Part 7

b. _D. p. oreoecus_, _Batchelder's Woodpecker_. 7.5 inches. Under parts pure white; under tail coverts unspotted; fewer wing spots than _medianus_ and _pubescens_. Rocky Mountain region of United States.

c. _D. p. medianus_, _Downy Woodpecker_. 7 inches. The larger, whiter form seen in New England and the Northern States.

d. _D. p. nelsoni_, _Nelson's Downy Woodpecker_. Whiter, larger, with fewer black bars on outer tail feathers. Alaska and region north of 55 deg.

4. DRYOBATES BOREALIS, _Red-cockaded Woodpecker_. Upper parts black _barred_ with white, under parts dingy white; sides streaked and spotted with black; wings spotted with white; outer tail feathers barred; nasal tufts and _large ear patch white_; stripe of black down side of neck. [M] with a tiny tuft of scarlet feathers on each side of head. 7.5-8.5 inches. Pine woods of southeastern United States, from Tennessee southwest to eastern Texas and the Indian Territory; casual north to Pennsylvania.

5. DRYOBATES SCALARIS BAIRDI, _Texan Woodpecker_, _Ladder-backed Woodpecker_. Upper parts barred with black and white on back, wings, and outer tail feathers; sides of head striped; forehead, nasal feathers, and under parts _smoky gray_, brownest on belly; _crown speckled with white or red_; [M] with nape crimson. 7-7.5 inches. Southern border of United States, Texas to California, north to southwestern Utah and southern Nevada; generally resident.

a. _D. s. lucasanus_, _St. Lucas Woodpecker_. Larger. Lower California, north to 34 deg. in Colorado desert. These are both subspecies of a Mexican species not occurring within our limits.

6. DRYOBATES NUTTALLII, _Nuttall's Woodpecker_. Upper parts barred with black and white; under parts and _outer tail feathers white_ or dingy white; nasal tufts white; _forehead and crown black sprinkled with white_. [M] with red on occiput and nape. 7-7.5 inches. Southern Oregon and California west of Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges; most common in the oak belt of the foothills. Easily distinguished from Downy Woodpecker by being barred on the back, instead of striped.

7. DRYOBATES ARIZONAE, _Arizona Woodpecker_. _Upper parts plain brown, not spotted nor streaked_; primaries dotted with fine white dots; outer tail feathers barred; under parts white, _thickly spotted_ (except throat), _with large, round, brown spots_. [M] with red occipital band. 7.5-8.5 inches. Southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico; among oaks of the foothills from 4000 to 7000 feet elevation.

8. XENOPICUS ALBOLARVATUS, _White-headed Woodpecker_. Glossy black all over, except showy white patch on primaries, and _head and throat pure white_ (forehead and crown sometimes grayish). [M] with broad occipital band of scarlet. 9 inches. "Iris pinkish red" (Bendire). Mountains of Pacific coast, east to western Nevada and western Idaho, usually in the pine and fir forests above 4000 feet altitude.

9. PICOIDES ARCTICUS, _Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker_. _Glossy black above, unmarked_ except by fine white spots on primaries; under parts grayish white, sides thickly barred black and white; three outer pairs of tail feathers white, sides of throat with broad _white stripe_. [M] with _large crown patch of deep yellow_. 9.5 inches. British America, south into the northern tier of States and into the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Lake Tahoe. Most commonly seen in the track of forest fires, where it is usually abundant for about two years; rare outside of the extensive soft wood tracts, and usually found singly or in pairs except when on burnt land. I have found this species far more common than the next, and the best mark in life to be the white _stripe_ on the neck, in distinction from the white _line_ of _P. americanus_.

10. PICOIDES AMERICANUS, _American Three-toed Woodpecker_. Very similar to preceding species, but with narrow bars of white forming an _interrupted stripe down the back_; head thickly sprinkled with white in both sexes and a white line on nape or just below; a _white line_, too narrow to be called a stripe, down side of throat.[M] with _crown bright yellow_. 9 inches. Same range in the East as last; replaced in West by following subspecies:--

a. _P. a. alascensis_, _Alaskan Three-toed Woodpecker_. Smaller; more white; nape very white; more white on top of head. Alaska, south to 48 deg. (Mt. Baker, Washington).

b. _P. a. dorsalis_, _Alpine Three-toed Woodpecker_. More white on back and head than _P. americanus_, less than _alascensis_; but continuous, not barred. "Iris dark cherry-red" (Mearns). Rocky Mountain region, south to New Mexico and Arizona.

11. SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS, _Yellow-bellied Sapsucker_. Under parts whitish or pale sulphur yellow; upper parts black, mottled with pure or yellowish white; _rump white_; wings spotted, and with conspicuous white coverts; tail black with _outer webs of outer feathers_ and _inner webs of middle feathers light colored_; sides streaked; breast with a _broad black patch_ extending in a "chin-strap" to the corners of the mouth; sides of the head striped. Occiput black, nape white. [M] with forehead, crown, chin, and throat crimson; [F] usually with crown crimson, forehead black, and throat white, back more brownish; [F] sometimes, and young always, with crown blackish. 7.5-8.5 inches.

Colors vary much with age, sex, and season; the wing bar and yellowish tinge are good marks for all plumages; the rump and breast patch for adult birds. Eastern North America, breeding from Massachusetts northward, migrating in winter to the Southern States.

a. _S. v. nuchalis_, _Red-naped Sapsucker_. Similar, but an additional red stripe on nape, and the black chin-strap replaced by crimson. 8-8.5 inches. Rocky Mountains to Coast Range, replacing the above in the mountains; usually breeding at from 5000 to 10,000 feet elevation.

12. SPHYRAPICUS RUBER, _Red-breasted Sapsucker_. Body and under parts similar to _S. varius_, but back much less variegated with white. No black on breast, no white stripe through eyes. Nasal tufts brownish instead of white. _Head_, _neck_, and _breast uniform crimson_. _Sexes alike._ Young with crimson replaced by gray or "claret brown" (Bendire). 8.5-9 inches. Pacific coast, Sierra Nevada, and on both sides of Cascade Mountains; a summer resident only north of northern California. At first sight the Red-breasted Sapsucker might be mistaken for the Red-headed Woodpecker, but the two birds do not inhabit the same country.

13. SPHYRAPICUS THYROIDEUS, _Williamson's Sapsucker_.

Sexes totally dissimilar except in having a white rump and yellow under parts. _Male, glossy black all over except_ conspicuous _white rump_ and _white wing coverts_, two white stripes on sides of head, white nasal tufts, white spots on primaries; sides and tail coverts mottled; a stripe of scarlet down middle of throat and _brilliant yellow under parts_. _Female, light brown_; head clear brown; body, wings, and tail closely _barred_ with black and white; no white wing coverts; rarely a red throat like male; usually but not always a large black patch on breast, and always a _yellow belly_ and _white rump_. Young males lack the red on the throat and usually the yellow on the belly; the black is dull, and the throat a dingy white. Young females lack the yellow on the belly and the black on breast, and are dull-colored and indistinctly marked. 9-9.5 inches.

Rocky Mountain region, west to Sierra Nevada, Cascades and northern Coast Ranges, breeding at from 5000 to 9000 feet elevation. The handsomest of our woodpeckers.

14. CEOPHLOEUS PILEATUS, _Pileated Woodpecker, Logcock_. Body blackish slate; wings with a large white patch conspicuous only when flying; throat white; a white stripe across cheek and down neck; jaw-stripe scarlet in male, blackish in female; both sexes with scarlet crest, but in the male the whole top of head (which is slaty black in female) equally brilliant. This red cap gives the bird the name of _pileated_. Iris yellow. 17 inches. Wooded regions of Southern States, Florida to North Carolina, very rarely near settlements, but far more common than the following subspecies of the North and West.

a. _C. p. abieticola_, _Northern Pileated Woodpecker_. Larger; more extensive white markings; the black grayer or browner. From Virginia northward to 63 deg. in the East, and in the West among the Rocky Mountains, north of Colorado, to the northwest coast; a shy woodland bird to be looked for only in the primitive evergreen forests, though sometimes occurring in any heavy timber and, in New England, upon the higher well-wooded mountains. The largest of the northern woodpeckers; resident.

15. _Melanerpes erythrocephalus_, _Red-headed Woodpecker_. Wings, tail, and upper parts glossy blue-black; rump, exposed secondaries, and under parts from breast downward pure white; _head_, _neck_, and _breast crimson._ _Sexes alike._ Young with red and black wholly or partly replaced by grayish brown; can be recognized by white markings. 9.5 inches. United States, west to Rocky Mountains; rare east of Hudson River, but ordinarily breeding wherever found; in winter usually migratory from its northern limits, the migration depending principally upon the food supply and depth of snow.

16. MELANERPES FORMICIVORUS, _Ant-eating Woodpecker_. Upper parts, wings, and tail glossy greenish black; _rump_ and lower parts _white_; white patch on primaries, conspicuous in flight; upper throat and line about the bill dull black; _forehead_ with _wide white band_; lower _throat sulphur yellow_; breast and sides thickly streaked with black and white. [M] with crown and occiput crimson; [F] with crown black, occiput crimson. Iris white. 7-9 inches. Mexico; western Texas.

a. _M. f. angustifrons_, _Narrow-fronted Woodpecker_. Similar, but with a _narrow band of white_ across the _forehead_; breast and sides not so thickly streaked. Lower California, never occurring within the borders of the United States.

b. _M. f. bairdi_, _Californian Woodpecker_, _El Carpintero_. Similar to _M. formicivorus_, but the breast black, little streaked with white except along the sides; yellow of throat paler, or replaced by white. Iris white. Larger, 7.5-9.5 inches. Pacific coast, north into Oregon to 44 deg., east to southern New Mexico and Texas in the south and to the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains in the north, but more abundant, on the western than on the eastern slopes of these mountains.

17. MELANERPES TORQUATUS, _Lewis's Woodpecker_. Upper parts, wings, and tail glossy greenish black; under parts _pinkish red_; chest and _collar round hind neck hoary gray_; crown and sides of head black; forehead, cheeks, and chin crimson. _Sexes alike._ Young with pink replaced by grayish. 10.5-11.5 inches. Pacific coast, east to Black Hills and Rocky Mountains between Arizona and 49th parallel; casual still farther east; migratory in its northern ranges; a silent, heavy flying bird, different in habits and appearance from the other woodpeckers; often seen flycatching.

18. MELANERPES CAROLINUS, _Red-bellied Woodpecker_, _Zebra Bird_. Back and wings black, _barred with white_; under and upper tail coverts, middle and outer tail feathers, white varied with black; head and under parts ashy; _belly tinged with reddish_. [M] with whole top of head and nape bright red; [F] with forehead and nape red, crown gray. 9-10 inches. Eastern and Southern States between the Hudson River and the Rocky Mountains, north to southern New York, Ohio, southern Michigan, etc.; migratory in its northern ranges.

19. MELANERPES AURIFRONS, _Golden-fronted Woodpecker_. Back and wings barred with black and white; rump white; entire under parts brownish white, unspotted (except under tail coverts); primaries unspotted, except at tip; tail black with slightly barred outer feathers; _belly yellowish; forehead and hind neck orange in both sexes_. [M] with _crown red_ set in a larger patch of clear gray; [F] with crown clear gray. 9.5 inches. Central and southern Texas, north to about 33 deg.; breeds wherever found.

20. MELANERPES UROPYGIALIS, _Gila Woodpecker_. Back and wings barred with black and white; _head and lower parts smoky brown_; rump black and white; tail barred on inner and outer feathers; primaries unspotted; belly yellow (not conspicuous). [M] with red crown surrounded by brownish; "iris red" (Hayden). 9 inches. Southwestern New Mexico and Arizona to southeastern California, usually above 2000 feet altitude; its distribution depending principally upon the giant cactus.

21. COLAPTES AURATUS, _Flicker_, _Yellow-hammer_, _High-hole_, _Clape_. Back and wings (except primaries) brownish gray, barred with black; under parts pale vinaceous spotted with black spots from breast downward; _rump white; tail and wings golden yellow beneath_, dark above, showing the yellow shafts; tail feathers with black tips below; top of head ashy gray, sides of head and throat vinaceous; a broad _black crescent_ across breast, a bright scarlet one on nape. [M] _with black jaw patches_; [F] without them. 12 inches. South Atlantic and Gulf region, north to North Carolina.

a. _C. a. luteus_, _Northern Flicker_. Larger; paler; black bars above narrower; less black and white below. North from North Carolina and west to the Rocky Mountains; casual farther west; migratory from its northern ranges.

22. COLAPTES CAFER, _Red-shafted Flicker_. Color pattern similar to above with the following differences: _wings and tail red beneath_ instead of yellow; throat ashy gray; usually no red on occiput (though some specimens show a narrow crescent). [M] _with red jaw patches_. 12.5-14 inches. Rocky Mountain region west to Pacific coast from Mexico to British Columbia, except northwest coast region of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, and occasionally east to Kansas and Nebraska; resident except in the more northern portions of its range.

a. _C. c. saturatior_, _Northwestern Flicker_. Darker; smaller; narrower breast crescent. Northwest coast, replacing the above, from which it cannot be separated in life.

23. COLAPTES CHRYSOIDES, _Gilded Flicker_; _Cactus Flicker_. Color pattern same as _C. auratus_, but throat gray; top of head brown; _occiput without band_; tail band broader and yellow paler than in _C. auratus_. [M] with _jaw patches bright red_; "iris blood red" (Hayden). Central and southern Arizona and Lower California.

a. _C. c. brunescens_, _Brown Flicker_. A curious subspecies of the last, smaller, with larger, more numerous spots and a smoky brown cast of plumage; black tail band very wide; jaw patches red; wings and tail yellow beneath. Lower (not southern) California; casual only in southern California; in Arizona to 35 deg.

24. COLAPTES RUFIPILEUS, _Guadalupe Island Flicker_. Coloration like _C. cafer_, crown decidedly brown; crescent on nape wanting; jaw patches red; wings and tail _red_ beneath. Guadalupe Island off the coast of Lower California.

INDEX

Aard-vark, 104.

Acorns, eaten by woodpeckers, 46, 51, 57, 58, 59.

Acquired habits, 61-66.

Adaptations of woodpeckers to environment,104-109.

Ant-bear, 104, 106.

Ants, as food for woodpeckers, 3, 30, 63, 105, 106.

Argument from design, 110.

Bear, black, 107.

Beechnuts, as food for woodpeckers, 57, 58, 59.

Beetles, as food for woodpeckers, 3, 11, 63.

Bill of woodpeckers as a tool, 68-76.

Borers, 3, 10, 11, 29, 30, 36.

Burroughs, John, quoted, 17.

Cacti, woodpeckers nesting in, 20.

Cannibalism among woodpeckers, 64.

Carpenter, the. _See_ California woodpecker.

Carpintero, El. _See_ California woodpecker.

Caterpillars, as food for woodpeckers, 10, 11, 29, 63.

Cecropia chrysalids, eaten by woodpeckers, 9.

Chestnuts, eaten by woodpeckers, 59.

Chickadee, 16, 21, 25, 30, 32, 74.

Chipmunks, hoarding food, 60.

Clape. _See_ Flicker.

Creeper, brown, 5, 81, 87, 88.

Crossbills, eating salted food, 31.

Crow, hoarding habit, 60; 74.

Cuckoo, ground, 82.

Cuckoos, yoke-toed, 5, 82.

Drumming of yellow-bellied sapsucker, 16, 17.

Evolution, 109, 112.

Feeding young, how the flicker does it, 24, 25.

Fence-posts used by woodpeckers, 48, 56, 58.

Finch, purple, 39.

Finches, 74.

Fish-spears, 12, 13.

Flicker, 6, 7, 15, 18, 20, 23-26, 73, 74, 82, 88, 89, 95, 97-99, 101, 103, 106, 125. brown, 126. cactus, 126. gilded, 126. Guadalupe Island, 127. northern, 126. northwestern, 126. red-shafted, 126.

Flycatching habits of woodpeckers, 7, 56, 106, 124.

Foot, of a four-toed woodpecker figured, 77. of a three-toed woodpecker figured, 80. discussed as a tool, 77-85.

Grasshoppers, as food for woodpeckers, 3, 56, 63.

Grosbeaks, pine, 39.

Grouse, ruffed, 14, 15.

Grouse, sharp-tailed, 15.

Hawk, sparrow, 21.

High-hole. _See_ Flicker.

Hoarding habits, 62, 63.

Hummingbird, Anna's, 27.

Hummingbirds, 25, 103.

Hyoid bones, 100-103.

Jay, blue, hoarding habit, 53, 60.

Kinglets, 5.

Lightning rods attracting woodpeckers, 18.

Logcock. _See_ Woodpecker, pileated.

Maple, rock and red, sugar made from, 36.

Maize, eaten by English sparrows, 62, 65.

Mandibles of woodpeckers, 13, 101.

Martin, sand, 20.

Mice, hoarding habit, 60.

Migration, dependent upon food supply, 63.

Mountain-ash trees, sought by woodpeckers, 38.

Nesting of woodpeckers, 20-23.

Nests, in unusual places, 20.

North America, ornithologically defined, 114.

Nuthatches, 5, 21, 30, 81.

Oaks, used by Californian woodpecker for storing nuts, 48, 49.

Oranges, eaten by woodpeckers, 65, 66.

Owls, 15, 21, 80.

Pangolin, as an ant-eater, 104.

Parrot, 13, 82.

Parroquet, Carolina, 5.

Pigeon, domestic, 27.

Pines, acorns stored in, 49.

"Ploughshare," anchylosed vertebrae of tail, 86.

Ravens, 74.

Reason in woodpeckers' hoarding, 62.

Red-head. _See_ Woodpecker, red-headed.

Robins, 39.

Sap, not used as an insect-lure, 41. how its loss harms the tree, 44, 45.

Sapsucker, orange, 65. _See, also_, Woodpecker, red-bellied. red-breasted, 122. red-naped, 121. Williamson's, 122. yellow-bellied, 7, 15-17, 33-45, 59, 102, 103, 105, 106.

Skull of woodpecker figured, 101.

Sparrow, English _or_ house, 21, 62, 65.

Spears, 12, 13.

Spruce, acorns stored in, 47, 49, 53.

Squirrels, thievishness of, 23, 53.

Subspecies defined, 114.

Swallow, eaves _or_ cliff, 61, 64, 65.

Swallow, tree, 21.

Swift, chimney, 5, 20, 61, 87, 88.

Tail, shape, 89. number of rectrices, 95. experimental demonstration of shape _a priori_, 91. reason for shape, 98.

Tail-feathers studied, 94-97.

Taste in the woodpeckers, 38, 39.

Telegraph poles resorted to by woodpeckers, 7, 18, 48.

Thumb, of birds, 80.

Tin roofs resorted to by woodpeckers, 17, 55.

Titmouse, crested, 21.

Toes, numbering of, 79, 80.

Tongue, appearance of, 99. figured, 99. bones of, 13, 100-103.

Trogons, yoke-toed, 82.

Vanessa butterfly, 16.

Vegetable food of woodpeckers, 3, 31.

Vireos, 30.

Warblers, 30.

Weevils, not the object in storing nuts, 52.

Woodpecker, Alaskan three-toed, 121. alpine three-toed, 121. American three-toed, 121. ant-eating, 123. arctic three-toed, 120. Arizona, 120. Batchelder's, 118. black-breasted, 6. _See, also_, Williamson's sapsucker. Cabanis's, 118. Californian, 46-54, 56, 66. downy, 6, 17, 21, 28-33, 59, 63, 70, 74, 83, 86, 88, 95, 107, 114, 118. Gairdner's, 118. Gila, 55, 125. golden-fronted, 55, 102, 125. hairy, 6, 9, 28, 32, 59, 63, 74, 83, 86, 88, 89, 95, 97-99, 107, 114, 117. Harris's, 118. ivory-billed, 70, 71, 73, 83, 88, 89, 93, 97, 98, 107, 117. ladder-backed, 119. Lewis's, 6, 13, 55, 59, 66, 103, 124. narrow-fronted, 124. Nelson's downy, 119. northern hairy, 118. northern pileated, 123. Nuttall's, 119. pileated, 6, 71, 73, 83, 88, 93, 95, 98, 99, 107, 123. red-bellied, 6, 55, 65, 124. red-cockaded, 119. red-headed, 6, 7, 11, 55-58, 60-64, 105, 123. Rocky Mountain, 118. St. Lucas, 119. southern downy, 118. southern hairy, 118. Texan, 119. three-toed, foot figured, 80. white-headed, 120.

Woodpeckers, advantages of, as subject for study, 2. bill as a tool, 69-73. carpenters or miners, 68. character of, 7, 8. coloration of, 5. coloration of sexes, 6. covered nostrils, 74, 75. favorite haunts, 3, 7. foot, structure and uses, 77. habit of drumming, 17. how to recognize the woodpeckers, 4. inferences from study of bills, 75. hunting borers, 10, 11. nesting, 21, 22. preferred foods, 3, 7. tail, study of, 86-99. winter quarters, 22. wooing, 15.

Yoke-toed feet, 82.

Zebra bird. _See_ Woodpecker, red-bellied.

The Riverside Press

_Electrotyped and printed by H. O. Houghton & Co. Cambridge, Mass, U. S. A._

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Transcribers Notes

Pickaxe and pick-axe both used in the text Various punctuation and other printing errors corrected Inconsistent hyphenation of words regularised Spelling of reecho (page 16) left intact Male symbol shown as [M] Female symbol shown as [F]

End of Project Gutenberg's The Woodpeckers, by Fannie Hardy Eckstorm