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A GENERAL similarity of appearance is seen in the members of this family of
useful birds, and yet the dissimilarity in plumage is so marked in each
species that identification is easy from a picture once seen in BIRDS. This
Woodpecker is a resident of the north and is rarely, if ever, seen south of
the Great Lakes, although it is recorded that a specimen was seen on a
telegraph pole in Chicago a few years ago.
The Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker--the common name of the Arctic--has
an extended distribution from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the
northern boundary of the United States northward to the Arctic regions. Its
favorite haunts are pine woods of mountainous country. In some portions of
northern New England it is a rare summer resident. Audubon says that it
occurs in northern Massachusetts, and in all portions of Maine covered by
tall trees, where it resides. It has been found as far south as northern
New York, and it is said to be a not uncommon resident in those parts of
Lewis county, New York, which pertain to the Canadian fauna; for it is
found both in the Adirondack region and in the coniferous forests in the
Tug Hill range. In the vicinity of Lake Tahoe and the summits of the Sierra
Nevada it is quite numerous in September at and above six thousand feet. It
is common in the mountains of Oregon and is a rare winter visitant to the
extreme northern portion of Illinois.
Observation of the habits of this Woodpecker is necessarily limited, as the
bird is not often seen within the regions where it might be studied. Enough
is known on the subject, however, to enable us to say that they are similar
to those of the Woodpeckers of the states. They excavate their holes in the
dead young pine trees at a height from the ground of five or six feet, in
this respect differing from their cousins, who make their nests at a much
greater height. In the nests are deposited from four to six pure
ivory-white eggs.
We suggest that the reader, if he has not already done so, read the
biographies and study the pictures of the representatives of this family
that have appeared in this magazine. To us they are interesting and
instructive beyond comparison, with the majority of other feathered factors
in creation, and present an exceedingly attractive study to those who
delight in natural history. They are not singing birds, and therefore do
not "furnish forth music to enraptured ears," but their agreeable call and
love notes, their tenor drum-beats, their fearless presence near the
habitations of man, winter and summer, their usefulness to man in the
destruction of insect pests, their comparative harmlessness (for they
cannot be denied subsistence), all prove that they should be ever welcome
companions of him who was given dominion over the beasts of the field and
the birds of the air.
In city parks where there are many trees, bushes, and thick shrubbery, a
good many birds may be seen and heard near the middle of March. Today, the
22nd of the month, in a morning stroll, we saw and heard the Song Sparrow,
a Blue Bird, a Robin, and two Bluejays, and would, no doubt, have been
gratified with the presence of other early migrants, had the weather been
more propitious. The sun was obscured by clouds, a raw north wind was
blowing, and rain, with threatened snow flurries, awakened the protective
instinct of the songsters and kept them concealed. But now, these April
mornings, if you incline to early rising, you may hear quite a concert, and
one worth attending.
--C. C. M.
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