Genus Sylvicola. Swainson. Faun. Bor. Am. Birds, p. 204. (1831.)
Sylvicola olivacea. (Giraud.)
Sylvia olivacea. Giraud. New species of N. A. Birds, p. 14, pl. 7,
fig. 2. (1841.)
Sylvia tæniata. Du Bus. Bull. Acad., Brussels, XIV., p. 104. (1847.)
Form. About the size of _Sylvicola æstiva_. Bill slender; wing rather
long, pointed; second and third quills longest, and nearly equal; tail
moderate, emarginate; tarsi long, slender.
Dimensions. Total length (of skin) about 4¾ inches; wing 3¼; tail 2¼
inches.
Colors. Entire head, neck, and breast, dark orange, inclining to rufous,
lighter on the throat; through the eye to the ear, a band of black; back
and rump ashy-olive; quills brownish-black, edged on their outer webs
with yellowish-olive, and on their inner webs with white; tail
brownish-black, the outer feathers with a spot of white on their inner
webs near the end; wing coverts brownish-black tipped with white,
forming two conspicuous bars on the wing; abdomen and under tail
coverts, pale greenish-ashy, nearly white in the middle of the former;
under wing coverts white, tinged with ashy; bill dark, lighter at base
of under mandible; tarsi dark.
Hab. Texas. Mexico. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.
This bird presents some affinities and resemblance to the _Sylvicola
protonotarius_ of the Southern United States, but is much darker
colored, and may readily be distinguished from that or any other species
with which we are acquainted.
[Illustration: Plate 49
The Great-crested Woodpecker
Dryotomus imperialis (_Gould_)]
DRYOTOMUS IMPERIALIS.—(Gould.)
The Great-crested Woodpecker.
PLATE XLIX. Adult Male.
Though not clearly made out as a bird entitled to a place in the
ornithological fauna of the United States, we have given the plate now
before the reader on grounds regarded as sufficient for the introduction
of descriptions of this magnificent species into the works of other
American authors, though it has never before been figured.
This is the largest of all known Woodpeckers, and is one of the most
beautiful in plumage. It belongs strictly to the same group or genus as
other large American species.
Though originally described by Mr. Gould as from California, and
subsequently supposed by Dr. Townsend and Mr. Audubon to have been seen
by the former in the Rocky Mountains, it has escaped the attention of
all recent American travellers and naturalists. The specimens in the
collection of the Philadelphia Academy are labelled as having been
collected in Mexico. It is probable that this fine bird is an inhabitant
of the dense forests, the trees of which attain such enormous dimensions
in the western regions of North America, a supposition coinciding with
Dr. Townsend’s observations on the species seen by him, from which we
shall present an extract in the course of the present article.
In the immense forests which skirt the slopes of the Rocky Mountains in
the possessions of the United States, and of the Sierra Madre in Mexico,
we find a congenial locality for this giant of his tribe. In those
regions the trees are not less gigantic, travellers of unquestioned
veracity having given two hundred and fifty to three hundred and fifty
feet as a heighth frequently to be observed.
The first notice of this bird by an American naturalist is in Mr.
Audubon’s Ornithological Biography, V., p. 313, who merely publishes a
note from Dr. Townsend, which was his only information respecting it,
except Mr. Gould’s description. It will be seen that Dr. Townsend did
not succeed in obtaining specimens, though it is in all respects
probable that the species now before us is alluded to by him in the
following, which we take the liberty of copying from Mr. Audubon, as
above:
“On the 14th of August, 1834, I saw several specimens of a large black
Woodpecker, about the size of _Picus principalis_. A broad band of white
appeared to extend transversely across the wings and back. It inhabited
the tall pine trees, and was very shy. The note was almost exactly that
of the Red-headed Woodpecker; so nearly, that at first Mr. Nuttall and
myself were both deceived by it.
“I lingered behind the party, which at that time was travelling rapidly,
and at last got a shot at one of them with slugs, my large shot having
been entirely expended. The bird fell wounded in a thicket at a
considerable distance. I searched for an hour without finding it, and
was at last compelled to relinquish it and follow the party, which had
been leaving me at a rapid trot, to find my way as I best could, and
keep out of the reach of Indians, who were dogging us continually.”
On reference to Dr. Townsend’s Narrative, (p. 123,) it will be seen that
this incident occurred on the Mallade River, in the Rocky Mountains.
Though he states that the bird mentioned by him was “about the size of
_Picus principalis_,” which is the Ivory-billed Woodpecker of the
Southern States, it must be borne in mind that he saw it at a distance
only, and was therefore readily mistaken. The present bird is very
considerably larger than that species.
In Dr. Pickering’s notes we find one allusion which is very probably to
this bird:—“A very large Ivory-billed species of _Picus_ was spoken of
by Dr. Marsh as having been occasionally seen by him. It is larger, he
says, than any other Woodpecker of the United States, and is very
difficult to approach. It is probably the new California species
described by Mr. Gould a few years since.”
This memorandum occurs in that portion of Dr. Pickering’s journal kept
in California, and we have no doubt relates to the bird now before us.
To the gentleman mentioned, Dr. Marsh of San Joaquim, California, Dr.
Pickering frequently acknowledges his obligations for information, which
is often of high value, and is of evident reliability.
We have now given the only two instances, mere glimpses as it were, in
which this large Woodpecker has come under the notice of American
travellers or naturalists in its native localities. It is to be
regretted that such is the case, and perhaps somewhat extraordinary, on
account of its conspicuous size and colors; but it is expressly stated
to be of a shy disposition, and difficult to obtain. Its well known
existence in California, and the fact that so few of our naturalists
have observed or heard of it, is additional evidence of the yet partial
character of our knowledge of the ornithology of that country.
Mr. Gould’s description of this bird is in the Proceedings of the
Zoological Society of London for 1832, p. 140; and, with the statement
accompanying it, is the only notice of this species that has yet
appeared in Europe. The latter is as follows:—
“Specimens were exhibited of a species of Woodpecker hitherto
undescribed, which has recently been obtained by Mr. Gould, from that
little explored district of California which borders the territory of
Mexico. The exhibition was accompanied by a communication from Mr.
Gould, in which, after some general remarks on the _Picidæ_ and their
geographical distribution, he referred to the species before the
Committee as possessing the characters of the genus _Picus_ in their
most marked development, together with the greatest size hitherto
observed in that group. In this respect it as far exceeds the
_Ivory-billed Woodpecker_ of the United States _Picus principalis_, as
the latter does the _Picus martius_ of Europe.
“This species is readily distinguishable from the _P. principalis_, by
its much larger size, by the length of its occipital crest, the pendent
silky feathers of which measure nearly four inches, by the absence of
the white stripe which ornaments the neck of that bird, and by the
bristles which cover its nostrils being black, whereas those of the
_Picus principalis_ are white.”
These notices comprise, at present, all that is known of the largest and
one of the handsomest of Woodpeckers. Its history, yet to be written,
will be a highly interesting contribution to the ornithology of the
United States.
Several specimens of this bird, in the collection of the Philadelphia
Academy, are stated on their labels to be from Mexico, without other
note or indication. All of them were obtained in Europe by our
distinguished patrons, Messrs. Thomas B. and Edward Wilson.
The adult male is represented in the present plate. The female differs
essentially only in having the crest black instead of scarlet.