so for our present purpose. Thus,
_Hylotomus_, in having the lateral ridge extending to the end of the
bill, is like _Picus_, but the nostrils are broader, more open, and
not acute anteriorly. The tail-feathers of _Sphyropicus_ differ
greatly from those of the others in being abruptly acuminate, the
points elongated, narrow, and nearly linear, instead of being gently
cuneate at the ends. _Campephilus_ and _Hylotomus_ belong to
Sundevall’s _Angusticolles_, with their long slender neck, and
elongated occipital crest (_Dryocopinæ_, Cab.); the other genera to
_Securirostres_, with shorter, thicker neck, and no crest
(_Dendrocopinæ_, Cab.). But no two genera in the subfamily are more
distinct than _Campephilus_ and _Hylotomus_.
[125] A character common to all the members of the genus,
and distinguishing them from the species of every other;
this peculiar form of the middle tail-feathers is caused
principally by a folding of the webs downward, almost
against each other. The under surfaces of the shafts have a
very deep groove their whole length, which is seen in no
other genus.
GENUS CAMPEPHILUS, GRAY.
_Campephilus_, GRAY, List of Genera? 1840. (Type, _C. principalis_.)
_Megapicus_, MALHERBE, Mém. Ac. de Metz, 1849, 317.
GEN. CHAR. Bill considerably longer than the head, much depressed, or
broader than high at the base, becoming somewhat compressed near the
middle and gradually bevelled off at the tip. Culmen very slightly
curved, gonys as concave, the curve scarcely appreciable; commissure
straight. Culmen with a parallel ridge on each side, starting a little
above the centre of the basal outline of the bill, the ridge
projecting outwards and downwards, and a slight concavity between it
and the acute ridge of the culmen. Gonys considerably more than half
the commissure. Nostrils oval below the lateral ridge near the base of
the bill; concealed by the bristly feathers directed forward. Similar
feathers are seen at the sides of the lower jaw and on the chin.
[Line drawing: _Campephilus principalis._
3869 ♂]
Feet large; outer hind toe much longest; claw of inner fore toe
reaching to middle of outer fore claw; inner hind toe scarcely more
than half the outer one; its claw reaching as far as the base of the
inner anterior claw, considerably more than half the outer anterior
toe. Tarsus rather shorter than the inner fore toe. Tail long,
cuneate; shafts of the four middle feathers abruptly much larger than
the others, and with a deep groove running continuously along their
under surface; webs of the two middle feathers deflected, almost
against each other, so that the feathers appear narrower at the base
than terminally. Wings long and pointed, the third, fourth, and fifth
quills longest; sixth secondary longest, leaving six “tertials,”
instead of three or four as usual; primaries long, attenuated. Color
continuous black, relieved by white patches. Head with a pointed
occipital crest.
This genus embraces the largest known kind of Woodpecker, and is
confined to America. Of the two species usually assigned to it, only
one occurs within the limits of the United States, _C. imperialis_,
given by Audubon, and by subsequent authors on his credit, really
belonging to Southern Mexico and Central America. The diagnoses of the
species are as follows:—
COMMON CHARACTERS. Bill ivory-white. Body entirely glossy
blue-black. A scapular stripe, secondaries, ends of inner
primaries, and under wing-coverts, white. Crest scarlet in
the male, black in the female.
1. C. principalis. A white stripe on each side of the
neck. Bristly feathers at the base of the bill white.
White neck-stripe not extending to the base of the bill.
Black feathers of crest longer than the scarlet. Wing,
10.00; culmen, 2.60. _Hab._ Gulf region of United States
var. _principalis_.
White stripe reaching the base of the bill. Scarlet
feathers of crest longer than the black. Wing, 9.50;
culmen, 2.40. _Hab._ Cuba var. _bairdi_.[126]
2. C. imperialis. No white stripe on the sides of the
neck. More white on the wings. Bristly feathers at the
base of the bill black. _Hab._ South Mexico; Guatemala.
[126] _Campephilus bairdi_, CASSIN, Pr. A. N. Sc. 1863, 322
(Cuba).—GUNDLACH, Repertorium, I, 1866, 293.—IB. Cab.
Jour. 1866, 352. _Hab._ Cuba.
Campephilus principalis, GRAY.
IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER.
_Picus principalis_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 173.—WILSON, Am.
Orn. IV, 1811, 20, pl. xxxix, f. 6.—WAGLER, Syst. Avium, 1827,
No. 1.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 1832, 341; V, 525, pl. lxvi.—IB.
Birds America, IV, 1842, 214, pl. cclvi.—SUNDEVALL, Consp.
Pic. 4. _Dendrocopus principalis_, BON. List, 1838.
_Campephilus principalis_, GRAY, List Genera, 1840.—BAIRD,
Birds N. Am. 83.—CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein. IV, II,
100.—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 468 (breeds in Brazos and Trinity,
Texas).—GRAY, Cat. 53.—ALLEN, Birds E. Florida, 301.
_Dryotomus (Megapicus) principalis_, BON. Con. Zyg. Aten. Ital.
1854, 7. _Dryocopus principalis_, BON. Consp. 1850, 132.
_White-billed Woodpecker_, CATESBY, Car. I, 16.—PENNANT,
LATHAM.
SP. CHAR. Fourth and fifth quills equal; third a little shorter. Bill
horn-white. Body entirely of a glossy blue-black (glossed with green
below); a white stripe beginning half an inch posterior to the
commissure, and passing down the sides of the neck, and extending down
each side of the back. Under wing-coverts, and the entire exposed
portion of the secondary quills, with ends of the inner primaries,
bristles, and a short stripe at the base of the bill, white. Crest
scarlet, upper surface black. Length, 21.00; wing, 10.00. _Female_
similar, without any red on the head, and with two spots of white on
the end of the outer tail-feather.
HAB. Southern Atlantic and Gulf States. North to North Carolina and
mouth of the Ohio; west to Arkansas and Eastern Texas. Localities:
Brazos and Trinity Rivers, Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 468, breeds).
In the male the entire crown (with its elongated feathers) is black.
The scarlet commences just above the middle of the eye, and, passing
backwards a short distance, widens behind and bends down as far as the
level of the under edge of the lower jaw. The feathers which spring
from the back of the head are much elongated above; considerably
longer than those of the crown. In the specimen before us the black
feathers of the crest do not reach as far back as the scarlet.
Reference has already been made to the Cuban variety of the
Ivory-billed Woodpecker named _C. bairdi_ by Mr. Cassin, and differing
in smaller size; extension of the white cheek-stripe to the very base
of the bill, and the excess in length of the upper black feathers of
the crest over the scarlet. These features appear to be constant, and
characteristic of a local race.
For the reasons already adduced, we drop _C. imperialis_ from the list
of North American birds, although given as such by Audubon.
[Illustration: _Campephilus principalis._]
HABITS. So far as we have information in regard to the geographical
distribution of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, it is chiefly restricted
in its range to the extreme Southern States, and especially to those
bordering on the Gulf of Mexico. Wilson states that very few, if any,
are ever found north of Virginia, and not many even in that State. His
first specimen was obtained near Wilmington, N. C. It is not
migratory, but is a resident where found.
Mr. Audubon, who is more full than any other writer in his account of
this bird, assigns to it a more extended distribution. He states that
in descending the Ohio River he met with it near the confluence of
that river with the Mississippi, and adds that it is frequently met
with in following the windings of the latter river either downwards
towards the sea, or upwards in the direction of the Missouri. On the
Atlantic he was inclined to make North Carolina the limit of its
northern distribution, though now and then individuals of the species
have been accidentally met with as far north as Maryland. To the
westward of the Mississippi he states that it is found in all the
dense forests bordering the streams which empty into it, from the very
declivities of the Rocky Mountains. The lower parts of the Carolinas,
Georgia, North Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, are,
however, its favorite resorts, and in those States it constantly
resides.
It was observed by Dr. Woodhouse in the timber on the Arkansas River,
and in Eastern Texas, but quite rarely in both places. It was not,
however, met with in any other of the government expeditions, either
to the Pacific, in the survey of the railroad routes, or in that for
the survey of the Mexican boundary line. It is given as a bird of Cuba
by De la Sagra, in his catalogue of the birds of that island, as
observed by him, October, 1850, and by Dr. John Gundlach, in his list
of the birds that breed in Cuba. It is not mentioned by Gosse among
the birds of Jamaica, nor by the Newtons as found in St. Croix. As it
is not a migratory bird, it may be regarded as breeding in all its
localities, except where it is obviously an accidental visitant.
Wilson, who never met with the nest of this Woodpecker, states, on the
authority of reliable informants, that it breeds in the large-timbered
cypress swamps of the Carolinas. In the trunks of these trees at a
considerable height from the ground, both parents working alternately,
these birds dig out a large and capacious cavity for their eggs and
young. Trees thus dug out have frequently been cut down with both the
eggs and the young in them. The hole was described to Wilson as
generally a little winding, to keep out the rain, and sometimes five
feet deep. The eggs were said to be generally four, sometimes five in
number, as large as pullets’, pure white, and equally thick at both
ends. The young make their appearance about the middle or end of June.
Mr. Audubon, whose account of the breeding-habits of the Ivory-bill is
given from his own immediate observations, supplies a more minute and
detailed history of its nesting. He states that it breeds earlier in
spring than any other species of its tribe, and that he has observed
it boring a hole for that purpose as early as the beginning of March.
This hole he believed to be always made in the trunk of a live tree,
generally an ash or a hackberry, and at a great height. It pays great
regard to the particular situation of the tree and the inclination of
the trunk, both with a view to retirement and to secure the aperture
against rains. To prevent the latter injury, the hole is generally dug
immediately under the protection of a large branch. It is first bored
horizontally a few inches, then directly downward, and not in a spiral
direction, as Wilson was informed. This cavity is sometimes not more
than ten inches in depth, while at other times it reaches nearly three
feet downward into the heart of the tree. The older the bird, the
deeper its hole, in the opinion of Mr. Audubon. The average diameter
of the different nests which Mr. Audubon examined was about seven
inches in the inner parts, although the entrance is only just large
enough to admit the bird. Both birds work most assiduously in making
these excavations. Mr. Audubon states that in two instances where the
Woodpeckers saw him watching them at their labors, while they were
digging their nests, they abandoned them. For the first brood, he
states, there are generally six eggs. These are deposited on a few
chips at the bottom of the hole, and are of a pure white color. The
young may be seen creeping out of their holes about a fortnight before
they venture to fly to any other tree. The second brood makes its
appearance about the 15th of August. In Kentucky and Indiana the
Ivory-bill seldom raises more than one brood in a season. Its flight
is described by Audubon as graceful in the extreme, though seldom
prolonged to more than a few hundred yards at a time, except when it
has occasion to cross a large river. It then flies in deep
undulations, opening its wings at first to their full extent, and
nearly closing them to renew their impulse. The transit from tree to
tree is performed by a single sweep, as if the bird had been swung in
a curved line from the one to the other.
Except during the love-season it never utters a sound when on the
wing. On alighting, or when, in ascending a tree, it leaps against the
upper parts of the trunk, its remarkable voice may be constantly heard
in a clear, loud, and rather plaintive tone, sometimes to the distance
of half a mile, and resembling the false high note of a clarionet.
This may be represented by the monosyllable _pait_ thrice repeated.
The food of this Woodpecker consists principally of beetles, larvæ,
and large grubs. They are also especially fond of ripe wild grapes,
which they eat with great avidity, hanging by their claws to the
vines, often in the position of a Titmouse. They also eat ripe
persimmons, hackberries, and other fruit, but are not known to disturb
standing corn nor the fruits of the orchard.
These birds attack decaying trees so energetically as often to cause
them to fall. So great is their strength, that Audubon has known one
of them to detach, at a single blow, a strip of bark eight inches
long, and, by beginning at the top branch of a dead tree, tear off the
bark to the extent of thirty feet in the course of a few hours, all
the while sounding its loud notes.
Mr. Audubon further states that this species generally moves in pairs,
that the female is the least shy and the most clamorous, and that,
except when digging a hole for the reception of their eggs, they are
not known to excavate living trees, but only those attacked by worms.
When wounded, they seek the nearest tree, and ascend with great
rapidity by successive hops. When taken by the hand, they strike with
great violence, and inflict severe wounds with their bills and claws.
Mr. Dresser states that these birds were found on the Brazos River,
and also on the Trinity, where they were by no means rare.
Wilson dwells at some length and with great force upon the great value
of these birds to our forests. They never injure sound trees, only
those diseased and infested with insects. The pine timber of the
Southern States is often destroyed, thousands of acres in a season, by
the larvæ of certain insects. In Wilson’s day this was noticeable in
the vicinity of Georgetown, S. C., and was attributed by him to the
blind destruction of this and other insect-eating birds.
An egg of this species (Smith. Coll., No. 16,196) taken near
Wilmington, N. C., by Mr. N. Giles, measures 1.35 inches in length by
.95 of an inch in breadth. It is of a highly polished porcelain
whiteness, and is much more oblong in shape and more pointed than are
the eggs of _Hylotomus pileatus_.
GENUS PICUS, LINNÆUS.
_Picus_, LINN. Syst. Nat. 1748. (Type, _Picus martius_, L.)
[Line drawing: _Picus villosus._
884 ♂]
GEN. CHAR. Bill equal to the head, or a little longer; the lateral
ridges conspicuous, starting about the middle of the base of the bill;
the basal elongated oval nostrils nearest the commissure; the ridges
of the culmen and gonys acute, and very nearly straight, or slightly
convex towards the tip; the bill but little broader than high at the
base, becoming compressed considerably before the middle. Feet much as
in _Campephilus_; the outer posterior toe longest; the outer anterior
about intermediate between it and the inner anterior; the inner
posterior reaching to the base of the claw of the inner anterior.
Tarsus about equal to the inner anterior toe; shorter than the two
other long toes. Wings rather long, reaching to the middle of the
tail, rather rounded; the fourth and fifth quills longest; the quills
rather broad and rounded.
In the genus _Picus_, as characterized above, are contained several
subdivisions more or less entitled to distinct rank, and corresponding
with peculiar patterns of coloration. Thus, taking the _P. villosus_
as the type, _P. borealis_ has proportionally much longer primaries;
the spurious primary smaller; the bill is considerably more
attenuated, and even concave in its lateral outlines. The wings are
still longer in _P. albolarvatus_. The species may be arranged as
follows:—
A. Black above, and white beneath. Wings spotted with
white; a black maxillary stripe.
_a._ Two white stripes on the side of the head, one
above, and the other below, the ear-coverts, which are
mostly black. First quill shorter than sixth.
Tail-feathers broad and obtuse at ends, the narrowed
tips of middle feathers very short.
DRYOBATES, BOIE. Middle of back streaked
longitudinally and continuously with white. Maxillary
and auricular black stripes not confluent; the latter
running into the black of the nape. Beneath white
without spots. Red of head confined to a narrow nuchal
band.
1. P. villosus. Outer tail-feathers immaculate
white, great variation in size with latitude.
Length, 7.00 to 10.00.
All the quills, with middle and greater
wing-coverts, with large white spots. _Hab._
Eastern North America var. _villosus_.
Innermost quills and some of the coverts entirely
black, or unspotted with white. Remaining spots
reduced in size. (Var. _jardini_ similar, but much
smaller, 7.00, and lower parts smoky-brown.)
_Hab._ Middle and western North America, and south
to Costa Rica var. _harrisi_.
2. P. pubescens. Outer tail-feather white, with
transverse black bands; length about 6.25.
All the quills, with middle and greater
wing-coverts, with large white spots. _Hab._
Eastern North America var. _pubescens_.
Innermost quills and some of the coverts entirely
black; remaining white spots reduced in size.
_Hab._ Western North America var. _gairdneri_.
DYCTIOPICUS, BON. Whole back banded transversely with
black and white. Beneath white, with black spots on
sides. Maxillary and auricular black stripes confluent
at their posterior ends, the latter not running into
the nape. In the males at least half of top of head
red. Length, about 6.50.
3. P. scalaris. Anterior portion of the back banded
with white; lores and nasal tufts smoky brown. Black
stripes on sides of the head very much narrower than
the white ones, and not connected with the black of
the shoulders. _Male_ with the whole crown red.
Outer web of lateral tail-feathers barred with
black to the base. White bands on back exceeding
the black ones in width; red of the crown very
continuous, on the forehead predominating over the
black and white. (Sometimes the black at base of
inner web of lateral tail-feather divided by white
bars.) _Hab._ Southern and Eastern Mexico, and Rio
Grande region of United States var. _scalaris_.
Outer web of lateral tail-feather barred with
black only toward end. Red of crown much broken
anteriorly, and in less amount than the black and
white mixed with it. White bands of the back not
wider, generally much narrower than the black
ones.
Bill, .90; tarsus, .70. Red of crown extending
almost to the bill. _Hab._ Western Mexico, up to
Western Arizona var. _graysoni_.
Bill, 1.10; tarsus, .75. Red of crown
disappearing about on a line above the eye.
_Hab._ Cape St. Lucas var. _lucasanus_.
4. P. nuttalli. Anterior portion of back not banded
with white; lores and nasal tufts white. Black
stripes on side of the head very much broader than
the white ones, and connected by a narrow strip with
the black of the shoulders. _Male_ with only the
nape and occiput red. _Hab._ California (only).
_b._ One white stripe, only, on side of head, and this
occupying whole auricular region. Tail-feathers narrowed
at ends, the points of the middle ones much elongated.
First quill longer than sixth. Bill very small, much
shorter than head.
PHRENOPICUS, BONAP. Back and wings transversely banded
with black and white, and sides spotted with black, as
in _Dyctiopicus_.
5. P. borealis. Red of male restricted to a
concealed narrow line on each side of the occiput,
at the junction of the white and black. Maxillary
black stripe very broad and conspicuous, running
back to the series of black spots on sides of
breast. Three outer tail-feathers more or less
white, with a few bars of black near their ends,
principally on inner webs. _Hab._ South Atlantic
States.
B. Body entirely continuous black; head all round
immaculate white. First quill shorter than sixth.
XENOPICUS, BAIRD. Tail and primaries as in “A,” but
much more lengthened. Bill as in _Dryobates_, but more
slender.
6. P. albolarvatus. Red of male a narrow transverse
occipital crescent, between the white and the black.
Basal half, or more, of primaries variegated with
white, this continuous nearly to the end of outer
webs; inner webs of secondaries with large white
spots toward their base. _Hab._ Sierra Nevada and
Coast Ranges, Pacific Province, United States.
SUBGENUS DRYOBATES, BOIE.
_Dryobates_, BOIE, 1826. (Type, _Picus pubescens_, _fide_ CABANIS,
Mus. Hein.)
_Trichopicus_, BONAP. 1854.
_Trichopipo_, CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein. 1863, 62.
According to Cabanis, as above cited, _Dryobates_, as established by
Boie in 1826, had the _Picus pubescens_ as type, although extended in
1828 to cover a much wider ground. As a subgeneric name, therefore, it
must take preference of _Trichopicus_ of Bonaparte, which, like all
the allied names of this author, Cabanis rejects at any rate as hybrid
and inadmissible.
The synopsis under the head of _Picus_ will serve to distinguish the
species in brief.
[Illustration: _Picus harrisi._]
The small black and white Woodpeckers of North America exhibit great
variations in size and markings, and it is extremely difficult to say
what is a distinct species and what a mere geographical race. In none
of our birds is the difference in size between specimens from a high
and a low latitude so great, and numerous nominal species have been
established on this ground alone. There is also much variation with
locality in the amount of white spotting on the wings, as well as the
comparative width of the white and black bars in the banded species.
The under parts, too, vary from pure white to smoky-brown. To these
variations in what may be considered as good species is to be added
the further perplexities caused by hybridism, which seems to prevail
to an unusual extent among some Woodpeckers, where the area of
distribution of one species is overlapped by a close ally. This, which
can be most satisfactorily demonstrated in the _Colaptes_, is also
probably the case in the black and white species, and renders the
final settlement of the questions involved very difficult.
After a careful consideration of the subject, we are not inclined to
admit any species or permanent varieties of the group of four-toed
small white and black Woodpeckers as North or Middle American, other
than those mentioned in the preceding synopsis.
[Illustration: PLATE XLIX.
1. Campephilus principalis. ♂ Fla., 3869.
2. ” ” ♀ Arkansas.?
3. Picus villosus. ♂ Pa., 884.
4. ” ” ♀ Pa.
5. ” ” ♂ juv. Iowa, 13172.
6. ” pubescens. ♂ Pa., 1291.
7. ” ” ♀ Pa.
8. ” borealis. ♂ Georgia, 1878.]
Picus villosus, LINNÆUS.
HAIRY WOODPECKER; LARGER SAPSUCKER.
Var. canadensis.—Northern and Western regions.
? _Picus leucomelas_, BODDÆRT, Tabl. Pl. Enl. 1783 (No. 345, f. 1,
GRAY).—CASS. P. A. N. S. 1863, 199. _Dryobates leucomelas_,
CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein. IV, 67. _? Picus canadensis_, GMELIN,
Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 437.—? LATHAM, Ind. Orn. I, 1790,
231.—AUD. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 188, pl. ccccxvii.—IB. Syn.
1839, 177.—IB. Birds America, IV, 1842, 235, pl.
cclviii.—BONAP. Consp. 1850, 137.—IB. Aten. Ital. 1854, 8.
_Picus villosus_, FORSTER, Philos. Trans. LXII, 1772,
383.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 84.—CASSIN, P. A. N. S. 1863,
199.—GRAY, Catal. 1868, 45.—DALL & BANNISTER, Tr. Chicago Ac.
Sc. I, 1869, 274 (Alaska).—FINSCH, Abh. Nat. III, 1872, 60
(Alaska).—SAMUELS, 87. _Picus (Dendrocopus) villosus_, SW.
F.-Bor. Am. II, 1831, 305. _Picus phillipsi_, AUD. Orn. Biog.
V, 1839, 186, pl. ccccxvii.—IB. Syn. 1839, 177.—IB. Birds
Amer. IV, 1842, 238, pl. cclix (immature, with yellow
crown).—NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 686.—CASS. P. A. N.
S. 1863, 199. _Picus martinæ_, AUD. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 181,
pl. ccccxvii.—IB. Syn. 1839, 178.—IB. Birds Amer. IV, 1842,
240, pl. cclx (young male, with red feathers on crown).—CASS.
P. A. N. S. 1863, 199. _Picus rubricapillus_, NUTTALL, Man. I,
(2d ed.,) 1840, 685 (same as preceding). _Picus
septentrionalis_, NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 684.
Var. villosus.—Middle States.
_Picus villosus_, LINNÆUS, Syst. Nat. I, 1758, 175.—VIEILLOT, Ois.
Am. Sept. II, 1807, 64, pl. cxx.—WILSON, Am. Orn. I, 1808,
150, pl. ix.—WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1827, No. 22.—AUD. Orn. Biog.
V, 1839, 164, pl. ccccxvi.—IB. Birds Amer. IV, 1842, 244, pl.
cclxii.—BONAP. Conspectus, 1850, 137.—SUNDEVALL, Mon. Pic.
17.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 84. _Picus leucomelanus_,
WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1827, No. 18 (young male in summer). _Hairy
Woodpecker_, PENNANT, LATHAM. _Dryobates villosus_, CAB. &
HEIN. Mus. Hein. IV, 2, 66.
Var. auduboni.—Southern States.
_Picus auduboni_, SWAINSON, F. B. A. 1831, 306.—TRUDEAU, J. A. N.
Sc. Ph. VII, 1837, 404 (very young male, with crown spotted
with yellow).—AUD. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 194, pl. ccccxvii.—IB.
Birds Amer. IV, 1842, 259, pl. cclxv.—NUTT. Man. I, (2d ed.,)
1840, 684.—CASS. P. A. N. S. 1863, 199. _Picus villosus_,
BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. 1859 (Bahamas, winter).—ALLEN, B. E.
Fla. 302.
SP. CHAR. Above black, with a white band down the middle of the back.
All the middle and larger wing-coverts and all the quills with
conspicuous spots of white. Two white stripes on each side of the
head; the upper scarcely confluent behind, the lower not at all so;
two black stripes confluent with the black of the nape. Beneath white.
Three outer tail-feathers with the exposed portions white. Length,
8.00 to 11.00; wing, 4.00 to 5.00; bill, 1.00 to 1.25. _Male_, with a
nuchal scarlet crescent (wanting in the female) covering the white,
generally continuous, but often interrupted in the middle. Immature
bird of either sex with more or less of the whole crown spotted with
red or yellow, or both, sometimes the red almost continuous.
HAB. North America, to the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, and
(var. _canadensis_) along the 49th parallel to British Columbia;
Sitka; accidental in England.
In the infinite variation shown by a large number of specimens in the
markings of the wings, so relied on by authors to distinguish the
species of the black and white spotted North American Woodpeckers
having a longitudinal band of white down the back, it will be perhaps
our best plan to cut them rigorously down to two, the old-fashioned
and time-honored _P. villosus_ and _pubescens_; since the larger and
more perfect the series, the more difficult it is to draw the line
between them and their more western representatives. The size varies
very greatly, and no two are alike in regard to the extent and number
of the white spots. Beginning at one end of the chain, we find the
white to predominate in the more eastern specimens. Thus in one
(20,601) from Canada, and generally from the north, every wing-covert
(except the smallest) and every quill shows externally conspicuous
spots or bands of white; the middle coverts a terminal band and
central spot; the greater coverts two bands on the outer web, and one
more basal on the inner; and every quill is marked with a succession
of spots in pairs throughout its length,—the outer web as bands
reaching nearly to the shaft; the inner as more circular, larger
spots. The alula alone is unspotted. This is the typical marking of
the _P. leucomelas_ or _canadensis_ of authors. The white markings are
all larger respectively than in other forms.
The next stage is seen in typical or average _P. villosus_ for the
Middle States. Here the markings are much the same, but the white is
more restricted, and on the outer webs of the feathers forms rounded
spots rather than bands. Some Carlisle specimens have two spots on the
middle coverts as described, others lack the basal one. Another stage
is exhibited by a specimen from Illinois, in which with two spots on
the middle coverts there is but one terminal on the outer web of the
greater, and a reduction in number of spots on the inner webs of
innermost secondaries, terminal outer spots not having the
corresponding inner. This form is quite prevalent westward and on the
Upper Missouri, but cannot be considered as strictly geographical,
since a Massachusetts and a Georgia skin agree in the same characters.
In all this variation there is little diminution in the number of
spots visible externally, nor so far have we seen any from the region
east of the Missouri plains that lack white spots on every covert
(except the smallest ones) and every quill, and with few exceptions on
both webs of the latter. It is therefore this style that we propose to
consider as pure _P. villosus_, irrespective of variations in the size
or shape of the spots, of the amount of white on tail and back, or of
the bird itself. Any deviation from this may be called a variety. It
has the distribution already mentioned, and extends along the Upper
Missouri to British Columbia and Sitka, straggling into Washington
Territory, where, however, it is found with the more typical western
form, var. _harrisi_. A specimen collected by Mr. Hepburn at Caribou,
on the Upper Fraser, is absolutely undistinguishable from typical _P.
canadensis_ in size and markings.
We now come to the western race or variety, hardly to be called
species, the _P. harrisi_ of Audubon. Here the extreme of condition
most opposed to typical _villosus_ is shown by the entire absence of
white on the exposed surface of the wing, except on the outer webs of
the four or five longest primaries, where the spots are very small.
(We have never seen them entirely wanting.) The white of the back,
too, may be normal in amount, or else much restricted. Concealed white
spots on some of the feathers will be seen on raising them. The white
of tail-feathers sometimes shows black spots or blotches, especially
on the inner web of the second. These features belong more especially
to specimens from the coast region of Oregon and Washington.
Proceeding eastward from the Northern Pacific Coast we next find
specimens showing a few white streaks on the greater coverts and next
on the middle coverts. The spots on the secondaries, too, begin to
show themselves; but as a general rule they do not occur on the
innermost of the greater coverts and of the secondaries. This,
therefore, may be considered as the limit of a variety, characterized
by the absence at least of spots in these members of the wing.
With the variation in spots in the western variety we have, as already
remarked, differences in amount of white on the tail and the back, as
well as in the color of the belly, which is sometimes pure white,
sometimes of a smoky gray; this latter variation not at all parallel
with other differences or with geographical distribution, and equally
observable in eastern _villosus_. The size, too, varies somewhat, but
not to the same extent as on the Atlantic side. Here, however, we have
_Picus jardini_ of Mexico and Central America, as the small southern
race, absolutely undistinguishable from dark-breasted Oregon
specimens, except in size (length, 7.00; wing, 3.90; bill above, .85),
and perhaps a more fulvous tinge on the under parts. The specimens
before me have one or two black spots on the inner web of the next to
the outer tail-feather, as in darker varieties of _harrisi_, but these
are not symmetrical or constant in either, and are to be looked on as
mere indications of the general tendency to melanism.
HABITS. This common and familiar species of Woodpecker has an extended
range throughout eastern North America. Specimens in the Smithsonian
Institution have been collected from almost every portion of North
America east of the Rocky Mountains. Wilson speaks of it as common
throughout the continent from Hudson’s Bay to Carolina and Georgia.
Mr. Audubon, who regarded _Picus martinæ_, _P. phillipsi_, and _P.
canadensis_ as distinct species, instead of varieties of this
Woodpecker, states, in regard to its distribution, that the _P.
villosus_ is a constant resident both in the maritime and inland
districts from Texas to New Hampshire, as well as in all the wooded
tracts intervening between the junction of the Missouri and
Mississippi, and the northern borders of the great lake. He adds that
not an individual was found by him or by his sons in Maine, where he
did, however, obtain in great abundance the variety he called _P.
canadensis_. According to Sir John Richardson it is found as far to
the north as the 63d parallel. It remains all the year round in the
fur countries, and is the most common species up to the fifty-sixth
degree of latitude, north of which it yields in frequency to the
three-toed species. Dr. Woodhouse speaks of it as common in Texas and
in the Indian Territory. Although not crossing the Rocky Mountains in
the United States, it reaches the Pacific Coast of British Columbia,
and is found north as far as Sitka, and perhaps still farther, thus
replacing the var. _harrisi_. It is a resident, and not a migratory,
species, and wherever found it also breeds. Several specimens have
been killed in England.
According to the observations of Wilson, this Woodpecker frequents the
orchards and cultivated grounds, and is less wild and more domestic
than most of the species. In May, with its mate, it seeks the
retirement of the woods to breed, selecting a branch already hollowed,
or excavating one for itself. In the former case the nest has been
known to be four or five feet from the opening. When it excavates its
own opening, it digs horizontally six or eight inches into the body of
the tree, and then downward to about twice that distance, carrying up
the chips in the bill or scraping them out with the feet. They not
unfrequently breed in orchards, and have been even known to excavate
their holes in the rails of old fences. The female lays five white
eggs, which are usually hatched out early in June.
Mr. Audubon observed these birds, at all seasons, in almost every
possible locality, from the isolated trees of large towns and cities,
even to the very midst of the salt marshes about the mouth of the
Mississippi. He found the excavation for the nest more frequently
running obliquely than perpendicularly. In the Southern States they
rear two broods in a season, the first appearing the last of May, the
second usually about the first of August. In the middle and northern
districts they rarely raise more than one. Those which Mr. Audubon
observed to raise more than one brood in a season made use of the same
excavation for both, and not unfrequently within a few yards of a
house. The eggs of the first brood he found usually six in number, and
of the second four. Where they have but one brood, the number varies
from four to six, and in two instances he has found seven. The measure
given by him is one inch in length by .69 of an inch in breadth. They
are elliptical or almost equally rounded at both ends, smooth, pure
white, and translucent. The young remain in the nest until well able
to fly.
Mr. Audubon states that the Hairy Woodpecker becomes, during the
winter months, a very common bird in all parts of the Southern States,
coming to the farm-yards with the downy species to glean the grains of
corn left by the cattle. At this season their visits to the corn-cribs
are extremely frequent. They may also be seen clinging to the stalks
of the sugar-cane, boring them, and evidently enjoying the sweet
juices of that plant.
Their flight is short and rapid, resembling that of other allied
species. They are not social, never more than the members of one
family being seen together. They feed chiefly on insects and their
larvæ, often seizing the former on the wing. In the autumn they
occasionally eat berries, seeds, and small fruit. Their notes are
sharp and loud, uttered in monosyllables, at times with great
frequency.
An egg of this species, taken in Roxbury, Mass., is of a pure crystal
whiteness, oblong in shape, and equally rounded at either end,
measuring 1.01 inches in length by .72 of an inch in breadth. Another,
from Georgia, is more rounded at one end, and measures 1.02 inches in
length and .75 of an inch in breadth.
Picus villosus, var. harrisi, AUD.
HARRIS’S WOODPECKER.
_Picus harrisi_, AUD. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 191, pl. ccccxvii.—IB.
Syn. 1839, 178.—IB. Birds America, IV, 1842, 242, pl. cclxi
(dark-bellied variety).—NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840,
627.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 87.—SUNDEVALL, Mon. 17.—LORD,
Pr. R. Art. Ass. IV, 111 (nesting).—COUES, Pr. A. N. S. 1866,
52 (Oregon).—SUMICHRAST, Mem. Bost. Soc. I, 1869, 562 (Alpine
regions of Vera Cruz).—GRAY, Catal. 1868, 47.—CABAN. J. 1862,
175.—CASSIN, P. A. N. S. 1863, 200.—COOPER & SUCKLEY,
159.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 375. _? Picus inornatus_,
LICHT. (Bon. Consp.). _Picus (Trichopicus) harrisi_, BP. Consp.
Zyg. Aten. Ital. 1854, 8. _Dryobates harrisi_, CAB. & HEIN.
Mus. Hein. IV, 2, 68 (_jardini_, 69.) _Picus jardini_, MALH.
Rev. Zoöl. Oct. 1845, 374 (Mexico).—CAB. Jour. 1862, 175.
_Picus hyloscopus_, CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein. IV, 2, 1863, 69
(white-bellied form).
SP. CHAR. Similar to typical _villosus_; the innermost of the greater
wing-coverts and of the secondary quills without any white spots
externally; varying from this to the entire absence of exposed white
on wing except on the outer web of longest primaries. Belly varying
from pure white to smoky or fulvous gray, white of tail-feathers very
rarely blotched with black. Average length, in north, 9.00; wing,
5.00; exposed part of culmen, 1.15.
Var. _jardini_ much smaller. Length, 7.00; wing, 3.90; culmen, .85.
HAB. Whole of Western United States, west of the Missouri plains,
extending into Mexico and Central America, where it passes into the
smallest and darkest southern extreme, known as _P. jardini_.
Localities: West Arizona (COUES, P. A. N. S. 1866, 52); Vera Cruz,
Alpine regions (SUMICHRAST, M. Bost. Soc. I, 1869, 562).
In the preceding article we have given some general remarks on
Harris’s Woodpecker, and shown why we cannot consider it a
well-defined species. If the specimens from the extreme west were
constant in themselves, and the variations, as with _Colaptes
hybridus_, occurred along the line of contact with _villosus_, we
might refer to hybrids many of the intermediate forms; but as scarcely
any two are alike, even on the Pacific coast, such a view is
inadmissible. As, however, in the extreme limits of variation, there
is yet a difference from eastern specimens, and this is characteristic
of a large area of country, it may be proper to recognize the form by
the name _harrisi_.
The _P. jardini_ appears to be nothing more than the most southern
race of this dark western form of _P. villosus_, and shows the
smallest, as well as the darkest, extreme to which the species
attains. In Southern Mexico typical _P. harrisi_ and this form grade
insensibly together. The minimum of size and maximum darkness of
colors are reached in Costa Rica.
HABITS. This variety was first described by Mr. Audubon from specimens
obtained by Mr. Townsend on the Columbia River. No information was
obtained in regard to its habits, which, it may be presumed, do not
vary very essentially from those of the more familiar _pubescens_ and
_villosus_. In regard to its geographical distribution, it has been
found in more or less abundance from Nebraska to the Pacific, and from
Mexico to British America. It is known to occur in Texas on the Rio
Grande, in New Mexico, in Arizona, Nebraska, California, Oregon, and
Washington Territory.
This indicates a very general distribution throughout Western North
America from the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific,
and from New Mexico and Texas probably to the limits of the forests in
the northwest. It seems to take the place of the _P. villosus_ in the
far west. Dr. Heermann, in his notes on the birds of California
(Journal of Philadelphia Academy, II, 270), says it is not a common
bird, although it is occasionally met with in that State. Dr. Gambel,
however, states that it occupies, on the western coast, the same place
that the _P. villosus_ does on the Atlantic, but seems to have a
greater partiality for the pine woods. Dr. Woodhouse did not meet with
it in the expedition to the Zuñi and Colorado. Dr. Newberry speaks of
it (U. S. P. B. R. Survey, VI,—Zoölogy, p. 89) as not uncommon in the
wooded districts of Northern California and Oregon. Dr. Kennerly, in
his report on the birds obtained by Lieutenant Whipple’s party, states
that Harris’s Woodpecker was found along the Little Colorado River in
the month of December, wherever the cottonwood trees grew (U. S. P. R.
R. Survey, X, Pt. VI, 21). It is not mentioned by Dr. Heermann in his
Report on the birds of Lieutenant Parke’s explorations near the 32d
parallel. The same writer, in his Report on the birds of Lieutenant
Williamson’s party, speaks of this bird as having been occasionally
observed during the survey, but as a somewhat rare species, though
procured in Northern California and at Tejon Pass. Dr. Suckley speaks
of it as quite abundant at Fort Dalles, where he found it among the
true pines, and at Fort Steilacoom, among the firs (_D. douglasi_),
and as a winter resident in both localities (Natural History of
Washington Territory, Zoölogy, p. 159). Dr. Cooper states that
Harris’s Woodpecker is the most abundant species in Washington
Territory, being found on both sides of the Cascade Mountains,
frequenting the lower parts of the great coniferous trees. He found it
a constant resident in May, burrowing out a nest in a dead tree,
sometimes only four feet from the ground. He describes its cries and
habits as so exactly like those of the larger Sapsucker (_P.
villosus_) of the Atlantic States, that, were there not constant and
unchangeable differences in plumage, it would be taken for the same
species. He furnishes no description of the eggs, but it is quite
probable that there is no appreciable difference between them and
those of the _Picus villosus_.
Dr. Coues mentions this species as one of the most common and
characteristic birds in the vicinity of Fort Whipple. Dr. Heermann
speaks of its having clear trumpet-like notes that betray its locality
and render it an easy bird to shoot.
In California Dr. Cooper found this chiefly a northern bird,
frequenting the forests of all kinds up to the summits of the Sierra
Nevada, and also resident as far south as Santa Barbara, descending,
in winter, to the eastern branches of the Colorado and to Tejon Pass.
He found it more common in the higher Coast Range near Santa Cruz, and
still more so toward the Columbia River. Its cry, he adds, is louder
than that of most of the small Woodpeckers, and it is rather shy,
especially when it imagines itself pursued. It feeds at times on
fruits and berries, and sometimes it visits gardens. It is known as
one of the “Sapsuckers,” but does more good than harm in the orchard,
destroying both insects and their larvæ.
Mr. John K. Lord states that this Woodpecker is by far the most
abundant species in the district through which his party passed. He
found it on Vancouver’s Island, and along the entire course of the
boundary-line, south through Oregon and California, and north to Fort
Simpson. A few remained at Colville during the winter, but the greater
number retired to the coast and returned in April and May. In the
latter month they mate, and bore out a hole in a dead tree. They use
no lining for the nest, but lay the eggs on the bare wood. Their
favorite haunts are the stumps of trees growing round swamps or
prairie-land.
This Woodpecker was met with by Mr. Ridgway in all wooded portions of
the Great Basin, but was most abundant among the pines on the
mountains. In all respects, it is a perfect counterpart of the _P.
villosus_ of the east.
Picus pubescens, LINN.
DOWNY WOODPECKER; LESSER SAPSUCKER.
_Picus pubescens_, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 15.—VIEILLOT, Ois. Am.
Sept. II, 1807, 65, pl. cxxi.—WILSON, Am. Orn. I, 1808, 153,
pl. ix.—WAGLER, Syst. Avium, 1827, No. 23.—AUD. Orn. Biog.
II, 1834, 81; V, 539, pl. cxii.—IB. Birds Am. IV, 1842, 249,
pl. cclxiii.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 89.—SUNDEVALL, Mon.
Pic. 17.—MALB. Mon. Pic. I, 119, pl. xxix.—CASSIN, Pr. 1863,
20.—SCL. Cat. 1862, 334.—GRAY, Cat. 1868, 44.—DALL &
BANNISTER, Tr. Chicago Ac. I, 1869, 274 (Alaska).—FINSCH, Abh.
Nat. III, 1872, 60 (Alaska).—SAMUELS, 89.—ALLEN, B. E. Fla.
304. _Picus (Dendrocopus) pubescens_, SW. F. B. A. II, 1831,
307. _Picus (Trichopicus) pubescens_, BONAP. Consp. Zyg. Ateneo
Italiano, 1854, 8. _? Picus medianus_, SW. F. B. A. II, 1831,
308. _Picus meridionalis_, SW. F. B. A. II, 1831, 308 (small
southern race). _Picus leconti_, JONES, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. IV,
1848, 489, pl. xviii (Georgia; three-toed specimen, first toe
wanting. Type of _Tridactylia_, BP.) _Dryobates pubescens_,
CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein. 1863, 63.
SP. CHAR. A miniature of _P. villosus_. Above black, with a white band
down the back. Two white stripes on the side of the head; the lower of
opposite sides always separated behind, the upper sometimes confluent
on the nape. Two stripes of black on the side of the head, the lower
not running into the forehead. Beneath white; all the middle and
greater coverts and all the quills with white spots, the larger
coverts with two series each; tertiaries or inner secondaries all
banded with white. Two outer tail-feathers white, with two bands of
black at end; third white at tip and externally, crissum sometimes
spotted with black. Length, about 6.25; wing, 3.75. _Male_ with red,
terminating the white feathers on the nape. _Young_ with whole top of
head red.
HAB. Eastern United States, towards the eastern slope of the Rocky
Mountains, into British Columbia and the Humboldt Mountains, and north
to the limits of the woods; along whole Yukon River; perhaps to the
Pacific, north of the 49th parallel; Kodiak. Localities: San Antonio,
Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 468). Accidental in England.
The remarks already made on the variation of _Picus villosus_ apply
equally well here; all the differences in size and markings with
locality being almost exactly reproduced. The western variety, _P.
gairdneri_, is equally uncertain in characters as _P. harrisi_, and as
little entitled to specific distinction. As in the previous instance,
we shall call typical _pubescens_ those specimens in which all the
middle and greater coverts and all the quills including the innermost
secondaries are spotted with white, while those in which any of these
feathers, whether all the coverts, as in Oregon birds, or only a few
of them, are unspotted, may be called var. _gairdneri_.
Of typical _pubescens_ in the Eastern States there are minor
variations, but not of much account. Thus the forehead itself, apart
from the white nasal tufts, is sometimes white, connecting with the
white superciliary stripe; more frequently, however, the whole
forehead is black. Northern specimens are larger and have larger white
spots, and not unfrequently the black cheek-stripe is invaded
anteriorly by white, which, however, is appreciable at the base of the
feathers. The black bars on the tail are much restricted in specimens
from the Yukon. Southern specimens are smaller and darker, with
smaller spots on the wings.
In all the changes of the two species, there is no difficulty in
distinguishing _P. pubescens_ from _P. villosus_ by the black bars on
outer tail-feathers of the former, and their absence in the latter.
The crissum of _pubescens_ is sometimes somewhat spotted with
blackish. The white markings on the coverts are larger in proportion,
and there are almost always two series of white spots on the greater
coverts, as in northern varieties of _villosus_, not one, as in most
of those from the Middle States.
HABITS. This species, like the Hairy Woodpecker, is a resident rather
than a migratory species, and breeds wherever it is met with. It also
seems to have very nearly the same geographical distribution with that
species. Dr. Woodhouse found it common throughout the Indian
Territory, Texas, and New Mexico. It does not, however, appear to have
been collected by any of the parties engaged in the Pacific Railroad
surveys, nor by that upon the survey of the Mexican boundary. Of
seventeen specimens given by Professor Baird in 1858 as in the
collections of the Smithsonian Institution, six are from Pennsylvania,
two from Massachusetts, two from Missouri, one from Bonhomme Island in
Nebraska, and the rest from Fort Leavenworth, Salt Creek, Fort Riley,
and Platte River in Kansas. It is quite common throughout the coast
region of Alaska, exclusive of the Aleutians, and throughout the
entire valley of the Yukon. Wilson makes no mention of its
geographical distribution, probably because he found it everywhere
common, to the extent of his own investigations. Audubon speaks of it
as very generally distributed from the lower parts of Louisiana to
Labrador, and as far westward as he travelled.
Sir John Richardson states that this species is a constant inhabitant
of the fur countries up to the 58th parallel. It seeks its food
principally on the maple, elm, and ash, and, north of latitude 54°,
where these trees are not found, on the aspen and birch.
According to Wilson, these birds select a suitable place for the
excavation of their nest, about the middle of May. An apple, pear, or
cherry tree, often in the near neighborhood of a farm-house, is
generally fixed upon for this purpose. The work of excavation is begun
by the male, who cuts a hole in the solid wood as circular as if
described with a pair of compasses. He is occasionally relieved by the
female, both parties working with the most indefatigable diligence.
The direction of the hole, when made in the body of the tree, is
downward by an angle of forty degrees for the distance of six or eight
inches, and then directly downward for ten or twelve more. Within, the
excavation is roomy, capacious, and as smooth as if polished by the
hand of the most finished workman. The entrance is, however, left only
just large enough to admit the bodies of the birds. During their labor
they even take the pains to carry their chips to a distance, to
prevent suspicion. This operation sometimes occupies the chief part of
a week. The eggs are generally six in number, pure white, and laid on
the smooth bottom of the cavity. The male supplies the female with
food while she is sitting. The young generally leave the nest about
the last of June.
The same writer also gives an interesting account of the impudent
coolness of the House Wren, who, coveting the well-built home of this
Woodpecker, and unable to excavate such an apartment for itself, waits
until the poor Woodpeckers have completed their work, and then attacks
them with violence and drives them off from the nest they have been at
so much pains to prepare. He states that he saw a striking example of
this, where the Woodpeckers, after commencing in a cherry-tree, within
a few yards of the house, and having made considerable progress, were
turned out by the Wren. They began again on a pear-tree in the garden,
a few yards off, when, after digging out a most complete apartment,
and laying one egg, they were once more assaulted by the same
impertinent intruder, and finally forced to abandon the place.
Mr. Audubon gives substantially the same account of their nesting,
only he assigns an earlier period, the middle of April, for its
commencement, and describes the entrance to the excavation as often
being at right angles to the trunk for a few inches before it
descends. He states that in the Southern and Middle States two broods
are raised in a season, farther north seldom more than one.
Mr. C. S. Paine, of Randolph, Vt., speaks of this Woodpecker as being
one of the most common and familiar, in Vermont, of the family. They
are to be met with in his neighborhood at all seasons of the year,
though he is of the opinion that many of them go south to spend the
winter. They deposit their eggs about the first of June in the very
snug little excavations they prepare. The male bird will sometimes
prepare a separate apartment for himself, apart from his mate. Mr.
Paine has taken the male in such a hole by himself, and without any
nest or eggs, evidently only prepared for shelter.
This Woodpecker has a single note or cry, sounding like _chink_, which
it frequently repeats. When it flies, and often when it alights, this
cry is more shrill and prolonged. They are very industrious, and are
constantly employed in search of insects, chiefly in orchards and the
more open groves. The orchard is its favorite resort, and it is
particularly fond of boring the bark of apple-trees for insects. This
fact, and the erroneous impression that it taps the trees for the sap,
has given to these birds the common name of Sapsuckers, and has caused
an unjust prejudice against them. So far from doing any injury to the
trees, they are of great and unmixed benefit. Wilson, who was at great
pains to investigate the matter, declares that he invariably found
that those trees that were thus marked by the Woodpecker were
uniformly the most thriving and the most productive. “Here, then,”
adds Wilson, “is a whole species—I may say genus—of birds, which
Providence seems to have formed for the protection of our fruit and
forest trees from the ravages of vermin, which every day destroy
millions of those noxious insects that would otherwise blast the hopes
of the husbandman, and even promote the fertility of the tree, and in
return are proscribed by those who ought to have been their
protectors.”
The egg of this species is nearly spherical, pure white, and measures
.83 by .72 of an inch.
Picus pubescens, var. gairdneri, AUD.
GAIRDNER’S WOODPECKER.
_Picus gairdneri_, AUD. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 317.—IB. Syn. 1839,
180.—IB. Birds Amer. IV, 1842, 252 (not figured).—BAIRD,
Birds N. Am. 1858, 91, pl. lxxxv, f. 2, 3.—SUNDEVALL, Consp.
1866, 17.—GRAY, Cat. 1868, 44.—COOPER & SUCKLEY,
159.—SCLATER, Catal. 1862, 334.—MALH. Monog. Picidæ, I,
123.—CASS. P. A. N. S. 1863, 201.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870,
377.—LORD, Pr. R. Art. Inst. IV, 1864, 111. _Picus
meridionalis_, NUTT. Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 690 (not of
SWAINSON).—GAMBEL, J. A. N. Sc. I, 1847, 55, 105. _Picus
turati_, MALHERBE, Mon. Pic. I, 125, tab. 29 (small race, 5.50,
from Monterey, Cal., nearest _pubescens_). _Dryobates turati_,
CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein. IV, 2, 1863, 65. _Dryobates homorus_,
CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein. IV, 2, 1863, 65 (larger, more spotted
style).
SP. CHAR. Similar to _pubescens_ in size and markings, but with less
white on the wings. Varies from entire absence of exposed white spots
on the middle and greater wing-coverts and innermost secondaries, with
small spots on the quills, to spots on most of their feathers, but
absent on some, and the spots generally larger.
HAB. Pacific coast of United States to Rocky Mountains. Darkest and
with least white in Western Oregon and Washington.
In the preceding article we have given the comparative characters of
this form, which we can only consider as a variety, and not very
permanent or strongly marked at that.
As in _pubescens_, this race varies much in the color of the under
parts, which are sometimes pure white, sometimes smoky-brown. It is
suggested that this is partly due to a soiling derived from inhabiting
charred trees. It is, at any rate, of no specific value.
HABITS. Gairdner’s Woodpecker is the western representative and
counterpart of the Downy Woodpecker of the east, resembling it in size
and general habits, and only differing from it in certain exceptional
characteristics already mentioned. It is found throughout western
North America, probably from Mexico to the British Possessions, and
from the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific.
Dr. Cooper met with it in California, chiefly in the northern parts of
the State, but did not observe any south of the Santa Clara Valley.
Dr. Coues saw none in Arizona, or possibly a single specimen not
positively ascertained.
Dr. Cooper found one of its nests near Santa Clara, on the 24th of
May, containing young. It had been burrowed in a small and partly
rotten tree, and was about five feet from the ground. From the fact
that they were found breeding so far south he infers that among the
mountains they probably occur much farther to the south, as do most
other northern birds. He found them frequenting chiefly the smaller
trees in the vicinity of the evergreen woods, where they were to be
seen at all seasons industriously tapping the bark to obtain insects.
Dr. Newberry mentions finding them very common in Oregon, and also in
Northern California. In Washington Territory, Dr. Suckley found them
extremely common on the Lower Columbia, especially among the
willow-trees lining its banks. They were resident throughout the
winter, and in these situations were very abundant. In January, 1856,
he found them so abundant among the willows growing on the islands in
the delta of the Willamette, that he readily obtained eight specimens
in the space of an hour. At that season they were very unwary, giving
little heed to the presence of man, not even allowing the near
discharge of a gun to interfere with their busy search for food.
Dr. Heermann speaks of it as neither common nor especially rare. He
obtained several specimens among the mountains of Northern California.
Mr. Lord met with these Woodpeckers abundantly in the Northwestern
Boundary Survey. They differed slightly in their habits from the _P.
harrisi_, generally hunting for insects on the maples, alders, and
stunted oaks, rather than on the pine-trees. Specimens were taken on
Vancouver Island, Sumass Prairie, Colville, and the west slope of the
Rocky Mountains at an altitude of seven thousand feet above the
sea-level.
Mr. Ridgway found this Woodpecker to be unaccountably rare in the
Sierra Nevada and all portions of the Great Basin, as well as in the
Wahsatch and Uintah Mountains, even in places where the _P. harrisi_
was at all times abundant. Indeed, he only met with it on two or three
occasions, in the fall: first in the Upper Humboldt Valley, in
September, where it was rare in the thickets along the streams; and
again in the Wahsatch Mountains, where but a single brood of young was
met with in August.
An egg of this species from Oregon, obtained by Mr. Ricksecker, is
larger than that of the _pubescens_, but similar in shape, being very
nearly spherical. It measures .96 of an inch in length by .85 in
breadth.
SUBGENUS DYCTIOPICUS, BONAP.
_Dyctiopicus_, BONAP. Ateneo Ital. 1854, 8. (Type, _Picus scalaris_,
WAGLER.)
_Dyctiopipo_, CABANIS & HEIN. Mus. Hein. IV, 2, 1863, 74. (Same
type.)
CHAR. Small species, banded above transversely with black or brown and
white.
Of this group there are two sections,—one with the central
tail-feathers entirely black, from Mexico and the United States (three
species); the other with their feathers like the lateral black, banded
or spotted with white (three species from southern South America). The
northern section is characterized as follows:—
COMMON CHARACTERS. All the larger coverts and quills with white spots
becoming transverse bands on innermost secondaries. Cheeks black with
a supra-orbital and a malar stripe of white. Back banded alternately
with black and white, but not on upper tail-coverts, nor four central
tail-feathers. Beneath whitish, sides with elongated black spots;
flanks and crissum transversely barred. Tail-feathers, except as
mentioned, with spots or transverse bars of black. Head of male with
red patch above (restricted in _nuttalli_), each feather with a white
spot below the red. _Female_ without red.
The characters of the species _scalaris_, with its varieties, and
_nuttalli_, will be found under _Picus_.
Picus scalaris, WAGLER.
LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER.
_Picus scalaris_, WAGLER, Isis, 1829, V, 511 (Mexico).—BONAP.
Consp. 1850, 138.—SCL. P. Z. S. 1856, 307.—SUND. Consp.
18.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 94, pl. xli, f. 1.—IB. Rep.
Mex. Bound. II, 4, pl. iii.—SCL. Cat. 1862, 333.—CASS. P. A.
N. S. 1863, 195.—GRAY, Cat. 1868, 48.—HEERM. X, _c_, p.
18.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 379. _Picus (Dyctiopicus)
scalaris_, BON. Consp. Zygod. Aten. Ital. 1854, 8. _Dyctiopipo
scalaris_, CAB. & HEIN. Mus. 74. _Picus gracilis_, LESS. Rev.
Zoöl. 1839, 90 (Mexico). _Picus parvus_, CABOT, Boston Jour. N.
H. V, 1845, 90 (Sisal, Yucatan). _Picus orizabæ_, CASSIN, Pr.
A. N. S. 1863, 196 (Orizaba). _Picus bogotus_, CASSIN, Pr. A.
N. S. 1863, 196; Jour. A. N. S. V, 1863, 460, pl. lii, f. 1
(Mex.). _Picus bairdi_ (SCL. MSS.), MALHERBE, Mon. Pic. I, 118,
t. xxvii, f. 7, 8.—SCL. Cat. 333, (?) P. Z. S. 64, 177 (city
of Mex.).—CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein. IV, 2, 76.—CASSIN, Pr. A.
N. S. 1863, 196.—COUES, Pr. A. N. S. 1866, 52 (perhaps var.
_graysoni_).—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 468. _Hab._ Texas and New
Mexico, to Arizona; south through Eastern Mexico to Yucatan.
_Picus scalaris_, var. _graysoni_, BAIRD, MSS. _Hab._ Western
Arizona; Western Mexico and Tres Marias.
SP. CHAR. Back banded transversely with black and white from nape to
rump (not upper tail-coverts). Quills and coverts with spots of white;
forming bands on the secondaries. Two white stripes on sides of head.
Top of head red, spotted with white. Nasal tufts brown. Beneath
brownish-white, with black spots on sides, becoming bands behind.
Outer tail-feathers more or less banded. Length, about 6.50; wing,
3.50 to 4.50; tail, about 2.50.
HAB. Guatemala, Mexico, and adjacent southern parts of United States.
Localities: Xalapa (SCL. P. Z. S. 1859, 367); Cordova (SCL. 1856,
357); Guatemala (SCL. Ibis, I, 136); Orizaba (SCL. Cat. 333); S. E.
Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 468, breeds); W. Arizona (COUES, P. A. N.
S. 1866, 52); Yucatan (LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. IX, 205).
In the above diagnosis we have endeavored to express the average of
characters belonging to a Woodpecker to which many names, based on
trifling geographical variations, have been assigned, but which
legitimately can be only considered as one species. This is among the
smallest of the North American Woodpeckers, and in all its variations
the wings are long, reaching as far as the short feathers of the tail.
The upper parts generally are black, on the back, rump, and exposed
feathers of the wings banded transversely with white, the black bands
rather the narrower; the quills and larger coverts spotted with the
same on both webs, becoming bands on the innermost secondaries. The
upper tail-coverts and two inner tail-feathers on either side are
black. The white bands of the back extend all the way up to the neck,
without any interscapular interruption. The under parts are of a pale
smoky brownish-white, almost with a lilac tinge; on the sides of the
breast and belly are a few scattered small but elongated spots. The
posterior parts of the sides under the wing and the under tail-coverts
are obscurely banded transversely with black. The top of the head,
extending from a narrow sooty frontlet at the base of the bill to a
short, broad nuchal crest, is crimson in the male, each feather with a
white spot between the crimson and the dark brown base of the
feathers. The brown nasal tuft is scarcely different from the feathers
of the forehead.
In a large series of specimens of this species, from a wide area of
distribution, considerable differences are appreciable in size, but
fewer in coloration than might be expected. Yucatan birds are the
least (_Picus parvus_, Cabot; _vagatus_, Cassin), the wing measuring
3.30 inches. Those from Southern Mexico are but little larger (wing,
3.60). In Northern Mexico the wing is nearly 4 inches; in New Mexico
it is 4.30. The markings vary but little. The black and white bands on
the back are about of equal width, but sometimes one, sometimes the
other, appears the larger; the more eastern have, perhaps, the most
white. The pattern on the tail is quite constant. Thus, assuming the
three outer feathers to be white, banded with black, the outermost may
be said to have seven transverse bars of black, of which the terminal
four (sometimes five) are distinct and perfect, the basal three (or
two) confluent into one on the inner web (the extreme base of the
feather white). The next feather has, perhaps, the same number of dark
bands, but here only two (sometimes three) are continuous and
complete; the innermost united together, the outer showing as
scallops. The third feather has no continuous bands (or only one), all
the inner portions being fused; the outer mere scallops, sometimes an
oblique edging; generally, however, the interspaces of the dark bands
are more or less distinctly traceable through their dusky suffusion,
especially on the inner web of the outer feather. The number of free
bands thus varies slightly, but the general pattern is the same. This
condition prevails in nearly all the specimens before us from Yucatan
and Mexico (in only one specimen from Arizona, and one or two from
Texas), and is probably the typical _scalaris_ of Wagler.
In specimens from the Rio Grande and across to Arizona the seven bands
of the outer feather are frequently continuous and complete on both
webs to the base, a slight suffusion only indicating the tendency to
union in the inner web. The other feathers are much as described,
except that the white interspaces of the black scallops penetrate
deeper towards the shaft. This is perhaps the race to which the name
of _P. bairdi_ has been applied. We do not find, however, any decided
reduction in the amount of red on the anterior portion of the head, as
stated for this species (perhaps it is less continuous towards the
front), except in immature birds; young females possibly losing the
immature red of the crown, as with typical _scalaris_.
A third type of tail-marking is seen in specimens from the Pacific
coast, and from the Tres Marias especially; also in some skins from
Southwestern Arizona. Here the extreme forehead is black, with white
spots; the red of the crown not so continuous anteriorly even as in
the last-mentioned race. The general pattern of tail is as described,
and the bars on the inner webs are also confluent towards the base,
but we have only two or three transverse bars at the end of the outer
feathers; the rest of outer web entirely white, this color also
invading the inner. The second feather is similarly marked, sometimes
with only one spot on outer web; the third has the black scallops
restricted. This may be called var. _graysoni_, as most specimens in
the Smithsonian collection were furnished by Colonel Grayson. The size
is equal to the largest typical _scalaris_.
We next come to the Cape St. Lucas bird, described by Mr. Xantus as
_P. lucasanus_. Here the bill and feet become disproportionally larger
and more robust than in any described; the black bands of the back
larger than the white, perhaps fewer in number. The continuous red of
the head also appears restricted to a stripe above and behind the eye
and on the occiput, although there are some scattered feathers as far
forward as above the eyes. The specimens are, however, not in very
good plumage, and this marking cannot be very well defined; the red
may really be as continuous forward as in the last variety. The nasal
tufts are brown, as in the typical _scalaris_. The outer three
tail-feathers in most specimens show still more white, with one or two
indistinct terminal bands only on the outer two; one or two additional
spots, especially on inner web, and the sub-basal patch of inner web
greatly reduced. Specimens vary here in this respect, as in other
races of _scalaris_, but the average is as described.
Notwithstanding the decided difference between typical _scalaris_ and
_lucasanus_, the discovery of the variety _graysoni_ makes it possible
to consider both as extremes of one species. To _nuttalli_, however,
it is but one step farther; a restriction of the red to the posterior
half of the top of head, the white instead of brown nasal feathers,
and the whiter under parts being the only positive characters. The
markings of the tail are almost identical with those of _lucasanus_.
The anterior portion of the back is, however, not banded, as in the
several varieties described. For this reason it may therefore be
questioned whether, if _lucasanus_ and _scalaris_ are one, _nuttalli_
should not belong to the same series.
We thus find that the amount of black on the tail is greatest in
Southern and Southeastern Mexican specimens, and farther north it
begins to diminish; in Western Mexico it is still more reduced, while
at Cape St. Lucas the white is as great in amount as in the Upper
Californian _P. nuttalli_.
The characters given above for the different varieties or races of
_Picus scalaris_, as far as they relate to the tail, may be expressed
in the following table, illustrated by the accompanying diagram,
showing the markings of outer tail-feather in _scalaris_ and
_nuttalli_.
Outer tail-feathers with seven distinct transverse black
bands.
These bands confluent on inner web near the base var. _scalaris_.
Bands distinct on inner web var. _bairdi_.
Bands on outer tail-feather distinct on outer webs at end
only, obsolete or wanting towards base (as in _nuttalli_).
Tarsus, .68. Bill and legs as in average var. _graysoni_.
Tarsus, .78. Bill and legs very stout var. _lucasanus_.
HABITS. This species belongs to our southern and
southwestern fauna, entering our borders from Mexico,
occurring from the valley of the Rio Grande to Southeastern
California, and the slopes of the Rocky Mountains south of
the 35th parallel. It is found throughout Mexico to Yucatan
and Guatemala.
[Line drawing: Outermost tail-feather of _Picus scalaris_.
6105]
[Line drawing: Outermost tail-feather of _Picus nuttalli_.
4482]
Dr. Samuel Cabot obtained a single specimen of this bird at Yucatan,
which he described under the name of _P. parvus_, in the Boston
Journal of Natural History, V, p. 92. It was procured early in
December, 1841, in the neighborhood of Ticul, Yucatan. Dr. Kennerly
considered it a not uncommon species in the vicinity of Boca Grande;
especially wherever there were large trees. The same naturalist, in
his Report on the birds of Lieutenant Whipple’s expedition, states
that he very often saw this bird near San Antonio, Texas, as well as
during the march several hundred miles west of that place, but that,
after leaving the Rio Grande, he did not meet with it until he reached
the head-waters of Bill Williams Fork. From thence to the Great
Colorado River he saw it frequently, wherever there was any timber;
but it was very shy, alighting on the tops of the leafless cotton-wood
trees, and keeping a vigilant lookout.
Dr. Heermann, in his Report on the birds of Lieutenant J. G. Parke’s
expedition, states that he observed this Woodpecker in the
southernmost portion of California, and found it more and more
abundant as he advanced towards Texas, where it was quite common. The
same naturalist, in his Report on the birds of Lieutenant Williamson’s
expedition, remarks that he procured this bird first at Vallicita, but
found it abounding in the woods about Fort Yuma. He considered the
species as new to the California fauna, though frequently seen in
Texas, several of the expeditions having collected it.
Dr. Woodhouse, in his Report on the birds of Sitgreaves’s expedition
to the Zuñi and the Colorado speaks of finding this beautiful little
Woodpecker abundant in Texas, east of the Pecos River. During his stay
in San Antonio and its vicinity, he became quite familiar with it. It
was to be seen, at all times, flying from tree to tree, and lighting
on the trunk of the mesquites (_Algarobia_), closely searching for its
insect-food. In its habits and notes, he states, it much resembles the
common Hairy Woodpecker. Dr. Woodhouse elsewhere remarks that he did
not meet with this bird west of the Rio San Pedro, in Texas. In regard
to its breeding-habits, so far as I am aware, they are inferred rather
than known. It is quite probable they are not unlike those of the
_Picus pubescens_, which it so closely resembles. The eggs in the
collection of the Smithsonian were obtained with the collections of
the late Dr. Berlandier of Matamoras, in the province of Tamaulipas,
Mexico.
Dr. Cooper states that this Woodpecker is abundant in the Colorado
Valley, and that they are sometimes seen on the bushes covering the
neighboring mountains. In habits he regards them the exact counterpart
of _P. nuttalli_, to which they are allied.
Mr. Dresser found them resident and very common throughout all Texas
and Northeastern Mexico. It breeds abundantly about San Antonio,
boring into any tree it finds most suitable for its purposes.
Dr. Coues regards Fort Whipple as about the northern limit of this
species in Arizona. It is not very common, is only a summer resident,
and breeds sparingly there. Farther south, throughout the Territory,
and in the Colorado Valley, he found it abundant. It does not cross
the Colorado Desert into California, and is there replaced by _P.
nuttalli_. It extends south into Central America. A bird shot by Dr.
Coues, June 5, appeared to be incubating; young birds were taken just
fledged July 10. The nest was in the top of a live-oak tree. Malherbe,
who speaks of this Woodpecker as exclusively Mexican, states that he
has been informed that it is abundant in that country, where it may be
seen at all times, climbing over the trunks and branches of trees. It
is said to be very familiar and unwary, living commonly in gardens and
orchards through the greater part of the year, and many of them
nesting there, though in regard to their manner of nesting he has no
information.
The egg of this Woodpecker in shape is most similar to the _P.
villosus_, being of an oblong-oval. It is larger than the _pubescens_,
and not of so clear a white color. It measures exactly one inch in
length by .75 of an inch in breadth.
Picus scalaris, var. lucasanus, XANTUS.
THE CAPE WOODPECKER.
_Picus lucasanus_, XANTUS, Pr. A. N. S. 1859, 298, 302.—MALHERBE,
Mon. Picidæ, I, 166.—CASSIN, Pr. A. N. S. 1863, 195.—COOPER,
Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 381.
SP. CHAR. General appearance that of _Picus nuttalli_ and _scalaris_.
Bill stout, as long as or longer than the head. Above black, banded
transversely with white on the back and scapulars to the nape, the
white narrower band, the rump and inner tail-feathers entirely black;
quills with a row of white spots on each web; the outer square, the
inner rounded, these spots on the tertials becoming transversely
quadrangular. Beneath brownish-white, with rounded black spots on the
sides of the breast, passing behind on the flanks and under
tail-coverts into transverse bars. Greater inner wing-coverts
transversely barred. Outer two tail-feathers white, with one,
sometimes two terminal bars, next to which are one or two bars on the
inner web only; third feather black, the outer web mostly white, with
traces of a terminal black bar; sometimes there is a greater
predominance of black on the inner web. Two white stripes on side of
head, one starting above, the other below the eye, with a tendency to
meet behind and form a whitish collar on the nape. Male with the
entire top of the head streaked with red, becoming more conspicuous
behind; each red streak with a white spot at base. Feathers covering
the nostrils smoky-brown. Length, 7.15; extent, 12.15; wing, 4.00;
bill above, 1.00; middle toe and claw, .80; tarsus, .76.
HAB. Cape St. Lucas.
Of the distinctness of this bird as a species from _P. nuttalli_ and
_scalaris_ I had at one time no doubt; but the discovery that the
otherwise typical _scalaris_ from Mazatlan and Western Mexico
generally have the same markings on the tail has induced me to
consider it as a kind of connecting link. I have, however, thought it
best to give a detailed description for comparison. Of about the same
size with _nuttalli_, the bill and feet are much larger. The legs,
indeed, are nearly, if not quite, as large as those of male _P.
villosus_ from Pennsylvania; the bill, however, is somewhat less. The
relations to _P. scalaris_ are seen in the dorsal bands extending to
the nape, the smoky-brown feathers of the nostrils, the red on the
whole top of head (scattering anteriorly), the brownish shade beneath,
the width of the white cheek-bands, etc. On the other hand, it has the
black bands of the back rather wider than the white, as in _nuttalli_,
and the white outer tail-feathers even less banded with black. The two
outer are entirely white, with one terminal black bar; one or two
spots on the outer web; and two or three bands on the inner, with a
sub-basal patch on the inner web, even smaller than in _nuttalli_. It
is rarely that even two continuous transverse bands can be seen to
cross both webs of the tail. The bill and feet are much larger.
The following measurements taken from the largest specimens before us
of _Dyctiopicus_, and one of _P. villosus_, will illustrate what has
been said of the size of bill and feet of _P. lucasanus_.
+————————————+—————+—————-+—————+—————+
| | _P. | _P. | _P. | _P. |
| |villosus._|lucasanus._|nuttalli._|scalaris._|
| +—————+—————-+—————+—————+
| | 884 ♂ | ♂ 12939 | ♂ 4482 | ♂ 6105 |
| +—————+—————-+—————+—————+
|Bill from forehead, | 1.26 | 1.10 | .90 | .99 |
|Tarsus, | .76 | .76 | .70 | .68 |
|Middle toe and claw, | .87 | .84 | .75 | .65 |
|Claw alone, | .39 | .34 | .32 | .31 |
|Outer hind toe and claw,| .95 | .84 | .79 | .80 |
|Claw alone, | .40 | .32 | .31 | .31 |
+————————————+—————+—————-+—————+—————+
HABITS. Nothing distinctive is known of the habits of this race.
Picus nuttalli, GAMBEL.
NUTTALL’S WOODPECKER.
_Picus nuttalli_, GAMBEL, Pr. A. N. Sc. I, April, 1843, 259 (Los
Angeles, Cal.).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 93.—SUNDEVALL,
Consp. Pic. 19.—MALH. Mon. Pic. I, 100.—CASSIN, P. A. N. S.
1863, 195.—GRAY, Cat. 1868, 50.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870,
378. _Picus scalaris_, (WAGLER) GAMBEL, J. A. N. Sc. Ph. 2d
ser. I, Dec. 1847, 55, pl. ix, f. 2, 3 (not of WAGLER). _Picus
wilsoni_, MALHERBE, Rev. Zoöl. 1849, 529.—BONAP. Consp. 1850,
138. _Picus (Trichopicus) wilsoni_, BONAP. Consp. Zyg. Aten.
Ital. 1854, 8.
SP. CHAR. Back black, banded transversely with white, but not on upper
tail-coverts, nor as far forward as the neck. Greater and middle
coverts and quills with spots or bands of white. Crown black, with
white spots, sometimes wanting. On the nape a patch of white, behind
this unbanded black. Occiput and nape crimson in the male. Tufts of
feathers at the base of the bill white. Sides of the head black, with
two white stripes, one above the eye and passing down on the side of
the neck, the other below and cut off behind by black. Under parts
smoky yellowish-white, spotted on the sides of the breast, and banded
on flank and crissum with black. Predominant character of the outer
tail-feather white, with two or three interrupted bands towards end;
none at base. Length, about 7.00; wing, 4.50. _Female_ with the top of
the head uniform black, or sometimes spotted with white.
HAB. Coast region of California.
Third, fourth, and fifth quills nearly equal and longest; second
intermediate between the seventh and eighth. General color above
black, barred transversely with white on the back, rump, and flanks;
the upper surface of tail and tail-coverts, and a broad patch on the
upper part of the back about half an inch long, pure black. The white
bands measure about .12 of an inch, the black about twice as much. The
top of the head is black, each feather with a short streak of white;
on the extreme occiput and the nape is a transverse patch of crimson,
each feather having a white spot just below the crimson. The crimson
patch is usually as far from the base of the bill above as this is
from its point. The sides of the head may be described as black; a
white stripe commences on the upper edge of the eye, and, passing
backwards, margins the crimson, and extends on down the side of the
neck to a patch of white, apparently connected with its fellow on the
opposite side by white spots. Another narrow white stripe commences at
the nostrils, (the bristles of which are whitish,) and passes as far
as the occiput, where it ceases in the middle of the black of the
cheeks. There are thus two white streaks on the side of the head
bordering a black one passing through the eye. The under parts
generally are white, with a dirty yellow tinge. The sides of the
breast and body are faintly streaked with black; the flanks barred
with the same. The under coverts are barred with black.
The three outer tail-feathers are yellowish-white, with two or three
interrupted bars of black on the posterior or terminal fourth, and a
concealed patch of black on the inner web near the end. Only the
terminal band is continuous across, sometimes the others; always
interrupted along the shaft, and even reduced to rounded spots of
black on one or both webs. No distinct bands are visible on raising
the crissum. The black patch on inner web of outer tail-feather near
the base increases on the second and third, on the latter leaving the
end only with an oblique white patch. The bands on the under surface
have a tendency to a transversely cordate and interrupted, rather than
a continuous, linear arrangement.
Young birds have the whole top of head red, as in _P. scalaris_, with
or without white at the base of the red. The white nasal tufts and
other characters will, however, distinguish them.
This bird, though widely different in appearance from _scalaris_, may
nevertheless, without any violence, be regarded as but one extreme of
a species of which the lighter examples of _scalaris_ (_bairdi_) are
the other, the transition towards _nuttalli_ being through var.
_scalaris_, var. _graysoni_, and var. _lucasanus_, each in that
succession showing a nearer approach to the distinctive features of
_nuttalli_. We have not seen any intermediate specimens, however. The
pure white instead of smoky-brown nasal tufts, and their greater
development, are the only characters which show a marked difference
from the varieties of _scalaris_; but the other differences are
nothing more than an extension of the black markings and restriction
of the red in the male, the result of a melanistic tendency in the
Pacific region.
HABITS. This species was first discovered by Dr. Gambel near Los
Angeles, Cal., and described by him in the Proceedings of the
Philadelphia Academy. Afterwards, in his paper on the birds of
California, published in the Academy’s Journal, mistaking it for the
_P. scalaris_ of Wagler, he furnished a fuller description of the bird
and its habits, and gave with it illustrations of both sexes. So far
as now known, it appears to be confined to the regions in California
and Oregon west of the Coast Range, extending as far south as San
Diego, representing, in its distribution on the Pacific, the _P.
borealis_ of the Atlantic States. One specimen in the Smithsonian
collections was obtained on Umpqua River, in Oregon Territory; the
others at Santa Clara, San Francisco, Petaluma, Bodega, and Yreka, in
California. Dr. Woodhouse says, in his Report on the birds of the Zuñi
and Colorado expedition, that he has only seen this bird in
California, from which region he has examined numerous specimens. Dr.
Heermann, in his Report on the birds of Lieutenant Williamson’s
expedition, states that this Woodpecker is occasionally found in the
mountains of Northern California, but that it is much more abundant in
the valleys. Dr. Gambel found it abundant in California at all
seasons. He describes it as having the usual habits of Woodpeckers,
familiarly examining the fence-rails and orchard-trees for its
insect-fare. He found it breeding at Santa Barbara, and on the 1st of
May discovered a nest containing young in the dead stump of an oak,
about fifteen feet from the ground. The hole for entrance was
remarkably small, but inside appeared large and deep. The parents were
constantly bringing insects and larvæ.
Dr. Cooper states that this Woodpecker is quite abundant towards the
coast of California, and among the foothills west of the Sierra
Nevada. It frequents the oaks and the smaller trees almost
exclusively, avoiding the coniferous forests. It is very industrious,
and not easily frightened, when engaged in hammering on the bark of
trees allowing a very near approach. At other times, when pursued, it
becomes more wary and suspicious. April 20, 1862, Dr. Cooper
discovered a nest of this bird near San Diego. It was in a rotten
stump, and was only about four feet from the ground. He captured the
female on her nest, which contained five eggs of a pure pearly
whiteness.
These birds are said to remain throughout the year in the valleys, and
to migrate very little, if at all. Dr. Cooper has not observed it west
of the Coast Range, except near Santa Barbara, nor has he seen any
around gardens or orchards. None have been observed north or east of
the State. East of the mountains it is replaced by the _scalaris_.
Mr. Xantus mentions finding a nest containing two eggs in a hole in
the _Cereus giganteus_, about fifteen feet from the ground. The
excavation made by the bird was about a foot and a half deep and six
inches wide.
This Woodpecker Mr. Ridgway saw only in the Sacramento Valley, where,
in June, it appeared to be a common species among the oaks of the
plains. He did not learn anything of its habits, but describes its
notes as very peculiar, the usual one being a prolonged querulous
rattling call, unlike that of any other bird known to him.
SUBGENUS PHRENOPICUS, BONAP.
_Phrenopicus_, BONAP. Consp. Vol. Zygod. Ateneo Ital. 1854. (Type,
_Picus borealis_, VIEILL.)
_Phrenopipo_, CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein. 1863, 70. Same type.
This subgenus is closely related in external form to the preceding,
differing in rather longer and more pointed wings and tail, the latter
especially, and a very small, short bill. The first quill (excluding
the spurious one) is considerably longer than the sixth, not shorter.
The tail-feathers are much attenuated at end. The most marked
differences in coloration of the type species, _P. borealis_, consists
in the absence of the post-ocular black patch, leaving the whole
auricular region white, and in the restriction of the red to a very
narrow line on each side, usually concealed.
Some authors place _Picus stricklandi_ of Mexico (_Phrenopipo_ or
_Xylocopus stricklandi_, Cab. and Hein.) in this section, to which it
may indeed belong as far as the wing is concerned, but the markings
are entirely different.
Picus borealis, VIEILL.
RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER.
_Picus borealis_, VIEILLOT, Ois. Am. Sept. II, 1807, 66, pl.
cxxii.—STEPHENS, in Shaw’s Gen. Zoöl. IX, 1817, 174.—BAIRD,
Birds N. Am. 1858, 96.—CASSIN, Pr. A. N. S. 1863, 201.—GRAY,
Catal. 1868, 50.—ALLEN, B. E. Fla. 305.—SUNDEVALL, Consp.
1866, 21. _Threnopipo borealis_, CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein. IV, 2,
70. _Picus querulus_, WILSON, Am. Orn. II, 1810, 103, pl. xv,
f. 1.—WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1827, No. 21.—IB. Isis, 1829,
510.—AUD. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 12, pl. ccclxxxix.—IB. Birds
Am. IV, 1842, 254, pl. cclxiv.—BP. Consp. 1850, 137.—CASSIN,
Pr. A. N. S. 1863 (southernmost race). _Picus (Phrenopicus)
querulus_, BP. Consp. Zyg. Aten. Ital. 1854, 8. _Picus
leucotis_, ILLIGER (fide Lichtenstein in letter to Wagler;
perhaps only a catalogue name).—LICHT. Verzeich. 1823, 12, No.
81. _Picus vieilloti_, WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1827, No. 20.
SP. CHAR. Fourth quill (not counting the spurious) longest. First
nearer tip of fifth than of sixth, intermediate between the two. Upper
parts, with top and sides of the head, black. Back, rump, and
scapulars banded transversely with white; quills spotted with white on
both webs; middle and greater coverts spotted. Bristles of bill, under
parts generally, and a silky patch on the side of the head, white.
Sides of breast and body streaked with black. First and second outer
tail-feathers white, barred with black on inner web. Outer web of the
third mostly white. A short, very inconspicuous narrow streak of silky
scarlet on the side of the head a short distance behind the eye, along
the junction of the white and black (this is wanting in the female); a
narrow short line of white just above the eye. Length, about 7.25;
wing, 4.50; tail, 3.25.
Hab. Southern States, becoming very rare north to Pennsylvania.
This species differs from the other banded Woodpeckers, as stated in
the diagnosis, in having a large patch of white behind the eye,
including the ears and sides of head, and not traversed by a black
post-ocular stripe. The bands of the back, as in _P. nuttalli_, do not
reach the nape, nor extend over the upper tail-covert. The white patch
occupies almost exactly the same area as the black one in _nuttalli_;
the white space covered by the supra-orbital and malar stripes, and
the white patch on side of nape, of the latter species being here
black.
According to Mr. Cassin, southern specimens which he distinguishes as
_P. querulus_ from _P. borealis_ of Pennsylvania, differ in smaller
number of transverse bars on the back, and shorter quills, and in
fewer white spots on the wing-coverts and outer primaries. The black
band on the back of neck is wider. This therefore exhibits the same
tendency to melanism, in more southern specimens, that has been
already indicated for _P. villosus_, _scalaris_, etc.
HABITS. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker has a restricted distribution to
the Southeastern Atlantic States, being rarely met with so far north
as Pennsylvania. Georgia and Florida are the only localities
represented in the Smithsonian collection, though other Southern
States not named have furnished specimens. It has been met with as far
to the west as Eastern Texas and the Indian Territory, where Dr.
Woodhouse speaks of having found them common. (Report of an Expedition
down the Zuñi and Colorado Rivers, Zoölogy, p. 89.) Wilson only met
with it in the pine woods of North Carolina, Georgia, and South
Carolina, and does not appear to have been acquainted with its habits.
Audubon speaks of it as being found abundantly from Texas to New
Jersey, and as far inland as Tennessee, and as nowhere more numerous
than in the pine barrens of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. He
found these birds mated in Florida as early as January, and engaged in
preparing a breeding-place in February. The nest, he states, is not
unfrequently bored in a decayed stump about thirty feet high. The eggs
he describes as smooth and pure white, and as usually four in number,
though he has found as many as six in a nest. The young crawl out of
their holes before they are able to fly, and wait on the branches to
receive the food brought by their parents until they are able to shift
for themselves. During the breeding-season the call of these birds is
more than usually lively and petulant, and is reiterated through the
pine woods where it is chiefly found.
Wilson compares the common call-notes of these birds to the querulous
cries of young birds. His attention was first directed to them by this
peculiarity. He characterizes the species as restless, active, and
clamorous.
Though almost exclusively a Southern species, and principally found
south of North Carolina, individuals have been known to wander much
farther north. Mr. G. N. Lawrence obtained a specimen of this bird in
Hoboken, N. J., opposite New York City.
In quickness of motion this Woodpecker is said to be equalled by very
few of the family. Mr. Audubon states that it glides upwards and
sideways, along the trunks and branches, on the lower as well as the
upper sides of the latter, moving with great celerity, and
occasionally uttering a short, shrill, clear cry, that can be heard at
a considerable distance. Mr. Audubon kept a wounded one several days.
It soon cut its way out of a cage, and ascended the wall of the room
as it would a tree, seizing such spiders and insects as it was able to
find. Other than this it would take no food, and was set at liberty.
In the stomach of one dissected were found small ants and a few minute
coleopterous insects. In Florida it mates in January and nests in
February. In the winter it seeks shelter in holes, as also in stormy
weather. Mr. Audubon states that it occasionally feeds on grain and on
small fruits. Some go to the ground to search for those that have
fallen from trees. They are always found in pairs, and during the
breeding-season are very pugnacious.
An egg of this species obtained near Wilmington, N. C., by Mr. N.
Giles, measures .95 by .70 of an inch. It is pure white, appeared less
glossy than the eggs of most Woodpeckers, and was of a more elliptical
shape. Another egg of this bird sent to me by Mr. Samuel Pasco of
Monticello, Fla., measures .98 by .70 of an inch, being even more
oblong in shape, and corresponds also in the absence of that brilliant
polish so common in most Woodpeckers.
SUBGENUS XENOPICUS, BAIRD.
_Xenopicus_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 83. (Type, _Leuconerpes
albolarvatus_, CASS.)
_Xenocraugus_, CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein. IV, 2, 1863, 74. (Same type.)
This section of _Picus_ is not appreciably different in form from
_Picus villosus_, which may be taken as the American type of the genus
_Picus_. The plumage appears softer, however, and the uniformly black
body with white head and white patch at base of primaries will readily
distinguish it from any allied group.
Picus albolarvatus, BAIRD.
WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER.
_Leuconerpes albolarvatus_, CASSIN, Pr. A. N. Sc. V, Oct. 1850, 106
(California). BONAP. Consp. Zyg. At. Ital. 1854, 10.
_Melanerpes albolarvatus_, CASSIN, Jour. A. N. Sc. 2d series,
II, Jan. 1853, 257, pl. xxii.—NEWBERRY, Zoöl. Cal. and Oreg.
Route, 9, Rep. P. R. R. VI, 1857. _Picus (Xenopicus)
albolarvatus_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 96.—CASSIN, Pr. A. N.
Sc. 1863, 202.—LORD, Pr. R. Art. Ins. IV, 1864, 112 (Ft.
Colville; nesting).—COOPER & SUCKLEY, 160.—ELLIOT, Birds N.
Am. IX, plate. _Picus albolarvatus_, SUNDEVALL, Consp. Pic.
29.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 382. _Xenocraugus
albolarvatus_, CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein. IV, 2, 1863, 74.
_Xenopicus albolarvatus_, ELLIOT, Illust. Birds Am. I, pl. xxix.
[Illustration: _Picus albolarvatus._]
SP. CHAR. Fourth and fifth quills equal and longest; tip of first
equidistant between sixth and seventh. Entirely bluish-black,
excepting the head and neck, and the outer edges of the primaries
(except outermost), and the concealed bases of all the quills, which
are white. Length, about 9.00; wing, 5.25. Male with a narrow crescent
of red on the occiput.
HAB. Cascade Mountains of Oregon and southward into California. Sierra
Nevada.
HABITS. This very plainly marked Woodpecker, formerly considered very
rare, is now known to be abundant in the mountains of Northern
California and Nevada, as also in the mountain-ranges of Washington
Territory and Oregon. Dr. Cooper found it quite common near the
summits of the Sierra Nevada, latitude 39°, in September, 1863, and
procured three specimens. Three years previously he had met with it at
Fort Dalles, Columbia River. He thinks that its chief range of
distribution will be found to be between those two points. He also
found it as far north as Fort Colville, in the northern part of
Washington Territory, latitude 49°. He characterizes it as a rather
silent bird.
Dr. Newberry only met with this bird among the Cascade Mountains, in
Oregon, where he did not find it common.
Mr. J. G. Bell, who first discovered this species, in the vicinity of
Sutter’s Mills, in California, on the American River, represents it as
frequenting the higher branches of the pines, keeping almost out of
gunshot range. Active and restless in its movements, it uttered at
rare intervals a sharp and clear note, while busily pursuing its
search for food.
Mr. John K. Lord states that the only place in which he saw this very
rare bird was in the open timbered country about the Colville Valley
and Spokan River. He has observed that this Woodpecker almost
invariably haunts woods of the _Pinus ponderosa_, and never retires
into the thick damp forest. It arrives in small numbers at Colville,
in April, and disappears again in October and November, or as soon as
the snow begins to fall. Although he did not succeed in obtaining its
eggs, he saw a pair nesting in the month of May in a hole bored in the
branch of a very tall pine-tree. It seldom flies far, but darts from
tree to tree with a short jerking flight, and always, while flying,
utters a sharp, clear, chirping cry. Mr. Ridgway found it to be common
in the pine forests of the Sierra Nevada, in the region of the Donner
Lake Pass. It was first observed in July, at an altitude of about five
thousand feet, on the western slope of that range, where it was seen
playing about the tops of the tallest dead pines. On various
occasions, at all seasons, it was afterwards found to be quite
plentiful on the eastern slope, in the neighborhood of Carson City,
Nevada. Its habits and manners are described as much like those of the
_P. harrisi_, but it is of a livelier and more restless disposition.
Its notes have some resemblance to those of that species, but are of a
more rattling character. It is easily recognized, when seen, by its
strikingly peculiar plumage.
GENUS PICOIDES, LACEP.
_Picoides_, LACEP. Mem. Inst. 1799. (Type, _Picus tridactylus_.)
_Tridactylia_, STEPH. Shaw, Gen. Zoöl. 1815.
_Apternus_, SW. F. B. A. II, 1831, 311.
[Line drawing: _Picoides arcticus._
39143 ♂]
GEN. CHAR. Bill about as long as the head, very much depressed at the
base; the outlines nearly straight; the lateral ridge at its base much
nearer the commissure than the culmen, so as to bring the large,
rather linear nostrils close to the edge of the commissure. The gonys
very long, equal to the distance from the nostrils to the tip of the
bill. Feet with only three toes, the first or inner hinder one being
wanting; the outer lateral a little longer than the inner, but
slightly exceeded by the hind toe, which is about equal to the tarsus.
Wings very long, reaching beyond the middle of the tail, the tip of
the first quill between those of sixth and seventh. Color black above,
with a broad patch of yellow on the crown; white beneath, transversely
banded on the sides. Quills, but not wing-coverts, with round spots.
Lateral tail-feathers white, without bands on exposed portion, except
in European specimens.
The peculiarities of this genus consist in the absence of the inner
hind toe and the great depression of the bill. The figure above fails
to represent the median ridge of the bill as viewed from above.
COMMON CHARACTERS. The American species of _Picoides_ agree in being
black above and white beneath; the crown with a square yellow patch in
the male; a white stripe behind the eye, and another from the loral
region beneath the eye; the quills (but not the coverts) spotted with
white; the sides banded transversely with black. The diagnostic
characters (including the European species) are as follows:—
Species and Varieties.
P. arcticus. Dorsal region without white markings; no
supraloral white stripe or streak, nor nuchal band of
white. Four middle tail-feathers wholly black; the next
pair with the basal half black; the outer two pairs almost
wholly white, without any dark bars. Entire sides heavily
banded with black; crissum immaculate; sides of the breast
continuously black. ♂. Crown with a patch of yellow,
varying from lemon, through gamboge, to orange, and not
surrounded by any whitish markings or suffusion. ♀. Crown
lustrous black, without any yellow, and destitute of white
streaks or other markings. Wing, 4.85 to 5.25; tail, 3.60;
culmen, 1.40 to 1.55. _Hab._ Northern parts of North
America. In winter just within the northern border of the
United States, but farther south on high mountain-ranges.
P. tridactylus. Dorsal region with white markings, of
various amount and direction; a more or less distinct
supraloral white streak or stripe, and a more or less
apparent nuchal band of the same. Four to six middle
tail-feathers entirely black; when six, the remainder are
white, with distinct black bars to their ends; when four,
they are white without any black bars, except occasionally
a few toward the base. Sides always with black streaks or
markings, but they are sometimes very sparse; crissum
banded with black, or immaculate; sides of the breast not
continuously black. ♂. Crown with a patch of gamboge,
amber, or sulphur-yellow, surrounded by a whitish
suffusion or markings. ♀. Crown without any yellow, but
distinctly streaked, speckled, or suffused with whitish
(very seldom plain black).
_a._ Six middle tail-feathers wholly black. Europe and
Asia.
Sides and crissum heavily barred with black (black
bars about as wide as the white ones).
Back usually transversely spotted with white;
occasionally longitudinally striped with the same in
Scandinavian examples. Wing, 4.80 to 5.10; tail,
3.80 to 4.00; culmen, 1.20 to 1.35. _Hab._ Europe
var. _tridactylus_.[127]
Sides and crissum almost free from black bars; black
bars on the outer tail-feathers very much narrower
than the white.
Back always (?) striped longitudinally with white.
Wing, 4.70 to 4.75; tail, 3.65 to 3.90; culmen, 1.20
to 1.35. _Hab._ Siberia and Northern Russia
var. _crissoleucus_.[128]
_b._ Four middle tail-feathers, only, wholly black.
North America.
Sides heavily barred with black, but crissum without
bars, except beneath the surface. Three outer
tail-feathers without black bars, except sometimes on
the basal portion of the inner webs. Wing, 4.40 to
5.10; tail, 3.40 to 3.70; culmen, 1.10 to 1.25.
Back transversely spotted or barred with white.
_Hab._ Hudson’s Bay region; south in winter to
northern border of Eastern United States var. _americanus_.
Back longitudinally striped with white at all
seasons. _Hab._ Rocky Mountains; north to Alaska
var. _dorsalis_.
[127] _Picoides tridactylus_, var. _tridactylus_. _Picus
tridactylus_, LINN. S. N. 12th ed. I, 177 (1766).—DEGLAND,
Orn. Eur. I, 161 (1849). _Apternus tridactylus_, BONAP.
Birds (1838), p. 9.—GOULD, Birds of Europe, pl. ccxxxii.
_Picoides tridactylus_, GRAY. _Picoides europæus_, LESS.
Orn. p. 217 (1831).
[128] _Picoides tridactylus_, var. _crissoleucus_. _Picus
crissoleucus_, BRANDT, Mus. Petrop. _Apternus crissoleucus_,
BONAP. Consp.—REICH. Syn. p. 362, No. 836; pl. dcxxxi, f.
4197, 4198. _Picoides crissoleucus_, MALH. Monog. Pic. I,
180. “_Apternus kamtchatkensis_, BONAP.”—MALH. Monog. Pic.
I, 180 (in synonomy). _Apternus tridactylus_, Mus. de
Mayence.—PALLAS, Zoogr. Ros. As. I, 415.
Picoides arcticus, GRAY.
THE BLACK-BACKED THREE-TOED WOODPECKER.
_Picus (Apternus) arcticus_, SW. F. Bor. Am. II, 1831, 313.
_Apternus arcticus_, BP. List, 1838.—IB. Consp. 1850,
139.—NEWBERRY, Zoöl. Cal. and Oreg. Route, 91, Rep. P. R. R.
Surv. VI, 1857. _Picus arcticus_, AUD. Syn. 1839, 182.—IB.
Birds Amer. VI, 1842, 266, pl. cclxviii.—NUTTALL, Man. I, (2d
ed.,) 1840, 691.—SUNDEVALL, Consp. I, 1866, 15. _Picus
tridactylus_, BON. Am. Orn. II, 1828, 14, pl. xiv, f. 2.—AUD.
Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 198, pl. cxxxii. _Tridactylia arctica_,
CAB. & HEIN. _Picoides arcticus_, GRAY, Gen.—BAIRD, Birds N.
Am. 1858, 98.—LORD, Pr. R. Art. Inst. Woolwich, IV, 1864, 112
(Cascade Mountains).—COOPER, Pr. Cal. Ac. Sc. 1868 (Lake Tahoe
and Sierra Nevada).—SAMUELS, 94.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870,
384.
[Illustration: _Picoides arcticus._]
SP. CHAR. Above entirely uniform glossy bluish-black; a square patch
on the middle of the crown saffron-yellow, and a few white spots on
the outer edges of both webs of the primary and secondary quills.
Beneath white, on the sides of whole body, axillars, and inner
wing-coverts banded transversely with black. Crissum white, with a few
spots anteriorly. A narrow concealed white line from the eye a short
distance backwards, and a white stripe from the extreme forehead
(meeting anteriorly) under the eye, and down the sides of the neck,
bordered below by a narrow stripe of black. Bristly feathers of the
base of the bill brown; sometimes a few gray intermixed. Exposed
portion of two outer tail-feathers (first and second) white; the third
obliquely white at end, tipped with black. Sometimes these feathers
with a narrow black tip.
HAB. Northern North America; south to northern borders of United
States in winter. Massachusetts (MAYNARD, B. E. Mass., 1870, 129).
Sierra Nevada, south to 39°. Lake Tahoe (COOPER); Carson City
(RIDGWAY).
This species differs from the other American three-toed Woodpeckers
chiefly in having the back entirely black. The white line from the eye
is usually almost imperceptible, if not wanting entirely. Specimens
vary very little; one from Slave Lake has a longer bill than usual,
and the top of head more orange. The size of the vertex patch varies;
sometimes the frontal whitish is inappreciable. None of the females
before me have any white spots in the black of head, as in that of
_americanus_.
The variations in this species are very slight, being chiefly in the
shade of the yellow patch on the crown, which varies from a sulphur
tint to a rich orange. Sometimes there is the faintest trace of a
whitish post-ocular streak, but usually this is wholly absent. Western
and Eastern examples appear to be identical.
[Illustration: PLATE L.
1. Picoides arcticus. ♂ Nova Scotia, 26923.
2. ” americanus. ♂ New Brunswick. 39143.
3. Picus nuttalli. ♂ Cal., 4482.
4. ” scalaris. ♂ Texas, 46804.
5. ” ” ♀ Texas, 9933.
6. ” nuttalli. ♀ Cal., 5400.
7. ” albolarvatus. ♂ Cal., 16066.
8. ” ” ♀ Cal.]
HABITS. This species has a well-defined and extended distribution,
from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and from the northern portions of
the United States to the extreme Arctic regions. In the United States
it has been found as far south as Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio,
but rarely; and, so far as I am aware, it is a winter visitant only to
any but the extreme northern portions of the Union, except along the
line of the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Audubon says it
occurs in Northern Massachusetts, and in all portions of Maine that
are covered by forests of tall trees, where it constantly resides. He
saw a few in the Great Pine Forest of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Bachman
noticed several in the neighborhood of Niagara Falls, and was of the
opinion that it breeds in the northern part of New York. The same
writer describes the nesting-place of the Arctic Woodpecker as
generally bored in the body of a sound tree, near its first large
branches. He observed no particular choice as to the timber, having
seen it in oaks, pines, etc. The nest, like that of most of this
family, is worked out by both sexes, and requires fully a week for its
completion. Its usual depth is from twenty to twenty-four inches. It
is smooth and broad at the bottom, although so narrow at its entrance
as to appear scarcely sufficient to enable one of the birds to enter
it. The eggs are from four to six, rather rounded and pure white. Only
one brood is raised in the season. The young follow their parents
until the autumn. In the southern districts where these Woodpeckers
are found, their numbers are greatly increased in the winter by
accessions from the North.
Dr. Cooper found this species quite numerous, in September, in the
vicinity of Lake Tahoe and the summits of the Sierra Nevada, above an
altitude of six thousand feet. From thence this bird has a northern
range chiefly on the east side of these mountains and of the Cascade
Range. None were seen near the Lower Columbia. At the lake they were
quite fearless, coming close to the hotel, and industriously rapping
the trees in the evening and in the early morning. Farther north Dr.
Cooper found them very wild, owing probably to their having been
hunted by the Indians for their skins, which they consider very
valuable. He noticed their burrows in low pine-trees near the lake,
where he had no doubt they also raise their young. Dr. Cooper has
always found them very silent birds, though in the spring they
probably have more variety of calls. The only note he heard was a
shrill, harsh, rattling cry, quite distinct from that of any other
Woodpecker.
The flight of this Woodpecker is described as rapid, gliding, and
greatly undulated. Occasionally it will fly to quite a distance before
it alights, uttering, from time to time, a loud shrill note.
Professor Verrill says this bird is very common in Western Maine, in
the spring, fall, and winter, or from the middle of October to the
middle or end of March. It is not known to occur there in the summer.
Near Calais a few are seen, and it is supposed to breed, but is not
common. In Massachusetts it is only a rare and accidental visitant,
occurring usually late in winter or in March. Two were taken near
Salem in November. It is also a rare winter visitant near Hamilton in
Canada.
Mr. Ridgway met with but a single individual of this species during
his Western explorations. This was shot in February, near Carson City,
Nevada; it was busily engaged in pecking upon the trunk of a large
pine, and was perfectly silent.
Mr. John K. Lord obtained a single specimen of this bird on the summit
of the Cascade Mountains. It was late in September, and getting cold;
the bird was flying restlessly from tree to tree, but not searching
for insects. Both when on the wing and when clinging to a tree, it was
continually uttering a shrill, plaintive cry. Its favorite tree is the
_Pinus contorta_, which grows at great altitudes. It is found chiefly
on hill-tops, while in the valleys and lower plains it is replaced by
the _Picoides hirsutus_.
Eggs of this species were obtained by Professor Agassiz on the
northern shore of Lake Superior. They were slightly ovate, nearly
spherical, rounded at one end and abruptly pointed at the other, of a
crystal whiteness, and measured .91 of an inch in length by .70 in
breadth.
An egg received from Mr. Krieghoff is small in proportion to the size
of the bird, nearly spherical in form, and of a uniform dull-white
color. It measures .92 of an inch in length by .76 in breadth.
Picoides tridactylus, var. americanus, BREHM.
THE WHITE-BACKED THREE-TOED WOODPECKER.
_Picus hirsutus_, VIEILLOT, Ois. Am. Sept. II, 1807, 68, pl. cxxiv
(European specimen).—WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1827, No. 27 (mixed
with _undulatus_).—AUD. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 184, pl.
ccccxvii.—IB. Birds Amer. IV, 1842, pl. cclxix.—NUTTALL, Man.
I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 622. _Apternus hirsutus_, BON. List,
_Picoides hirsutus_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 98.—SAMUELS,
95. _? Picus undulatus_, VIEILLOT, Ois. Am. Sept. II, 1807, 69
(based on Pl. enl. 553, fictitious species?) _Picus undatus_,
TEMM. _Picus undosus_, CUV. R. A. 1829, 451 (all based on same
figure). _Tridactylia undulata_, CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein. IV, 2,
1863, 28. _Picus tridactylus_, SW. F. Bor. Am. 1831, 311, pl.
lvi. _Picoides americanus_, BREHM, Vögel Deutschlands, 1831,
195.—MALHERBE, Mon. Picidæ, I, 176, pl. xvii, 36.—SCLATER,
Catal.—GRAY, Cat. Br. Mus. III, 3, 4, 1868, 30. _Apternus
americanus_, SWAINSON, Class. II, 1837, 306. _Picus
americanus_, SUNDEVALL, Consp. Av. Picin. 1866, 15. _Picoides
dorsalis_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 100, pl. lxxxv, f.
1.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870 (under _P. americanus_).
_Tridactylia dorsalis_, CAB. & HEIN. _Picus dorsalis_,
SUNDEVALL, Consp. 1866, 14.
SP. CHAR. Black above. The back markings of white, transverse in
summer, and longitudinal in winter; these extend to the rump, which is
sometimes almost wholly white. A white line from behind the eye,
widening on the nape, and a broader one under the eye from the loral
region, but not extending on the forehead; occiput and sides of head
uniform black. Quills, but not coverts, spotted on both webs with
white, seen on inner webs of inner secondaries. Under parts, including
crissum, white; the sides, including axillars and lining of wing,
banded transversely with black. Exposed portion of outer three
tail-feathers white; that of third much less, and sometimes with a
narrow tip of black. Upper tail-coverts sometimes tipped with white,
and occasionally, but very rarely, banded with the same. Top of the
head spotted, streaked, or suffused with white; the crown of the male
with a yellow patch. Nasal bristles black, mixed with gray. Female
with the whole top of head usually spotted with white, very rarely
entirely black.
HAB. Arctic regions of North America; southward in the Rocky Mountains
to Fort Buchanan; northern border of the Eastern United States, in
winter (Massachusetts, MAYNARD).
This species varies considerably in its markings, especially in the
amount of white above. The head is sometimes more coarsely spotted
with white than in the average; very rarely are the white spots
wanting, leaving merely the broad malar and interrupted post-ocular
stripe. The rictal black stripe is sometimes much obscured by white.
In typical specimens from the Hudson Bay and Labrador Provinces, which
seem to be darkest, the feathers of the centre of the back have three
transverse bars of white (one of them terminal), rather narrower than
the intermediate black bars; the basal white ones disappearing both
anteriorly and posteriorly, leaving but two. In specimens from the
Mackenzie River district there is a greater development of white; the
white bands being broader than the black, and sometimes extending
along the shafts so as to reduce the black bars to pairs of spots. The
next step is the disappearance of these spots on one side or the
other, or on both, leaving the end of the feathers entirely white,
especially anteriorly, where the back may have a longitudinal stripe
of white, as in _Picus villosus_. Usually, however, in this extreme,
the upper tail-coverts remain banded transversely. In all the
specimens from the Rocky Mountains of the United States, especially
Laramie Peak, this white back, unbarred except on the rump, is a
constant character, and added to it we have a broad nuchal patch of
white running into that of the back and connected with the white
post-ocular stripe. The bands, too, on the sides of the body, are less
distinct. It was to this state of plumage that the name of _P.
dorsalis_ was applied, in 1858, and although in view of the connecting
links it may not be entitled to consideration as a distinct race, this
tendency to a permanence of the longitudinal direction of the white
markings above seems to be especially characteristic of the Rocky
Mountain region, appearing only in winter birds from elsewhere. This
same character prevails in all the Rocky Mountain specimens from more
northern regions, including those from Fort Liard, and in only one not
found in that region, namely, No. 49,905, collected at Nulato by Mr.
Dall. Here the middle of the back is very white, although the nuchal
band is less distinct. Other specimens from that locality and the
Yukon River generally, as also from Kodiak, distinctly show the
transverse bars.
In one specimen (29,126) from the Mackenzie River, all the upper
tail-coverts are banded decidedly with white, and the wing-coverts
spotted with the same. Even the central tail-feathers show white
scallops. The back is, however, banded transversely very distinctly,
not longitudinally.
_P. americanus_ in all stages of color is distinguished from
_arcticus_ by the white along the middle of the back, the absence of
distinct frontal white and black bands, more numerous spots of white
on the head, etc. The inner webs of inner secondaries are banded with
white, not uniform black. The maxillary black stripe is rather larger
than the rictal white one, not smaller. The size is decidedly smaller.
Females almost always have the top of head spotted with white instead
of uniform black, which is the rule in _arcticus_.
It is probable that the difference in the amount of white on the upper
parts of this species is to some extent due to age and season, the
winter specimens and the young showing it to the greatest degree.
Still, however, there is a decided geographical relationship, as
already indicated.
This race of _P. tridactylus_ can be easily distinguished from the
European form of Northern and Alpine Europe by the tail-feathers; of
these, the outer three are white (the rest black) as far as exposed,
without any bands; the tip of the third being white only at the end.
The supra-ocular white stripe is very narrow and scarcely appreciable;
the crissum white and unbanded. The back is banded transversely in one
variety, striped longitudinally in the other. In _P. tridactylus_ the
outer two feathers on each side are white, banded with black; the
outer with the bands regular and equal from base; the second black,
except one or two terminal bands. The crissum is well banded with
black; the back striped longitudinally with white; the supra-ocular
white stripe almost as broad as the infra-ocular. _P. crisoleucus_, of
Siberia, is similar to the last, but differs in white crissum, and
from both species in the almost entire absence of dark bands on the
sides, showing the Arctic maximum of white.
We follow Sundevall in using the specific name _americanus_, Brehm,
for this species, as being the first legitimately belonging to it. _P.
hirsutus_ of Vieillot, usually adopted, is based on a European bird,
and agrees with it, though referred by the author to the American. The
name of _undulatus_, Vieillot, selected by Cabanis, is based on
Buffon’s figure (Pl. enl. 553) of a bird said to be from Cayenne, with
four toes; the whole top of the head red from base of bill to end of
occiput, with the edges of the dorsal feathers narrowly white, and
with the three lateral tail-feathers regularly banded with black,
tipped with red; the fourth, banded white and black on outer web,
tipped with black. None of those features belong to the bird of Arctic
America, and the markings answer, if to either, better to the
European.
HABITS. This rare and interesting species, so far as has been
ascertained, is nowhere a common or well-known bird. It is probably
exclusively of Arctic residence, and only occasionally or very rarely
is found so far south as Massachusetts. In the winter of 1836 I found
a specimen exposed for sale in the Boston market, which was sent in
alcohol to Mr. Audubon. Two specimens have been taken in Lynn, by Mr.
Welch, in 1868. They occur, also, in Southern Wisconsin in the winter,
where Mr. Kumlien has several times, in successive winters, obtained
single individuals.
Sir John Richardson states that this bird is to be met with in all the
forests of spruce and fir lying between Lake Superior and the Arctic
Sea, and that it is the most common Woodpecker north of Great Slave
Lake, whence it has frequently been sent to the Smithsonian
Institution. It is said to greatly resemble _P. villosus_ in habits,
except that it seeks its food principally upon decaying trees of the
pine tribe, in which it frequently makes holes large enough to bury
itself. It is not migratory.
GENUS SPHYROPICUS, BAIRD.
_Pilumnus_, BON. Consp. Zygod. Ateneo Italiano, May, 1854. (Type _P.
thyroideus_) preoccupied in crustaceans.
_Sphyropicus_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 101. (Type, _Picus varius_,)
LINN., COUES, Pr. A. N. S. 1866, 52 (anatomy).
_Cladoscopus_, CAB. & HEIN. Mus. Hein. IV, 2, 1863, 80. (Type, _P.
varius_.)
[Line drawing: _Sphyropicus nuchalis._
20511 ♀]
GEN. CHAR. Bill as in _Picus_, but the lateral ridge, which is very
prominent, running out distinctly to the commissure at about its
middle, beyond which the bill is rounded without any angles at all.
The culmen and gonys are very nearly straight, but slightly convex,
the bill tapering rapidly to a point; the lateral outline concave to
very near the slightly bevelled tip. Outer pair of toes longest; the
hinder exterior rather longest; the inner posterior toe very short,
less than the inner anterior without its claw. Wings long and pointed;
the third, excluding the spurious, longest. Tail-feathers very broad,
abruptly acuminate, with a very long linear tip. Tongue scarcely
extensible.
The genus _Sphyropicus_, instituted in 1858, proves to be so strongly
marked in its characters that Dr. Coues proposes to make it the type
of a distinct subfamily, _Sphyropicinæ_ (Pr. Phil. Acad. 1866, 52). In
addition to the peculiarities already indicated, there is a remarkable
feature in the tongue, which, according to Dr. Coues, Dr. Hoy, Dr.
Bryant, and others, is incapable of protrusion much beyond the tip of
the bill, or not more than the third of an inch. Dr. Coues states that
the apo-hyal and cerato-hyal elements of the hyoid bone do not reach
back much beyond the tympano-maxillary articulation, instead of
extending round, as in _Picus_, over the occiput to the top of the
cranium, or even curving into an osseous groove around the orbit. The
basihyals supporting the tongue are shorter and differently shaped.
The tongue itself is short and flattened, with a superior longitudinal
median groove and a corresponding inferior ridge; the tip is broad and
flattened and obtusely rounded, and with numerous long and soft
bristly hairs. This is, of course, very different from the long,
extensile, acutely pointed tongue of other Woodpeckers, with its tip
armed with a few strong, sharp, short, recurved barbs.
Dr. Hoy and Dr. Coues maintain that the food of these Woodpeckers
consists mainly of the cambium or soft inner bark of trees, which is
cut out in patches sometimes of several inches in extent, and usually
producing square holes in the bark, not rounded ones. As may be
supposed, such proceedings are very injurious to the trees, and justly
call down the vengeance of their proprietors. This diet is varied with
insects and fruits, when they can be had, but it is believed that
cambium is their principal sustenance.
This strongly marked genus appears to be composed of two sections and
three well-defined species; the first being characterized by having
the back variegated with whitish, and the jugulum with a sharply
defined crescentic patch of black, though the latter is sometimes
concealed by red, when the whole head and neck are of the latter
color, and the sharply defined striped pattern of the cephalic
regions, seen in the normal plumage, obliterated. Comparing the
extreme conditions of plumage to be seen in this type, as in the
females of _varius_ and of _ruber_, the differences appear wide
indeed, and few would entertain for a moment a suspicion of their
specific identity; yet upon carefully examining a sufficiently large
series of specimens, we find these extremes to be connected by an
unbroken transition, and are thus led to view these different
conditions as manifestations of a peculiar law principally affecting a
certain color, which leads us irresistibly to the conclusion that the
group which at first seemed to compose a section of the genus is in
reality only an association of forms of specific identity. Beginning
with the birds of the Atlantic region (_S. varius_), we find in this
series the minimum amount of red; indeed, many adult females occur
which lack this color entirely, having not only the whole throat
white, but the entire pileum glossy-black; usually, however, the
latter is crimson. In adult males from this region the front and crown
are always crimson, sharply defined, and bordered laterally and
posteriorly with glossy-black; and below the black occipital band is
another of dirty white; the crimson of the throat is wholly confined
between the continuous broad, black malar stripes, and there is no
tinge of red on the auriculars; there is a broad, sharply defined
stripe of white beginning with the nasal tufts, passing beneath the
black loral and auricular stripe, and continuing downward into the
yellowish of the abdomen, giving the large, glossy-black pectoral area
a sharply defined outline; the dirty whitish nuchal band is continued
forward beneath the black occipital crescent to above the middle of
the eye. The pattern just described will be found in ninety-nine out
of a hundred specimens from the Eastern Province of North America
(also the West Indies and whole of Mexico); but a single adult male,
from Carlisle, Penn. (No. 12,071, W. M. Baird), has the whitish nuchal
band distinctly tinged with red, though differing in this respect
only, while an adult female, from Washington, D. C. (No. 12,260, C.
Drexler), has the lower part of the throat much mixed with red.
Taking next the specimens from the Rocky Mountains and Middle Province
of the United States (_S. nuchalis_), we find that _all_ the specimens
possess _both_ these additional amounts of the red, there being always
a red, instead of dirty-white, nuchal crescent, while in the female
the lower part of the throat is always more or less red; in addition,
the male has the red of the throat reaching laterally to the white
stripe, thus interrupting the black malar one, which is always
unbroken in the eastern form; and in addition, the auriculars are
frequently mixed with red. Proceeding towards the Columbia River, we
find the red increasing, or escaping the limits to which it is
confined in the normal pattern, staining the white and black areas in
different places, and tingeing the whitish which borders the black
pectoral area.
Lastly, in the series from the Pacific coast (_S. ruber_), we find the
whole normal pattern rendered scarcely definable—sometimes entirely
obliterated—by the extension of the red, which covers continuously
the whole head, neck, and breast; but nearly always the normal pattern
may be traced, the feathers of the normally black areas being dusky
beneath the surface, and those of the usual white stripes very white
for the concealed portion. Usually, in this form, the red of the
breast covers only the black pectoral area; but in extreme specimens
it reaches back to the middle of the body beneath, and stains the
white spots of the back.
With the increase of the red as we proceed westward, there is also a
decrease in the amount of white above; thus, in _varius_ the whole
back is irregularly spotted with dirty white and black,—the former
predominating, the latter most conspicuous as a medial, broken broad
stripe,—and the lateral tail-feathers are much variegated by white
spots. In _nuchalis_ the back is mostly unbroken glossy-black, with
two parallel _narrow_ stripes of white converging at their lower ends;
and the lateral tail-feather is almost wholly black, having merely a
narrow white border toward the end. _S. ruber_ is most like
_nuchalis_, but has the white still more restricted.
In _varius_ the bill is dark brown, in _nuchalis_ it is deep black,
and in _ruber_ wax-brown. In _varius_ the yellow of the lower parts is
deepest, in _nuchalis_ just appreciable.
Species and Varieties.
A. Wing with a white patch on the middle and greater
coverts. Markings along the sides with a longitudinal
tendency.
1. S. varius. Back variegated medially with
brownish-white; secondaries with transverse rows of
white spots.
_White and black stripes on side of head sharply
defined, as is also the black pectoral crescent. Red
confined to isolated patches,—two large ones, one
on the crown and one on the throat; when there is
more, only a tinge on the auriculars, and a crescent
on nape._
Crown sometimes glossy black without a trace of red on
the female; no tinge of scarlet on the nape. Red of
the throat entirely confined within the broad,
continuous black maxillary stripe. _Female_ with the
throat wholly white. _Hab._ Eastern Province North
America, south in winter into West Indies, and over
whole of Mexico, to Guatemala var. _varius_.
Crown always red in adult. A nuchal crescent of
scarlet in both sexes. Red of the throat not confined
by the black maxillary stripe, which is interrupted by
it in the middle, allowing the red to touch the white
stripe; a tinge of red on the auriculars. _Female_
always with more or less red on lower part of the
throat. _Hab._ Rocky Mountains and Middle Province of
United States var. _nuchalis_.
_White and black stripes on side of head obsolete,
as is also the black pectoral crescent, caused by
being overspread by a continuous red wash extending
over whole head, neck, and breast._
Whole head, neck, and breast red, with the light and
dark stripes of the normal pattern only faintly
traceable. Sexes similar. _Hab._ Pacific Province of
United States, north to British Columbia var. _ruber_.
2. S. williamsoni. Back unvariegated; secondaries
without bands of white spots.
Whole crown and upper parts (except lower part of rump
and upper tail-coverts, and wing-patch), a stripe on
side of head, a broader one on side of the throat, and
the whole jugulum and sides of the breast, unbroken
glossy-black; abdomen bright lemon-yellow. _Male_ with
a narrow stripe of scarlet on middle of the throat.
_Female_ with it white. _Young_ like the adult. _Hab._
Western Province of United States.
B. Wing without a white patch. Markings on sides regularly
transverse.
3. S. thyroideus. Head all round light brown; abdomen
bright lemon-yellow; rump and upper tail-coverts white.
Entire upper surface, with sides, regularly and
continuously barred with black and white, in nearly
equal amount; the black bars usually coalesced on the
jugulum into a more or less extensive patch. _Male_ with
the throat tinged medially with scarlet. _Female_
without any red. _Hab._ Western Province of United
States.
[Illustration: PLATE LI.
1. Sphyropicus varius. ♂ Pa.
2. ” ” ♀ Pa., 2107.
3. ” nuchalis. ♂ Wyoming, 10769.
4. ” ” ♀ Wyoming, 10783.
5. ” williamsoni. ♀ Cal., 16090.
6. ” ruber. ♂ Cal., 6038.]
Sphyropicus varius, var. varius, BAIRD.
THE YELLOW-BELLIED WOODPECKER.
_Picus varius_, L. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 176.—VIEILLOT, Ois. Am. II,
1807, 63, pl. cxviii, cxix.—WILSON, Am. Orn. I, 1808, 147, pl.
ix, f. 2.—WAGLER, Syst. Av. 1827, No. 16.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II,
1834, 519; V, 537, pl. 190.—IB. Birds Amer. IV, 1842, 263, pl.
cclxvii.—BON. List, 1838.—IB. Consp. 1850, 138.—MAXIM. Cab.
Jour. VI, 1858, 416 (refers to peculiar tongue).—GOSSE, Birds
Jam. 270 (Jamaica).—NEWTON, Ibis, 1860, 308 (St.
Croix).—TAYLOR, Ibis, 1860, 119 (Honduras).—SUNDEVALL, Consp.
33.—GRAY, Cat. 51. _Picus (Dendrocopus) varius_, SW. F. B. A.
II, 1831, 309. _Pilumnus varius_, BON. Consp. Zygod. Aten.
Ital. 1854, 8. _Cladoscopus varius_, CAB. & HEIN. Mus. 80.
_? Picus atrothorax_, LESSON, Traité d’Ornithologie, I, 1831,
229.—PUCHERAN, Rev. Zoöl. VII, 1835, 21. (Refers it to _Picus
varius_.) _Yellow-bellied Woodpecker_, PENNANT, LATHAM.
_Sphyropicus varius_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 103.—SCLATER,
P. Z. S. 1859, 367 (Xalapa).—IB. Catal. 335 (Orizaba).—IB.
Ibis, 1859, 136 (Guatemala).—IB. 1860, 119 (Honduras).—CAB.
Journal, IV, 1856, 102.—GUNDLACH, Repertorium, I, 1866, 294
(Cuba).—BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. 1859 (Bahamas).—IB. 1865, 91
(Anatomy of tongue.)—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 468 (breeds in
Texas).—SAMUELS, 96.—ALLEN, B. E. Fla. 306.
[Illustration: _Sphyropicus varius._]
SP. CHAR. Third quill longest; second a little shorter; first between
fourth and fifth considerably shorter. General color above black, much
variegated with white. Feathers of the back and rump brownish-white,
spotted with black. Crown crimson, bordered by black on the sides of
the head and nape. A streak from above the eye, and a broad stripe
from the bristles of the bill, passing below the eye, and into the
yellowish of the belly, enclosing a black post-ocular one, and a
stripe along the edges of the wing-coverts, white. A triangular broad
patch of scarlet on the chin, bordered on each side by black stripes
from the lower mandible which meet behind, and extend into a large
quadrate spot on the breast. Rest of under parts yellowish-white, or
yellow, streaked and banded on the sides with black. Inner web of
inner tail-feather white, spotted with black. Outer feathers black,
edged and spotted with white. Quills spotted with white. Length, 8.25;
wing, about 4.75; tail, 3.30. _Female_ with the red of the throat
replaced by white. Immature bird without black on the breast, or red
on top of the head, as in every intermediate stage to the perfect
plumage.
HAB. Atlantic coast to the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains;
Greenland; West Indies; whole of Mexico, to Guatemala. Localities: ?
Oaxaca (SCL. P. Z. S. 1858, 305); Orizaba (SCL. Cat. 335); Xalapa
(SCL. 1859, 367); Yucatan (LAWR. Ann. N. Y. Lyc. IX, 205); Guatemala
(SCL. Ibis, I, 136); Honduras (SCL. Ibis, II, 119); Cuba (CAB. J. IV,
102); (GUNDL. Repert. I, 1866, 294); Bahamas (BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc.
VII, 1859; IB. 1867, 65); Jamaica (GOSSE, B. Jam. 270); St. Croix
(SCL. Ibis, II, 308); E. Texas (DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 468; breeds).
There is an occasional variation in the markings of the tail-feathers.
Thus, in No. 782, from Carlisle, the innermost one is entirely black,
while in 4,631, from the Upper Missouri, the outer web of the same
feather has nearly, and in 2,107, from Carlisle, it has quite, as much
white as the inner web. The outer webs do not appear to vary so much.
Specimens from the whole of Mexico, including even the west coast, are
referrible to _varius_; they are probably winter migrants from the
eastern United States.
A female, from Washington, D. C. (No. 12,260, C. Drexler), has the
lower half of the throat much mixed with red, as in var. _nuchalis_;
but there is no trace of this color on the nape. A male from Carlisle
(No. 12,071, W. M. Baird) has the nape distinctly tinged with red, as
in _nuchalis_, but the black malar stripe is uninterrupted. Similar
specimens have been taken in New England, by Messrs. Brewster and
Henshaw.
Many females occur with the entire pileum glossy-black, there being no
trace of red, though there are sometimes specks of white.