The Woodpeckers Part 8

Under parts pure white; under tail coverts unspotted; fewer wing spots than _media.n.u.s_ and _p.u.b.escens_.

Rocky Mountain region of United States.

c. _D. p. media.n.u.s_, _Downy Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_. 7 inches.

The larger, whiter form seen in New England and the Northern States.

d. _D. p. nelsoni_, _Nelson's Downy Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_.

Whiter, larger, with fewer black bars on outer tail feathers.

Alaska and region north of 55.

4. DRYOBATES BOREALIS, _Red-c.o.c.kaded Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_.

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 Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_, _Ladder-backed Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_.

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. lucasa.n.u.s_, _St. Lucas Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_. Larger.

Lower California, north to 34 in Colorado desert.

These are both subspecies of a Mexican species not occurring within our limits.

6. DRYOBATES NUTTALLII, _Nuttall's Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_.

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 Woodp.e.c.k.e.r by being barred on the back, instead of striped.

7. DRYOBATES ARIZONae, _Arizona Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_.

_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 Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_.

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 alt.i.tude.

9. PICOIDES ARCTICUS, _Arctic Three-toed Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_.

_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. america.n.u.s_.

10. PICOIDES AMERICa.n.u.s, _American Three-toed Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_.

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 s.e.xes 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 Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_.

Smaller; more white; nape very white; more white on top of head.

Alaska, south to 48. (Mt. Baker, Was.h.i.+ngton).

b. _P. a. dorsalis_, _Alpine Three-toed Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_.

More white on back and head than _P. america.n.u.s_, 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, s.e.x, 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 Ma.s.sachusetts 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_. _s.e.xes 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 Woodp.e.c.k.e.r, but the two birds do not inhabit the same country.

13. SPHYRAPICUS THYROIDEUS, _Williamson's Sapsucker_.

s.e.xes 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 woodp.e.c.k.e.rs.

14. CEOPHLOEUS PILEATUS, _Pileated Woodp.e.c.k.e.r, Logc.o.c.k_.

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 s.e.xes 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 Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_.

Larger; more extensive white markings; the black grayer or browner.

From Virginia northward to 63 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 woodp.e.c.k.e.rs; resident.

15. _Melanerpes erythrocephalus_, _Red-headed Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_.

Wings, tail, and upper parts glossy blue-black; rump, exposed secondaries, and under parts from breast downward pure white; _head_, _neck_, and _breast crimson._ _s.e.xes 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 princ.i.p.ally upon the food supply and depth of snow.

16. MELANERPES FORMICIVORUS, _Ant-eating Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_.

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 Woodp.e.c.k.e.r_.