SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Bulletin 174
LIFE HISTORIES OF
NORTH AMERICAN WOODPECKERS
ORDER PICIFORMES
BY
ARTHUR CLEVELAND BENT
Taunton, Massachusetts
i3/
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON: 1939
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. ---------- Price SO .
ADVEETISEMENT
The scientific publications of the National Museum include two
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The Proceedings series, begun in 1878, is intended primarily as a
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tions of the National Museum, that set forth newly acquired facts
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The series of Bulletins^ the first of which was issued in 1875, con-
tains separate publications comprising monographs of large zoologi-
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under the heading Contributions from, the United States National
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The present work forms No. 174 of the Bulletin series.
Alexander Wetriore,
Assistant Secretary^ Smithsonian Institution.
Washington, D. C, March 22, 1939.
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction vii
Order Piciformes
Family Picidae: American woodpeckers
Campephilus principalis : I vory-billed woodpecker
Habits
Distribution 12
Dryobates villosus villosus : Eastern hairy woodpecker 13
Habits 13
Distribution 23
Dryobates villosus septentrionalis : Northern hairy woodpecker 25
Habits 25
Dryobates villosus auduboni : Southern hairy woodpecker 27
Habits 27
Dryobates villosus harrisi: Harris's woodpecker 29
Habits 29
Dryobates villosus hyloscopus: Cabanis's woodpecker 33
Habits 33
Dryobates villosus monticola: Rocky Mountain hairy woodpecker — 35
Habits 35
Dryobates villosus picoideus: Queen Charlotte woodpecker 37
Habits 37
Dryobates villosus terraeno vae : Newfoundland woodpecker 38
Habits 38
Dryobates villosus icastus : Chihuahua woodpecker 39
Habits 39
Dryobates villosus sitkensis: Sitka hairy woodpecker 40
Habits 40
Dryobates villosus orius: Modoc woodpecker 41
Habits 41
Dryobates villosus scrippsae: Lower California hairy woodpecker 44
Habits 44
Dryobates villosus leucothorectis: White-breasted woodpecker 44
Habits 44
Dryobates pubescens pubescens: Southern downy woodpecker 45
Habits 45
Distribution 47
Dryobates pubescens gairdneri: Gairdner's woodpecker 49
Habits 49
Dryobates pubescens leucurus : Batchelder's woodpecker 51
Habits 51
Dryobates pubescens medianus: Northern downy woodpecker 52
Habits 52
Dryobates pubescens nelsoni: Nelson's downy woodpecker 68
Habits 68
IV BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Family Picidae : American woodpeckers — Continued. Page
Dryobates pubescens turati: Willow woodpecker 69
Habits 69
Dryobates borealis : Red-cockaded woodpecker 72
Habits 72
Distribution 79
Dryobates scalaris symplectus: Texas woodpecker 79
Habits 79
Distribution 81
Dryobates scalaris lucasanus: San Lucas woodpecker 82
Habits 82
Dryobates scalaris cactophilus: Cactus woodpecker 83
~ Habits 83
Dryobates scalaris eremicus: San Fernando woodpecker 86
Habits - 86
Dryobates nuttalli: Nuttall's woodpecker 87
Habits 87
Distribution 91
Dryobates arizonae arizonae: Arizona woodpecker 91
Habits 91
Distribution 96
Dryobates albolarvatus albolarvatus: Northern white-headed wood-
pecker 97
Habits 97
Distribution 104
Dryobates albolarvatus gravirostris: Southern white-headed wood-
pecker 105
Habits 105
Picoides arcticus : Arctic three-toed woodpecker 106
Habits 106
Distribution 115
Picoides tridactylus bacatus: American three-toed woodpecker 116
Habits 116
Distribution 121
Picoides tridactylus fasciatus: Alaska three-toed woodpecker 122
Habits 122
Picoides tridactylus dorsalis: Alpine three-toed woodpecker 124
Habits 124
Sphyrapicus varius varius: Yellow-bellied sapsucker 126
Habits 126
Distribution 139
Sphyrapicus varius nuchalis: Red-naped sapsucker 141
Habits 141
Sphyrapicus varius daggetti: Southern red-breasted sapsucker 146
Habits 146
Sphyrapicus varius ruber: Northern red-breasted sapsucker 151
Habits 151
Sphyrapicus thyroideus thyroideus : Williamson's sapsucker 154
Habits 154
Distribution 160
Sphyrapicus thyroideus nataliae: Natalie's sapsucker 162
Habits _ 162
CONTENTS V
Family Picidae : American woodpeckers^Contiuued. Page
Ceophloeus pileatus pileatus : Southern pileated woodpecker 164
Habits 164
Distribution 170
Ceophloeus pileatus abieticola: Northern pileated woodpeclier 171
Habits 171
Ceophloeus pileatus floridanus: Florida pileated woodpecker 189
Habits 189
Ceophloeus pileatus picinus: Western pileated woodpecker 191
Habits 191
Melanerpes erythrocephalus : Red-headed woodpecker 195
Habits 195
Distribution 208
Balanosphyra f ormici vora f ormici vora : Ant-eating woodpecker 211
Habits . 211
Distribution 211
Balanosphyra f ormici vora bairdi : California woodpecker 212
Habits 212
Balanosphyra formicivora angustifrons : Narrow-fronted woodpecker. 222
Habits 222
Balanosphyra formicivora aculeata : Mearns's woodpecker 223
Habits 223
Balanosphyra formicivora martirensis: San Pedro woodpecker 226
Habits 226
Asy ndesmus lewis : Lewis's woodpecker 226
Habits 226
Distribution 236
Cen turns carolinus: Red-bellied woodpecker 237
Habits 237
Distribution 244
Centurus aurifrons: Golden-fronted woodpecker 245
Habits 245
Distribution 249
Centurus uropygialis uropygialis : Gila woodpecker 250
Habits 250
Distribution 256
Centurus uropygialis cardonensis: Cardon woodpecker 257
Habits 257
Centurus uropygialis brewsteri: Brewster's woodpecker 258
Habits - 258
Colaptes auratus auratus: Southern flicker 259
Habits 259
Distribution 261
Colaptes auratus luteus: Northern flicker 264
Habits 264
Colaptes caf er coUaris : Red-shafted flicker 287
Habits 287
Distribution 294
Colaptes caf er caf er : Northwestern flicker 296
Habits 296
Colaptes caf er martirensis: San Pedro flicker 298
Habits 298
VT BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Family Picidae : American woodpeckers— Continued. Page
Colaptes chrysoides chrysoides: Cape gilded flicker 299
Habits 299
Distribution 300
Colaptes chrysoides mearnsi : Mearns's gilded flicker 301
Habits 301
Colaptes chrysoides brunnescens: San Fernando flicker 305
Habits 305
Colaptes caf er r ufipileus : Guadal upe flicker 306
Habits 306
Literature cited 309
Index 323
INTRODUCTION
This is the twelfth in a series of bulletins of the United States
National Museum on the life histories of North American birds.
Previous numbers have been issued as follows :
107. Life Histories of North American Diving Birds, August 1, 1919.
113. Life Histories of North American Gulls and Terns, August 27, 1921.
121. Life Histories of North American Petrels and Pelicans and their Allies,
October 19, 1922.
126. Life Histories of North American Wild Fowl (part). May 2-5, 1923.
130. Life Histories of North American Wild Fowl (part), June 27, 1925.
135. Life Histories of North American Marsh Birds, March 11, 1927.
142. Life Histories of North American Shore Birds (pt. 1), December 31, 1927.
146. Life Histories of North American Shore Birds (pt. 2), March 24, 1929.
162. Life Histories of North American Gallinaceous Birds, May 25, 1932.
107. Life Histories of North American Birds of Prey (pt. 1), May 3, 1937.
170. Life Histories of North American Birds of Prey (pt. 2), August 8, 1938.
The same general plan has been followed, as explained in previous
bulletins, and the same sources of information have been utilized.
The nomenclature of the 1931 check list of the American Ornitholo-
gists' Union has been followed, but it has seemed best to continue in
the same order of arrangement of families and species as given in the
old check list (1910).
An attempt has been made to give as full a life history as possible
of the best-known subspecies and to avoid duplication by writing
briefly of the others and giving only the characters of the subspecies,
its range, and any habits peculiar to it. In many cases certain habits,
probably common to the species as a whole, have been recorded for
only one subspecies; such habits are mentioned under the subspecies
on which the observations were made. The distribution gives the
range of the species as a whole, with only rough outlines of the ranges
of the subspecies, which cannot be accurately defined in many cases.
The egg dates are the condensed results of a mass of records taken
from the data in a large number of the best egg collections in the
country, as well as from contributed field notes and from a few pub-
lished sources. They indicate the dates on which eggs have been
actually found in various parts of the country, showing the earliest
and latest dates and the limits between which half the dates fall, the
]ieight of the season.
The plumages are described in only enough detail to enable the
reader to trace the sequence of molts and plumages from birth to
maturity and to recognize the birds in the different stages and at the
different seasons. No attempt has been made to describe fully the
Vni BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
adult plumages ; this has been done very well in the many manuals
and State bird books that are now available. The names of colors,
when in quotation marks, are taken from Eidgway's Color Standards
and Color Nomenclature (1912), and the terms used to describe the
shapes of eggs are taken from his Nomenclature of Colors (1886).
The boldface type in the measurements of eggs indicates the four
extremes of the measurements.
Many of those who contributed material for previous bulletins
have continued to cooperate. Eeceipt of material from more than
430 contributors has been acknowledged previously. In addition to
these, our thanks are due to the following new contributors: Dean
Amadon, E. R. Forrest, Allen Frost, J. J, Hickey, Joseph Janiec,
Melvin Johansen, M. B. Meanley, Jr., R. L. Meredith, E. E. Mur-
phey, A. G. Nye, Jr., R. T. Orr, R. S. Palmer, Cordelia J. Stanwood,
Wendell Taber, A. E. Thompson, and Mrs. L. J. Webster. If any
contributor fails to find his name in this or in one of the previous
lists, the author would be glad to be advised.
Egg measurements were furnished especially for this volume by
Dean Amadon, A. M. Bailey, C. E. Doe, J. R. Gillin, W. C. Hanna,
H. L. Harllex^, R. C. Harlow, R. T. Orr, J. H. Riley, G. H. Stuart, 3d,
and Miss M. W. Wythe.
Through the courtesy of the Bureau of Biological Survey, the
services of Frederick C. Lincoln were again obtained to compile the
distribution paragraphs. With the matchless reference files of the
Biological Survey at his disposal, his many hours of careful work
have produced results far more satisfactory than could have been
attained by the author, who claims no credit and assumes no respon-
sibility for this part of the work.
Dr. Winsor M. Tyler rendered valuable assistance in reading and
indexing, for this group, the greater part of the leading periodicals
relating to North American birds, which saved the author many
hours of tedious work and for which he is very grateful. Dr. Tyler
contributed the life histories of the northern downy woodpecker and
yellow-bellied sapsucker. Dr. Arthur A. Allen wrote the life history
of the ivory -billed woodpecker, Bayard H. Christy that of the north-
ern pileated woodpecker, and Dr. Eugene E. Murphey that of the
red-cockaded woodpecker. Thanks are due also to F. Seymour Her-
sey for figuring the egg measurements.
The manuscript for this volume was completed in June 1938.
Contributions received since then will be acknowledged later. Only
information of great importance could be added. The reader is
reminded again that this is a cooperative work ; if he fails to find in
these volumes anything that he knows about the birds, he can blame
himself for not having sent the information to —
The Author.
LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN
WOODPECKERS
ORDER PICIFORMES
By Arthur Cleveland Bent
Tauntoyi, Mass.
Order PICIFORMES
Family PICIDAE: American Woodpeckers
CAMPEPHILUS PRINCIPALIS (Linnaeus)
IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER
Plates 1, 2
HABITS
Contributed by Akthur Augustus Allen
The LARGE size and striking color pattern, the mystery of its habi-
tat, and the tragedy of its possible extinction combine to make the
ivory-billed woodpecker one of peculiar interest to all Americans
who have any pride in the natural resources of their country.
Ever since the days of Mark Catesby (1731) this species has at-
tracted popular attention, and even at that time, as he stated in his
Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands:
"The bills of these Birds are much valued by the Canada Indians,
who made Coronets of 'em for their Princes and great warriors, by
fixing them round a Wreath, with their points outward. The North-
ern Indians having none of these Birds in their cold country, pur-
chase them of the Southern People at the price of two, and some-
times three, Buck-skins a Bill." At that time the species was found
throughout the Gulf States as far north as North Carolina and up
the Mississippi Valley as far as southern Ohio and Illinois.
Today it is almost extinct, and indeed during the past 50 years
long periods have elapsed when no individuals have been reported
from any part of its range. It apparently has been exterminated
from all but a few isolated localities in Louisiana, Florida, and
South Carolina, where it still clings on in a precarious position.
1
2 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
The ivorybill is primarily a bird of the great moss-hung southern
swamps, where mature timber with its dying branches provides a
bounteous food supply of wood-boring larvae, but its habits appar-
ently vary in different parts of its range, for the birds I observed
in Florida, although nesting in a cypress swamp, did most of their
feeding along its borders on recently killed young pines that were
infested with beetle larvae. They even got down on the ground
like flickers to feed among palmetto roots on a recent burn. In
Louisiana, on the other hand, the nesting birds observed confined
their activities to a mature forest of oak, sweetgum, and hackberry,
and paid little attention to the cypress trees along the lagoons.
SpHng. — ^At what time the winter groups of ivorybills break up
and spring activities commence is rather diflBcult to state, for there
seems to be considerable irregularity to the breeding season. Judged
from published records of its nests, the period of greatest activity
would seem to be late March and early April. According to Audu-
bon (1842) : "The ivory -billed woodpecker nestles earlier in spring
than any other species of its tribe. I have observed it boring a hole
for that purpose in the beginning of March." Scott (1881) reports
taking an incubating female in Florida on January 20, 1880, and
(1888) of finding a nest containing one young female about one-
third grown on March 17, 1887. Kidgway (1898) likewise speaks
of shooting a male that left its nest hole February 15, 1898, and
Hoyt (1905) states that "in Florida they begin building the latter
part of January, and if undisturbed the eggs are laid by February
10th." In 1937 James Tanner (MS.) discovered a nest in Louisiana
from which the fledgling left on March 30, fully 2 months earlier
than any previous records from the same locality, and in 1938 ap-
parently the same pair of birds had young the last week in February.
In contrast to these dates we find 10 records of April nesting, 5
for May, and 1 (Beyer, 1900) of a young bird just out of the nest
in July. The latter records might well constitute second attempts
at nesting. The Florida birds, in general, start earlier than those in
Louisiana, but at best there seems to be less regularity to the com-
mencement of the nesting period than is found with most of our
North American woodpeckers. In this, the ivorybill may register
its affinity with tropical birds in general, the ivorybill being the
most northern representative of an otherwise tropical or semitropical
genus. There is some evidence for believing that ivorybills wander
over considerably larger territories in winter than those to which
they confine their activities in the spring, but little definite informa-
tion has thus far been recorded on any of their before and after
breeding activities.
IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER 6
Courtship. — Nothing seems to have been written on the courtship
of the ivorybill except the observations of Allen and Kellogg (1937) :
Our only observations were made in Florida about 6 a. m., on April 13, 1924.
We had discovered this pair of ivorybills at about the same time the preceding
morning when they came out of the cypress swamp and preened their feathers
and called a few times from the top of a dead pine before going off together
to feed. They had made such a long flight the previous day that we were unable
to find them again, but that night, still traveling together, they had returned
to the same group of medium-sized cypress trees which they had apparently
left in the morning and in which there was one fresh hole in addition to four or
five other old ones in the near vicinity. On the morning of the 13th, they
called as they left these cypress trees and flew to the top of a dead pine at
the edge of the swamp, where they called and preened. Finally the female
climbed up directly below the male and when she approached him closely he
bent his head downward and clasped bills with her. The next instant they
both flew out on to the "burn," where we followed their feeding operations for
about an hour.
Nesting. — As before stated, while there are a few records of Febru-
ary nesting, the most definite records are for March, April, and early
May, as follows :
April 6, . M. Thompson, Okefinokee swamp, Georgia. Laying.
April 9, 1892. E. A. Mcllhenny, Avery swamp, Louisiana. Three fresh eggs.
April 10, . Dr. S. W. Wilson, Altamaha swamp, Georgia. Four eggs.
April 15, 1893. A. Wayne, Florida. A young female about 2 weeks out of the
nest.
April 19, 1893. Ralph Collection, Lafayette County, Fla. Three eggs.
May 2, 1892. E. A. Mcllhenny, Avery swamp, Louisiana. Three eggs.
May 19, 1892. E. A. Mcllhenny, Avery swamp, Louisiana. Four eggs, a second
laying.
May (early) 1894. E. A. Mcllhenny, Avery swamp., Louisiana. Five young,
3 days old.
May 3, 1885. Capt. B. F. Goss, Jasper County, Tex. Three eggs.
July 1897. George G. Beyer, Franklin Parish, La.
March 4, 1904. Brown brothers (Hoyt), feeding young.
March 16, 1904. R. D. Hoyt, Taylor County, Fla. Large young.
March 4, 1905. R. D. Hoyt, Claremont County, Fla. Two eggs, incubation
advanced.
March 24, 1905. R. D. Hoyt, Claremont County, Fla. Two eggs slightly incu-
bated (second laying of the preceding).
April 13, 1924. A. A. Allen, Taylor Creek, Fla. Nest completed. Incubation
not yet started.
April (early) 1931. J. J. Kuhn, northern Louisiana. Incubating.
May 13, 1934. J. J. Kuhn, northern Louisiana. Probably small young.
April 6, 1935. A. A. Allen and P. P. Kellogg, northern Louisiana. Incubating.
April 9, 1935. A. A. Allen and P. P. Kellogg, northern Louisiana. Building.
April 25, 1935. A. A. Allen and P. P. Kellogg, northern Louisiana. Incubating.
May 10, 1935. A. A. Allen and P. P. Kellogg, northern Louisiana. Small young.
4 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Again quoting from the report of Allen and Kellogg (193Y) :
The site of the Ivorybill's nest seems to vary considerably. Audubon states:
"The hole is, I believe, always made in the trunk of a live tree, generally
an ash or a hackberry, and is at a great height." There are, however, records
of their nesting in live cypress, partially dead oaks, a dead royal-palm stub,
"an old and nearly rotten white elm stump," etc., indicating about as great a
variety as shown by the pileated woodpecker. The lowest authentic nest of
which we have found a record, was that described by Beyer (1900) "about 25
feet up in a living over-cup oak," although Scott (ISSl) mentions what he
considered "an old nest evidently of this species," in a palmetto stub only
fifteen feet from the ground. The nest which we discovered in Florida, in 1924,
was about thirty feet up in a live cypress and there were other holes in the
vicinity in similar trees that had apparently been used in years past. The
bark had healed over in some cases and scar tissue was apparently trying to
close the wounds. Of the four nests examined in Louisiana, three were in oaks
and one in a swamp maple. The maple, seven and a half feet in circumference
(breast high), was partially alive, but the top where the nest was located,
43 feet from the ground, was dead and pithy. Of those in oak trees, one was
in a dead pin-oak stub about ten feet in circumference and about fifty feet
high, standing in more or less of a clearing. The nest was 47 feet 8 inches
from the ground. The other two were not measured accurately but were
certainly over forty feet from the ground. About the middle of May when
it was determined that the first two trees had been deserted, they were cut
down, careful measurements taken, and the contents of the holes preserved.
The hole in the maple was 5 inches in vertical diameter and 4% inches
laterally, and was slightly irregular at the bottom, as shown in the photo-
graphs ; that in the oak was more symmetrical with a similar vertical diameter
of 5 inches and a transverse diameter of 4 inches. The depth of the maple
nest from the top of the entrance hole was 19% inches, of which 3 inches was
filled with chips and "sawdust." This nest cavity was 8% inches in diameter
at the egg level, and the tree itself 18^/^ inches in diameter at the level of the
hole. The nest cavity in the oak was 20 inches from top to bottom with a
diameter of 8^4 inches at the egg level. The entrance hole went in 3 inches
before it turned abruptly downward; the tree at this point was 22 inches in
diameter. There was a stub just above the hole in the maple about 4 inches
long representing a branch that had apparently died and been broken off
years before and started to heal over. The oak was perfectly smooth at the
entrance hole, but on either side, slightly above, were the bases of two large
branches that could not have given the opening any protection from the
weather. The opening in the maple faced north, two of those in the oaks east,
and one west. Audubon states : "The birds pay great regard to the particular
situation of the tree and the inclination of the trunk ; first, because they prefer
retirement, and, again, because they are anxious to secure the aperture against
the access of water during beating rains. To prevent such a calamity the
hole is generally dug immediately under the juncture of a large branch with
the trunk." None of the nests examined by us showed this desire for protec-
tion from rain, and the chips at the bottom of the cavity were perfectly dry,
though we had had some very heavy rains shortly before they were examined.
Audubon further states : "The average diameter of the different nests which
I examined was about 7 inches within, although the entrance, which is per-
fectly round, is only just large enough to admit the bird." Beyer (1900)
says : "The entrance measures exactly 4^2 inches in height and 3% inches in
width," and Mcllhenny (Bendire, 1895) gives the measurements of a typical
IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER 5
hole as "oval and measures 4% by 5% inches," and Scott (18S8) as "S% inches
wide and 4i^ inches high." The corresponding measurements of the nests of
Pileated Woodpeckers are given by Bendire (1805) as follows: "The entrance
measures from 3 to 3% inches in diameter, and it often goes 5 inches straight
into the trunk before it is worked downward." The additional one to two
inches in diameter of the nest hole should be kept in mind when searching for
reasons why the Ivorybill has proven less successful than the Pileated Wood-
pecker in its struggle for existence. Thompson (1885) states: "The depth of
the hole varies from three to seven feet, as a rule, but I found one that was
nearly nine feet deep and another that was less than two." He also claims
that they are always jug-shaped at the lower end.
Of two nests discovered by Hoyt (1905) in Claremont County,
Fla., one was 58 feet up in a live cypress about 20 yards from a nest
discovered in 1904 b}^ the Brown brothers; the second nest buift by
the same pair after the first eggs had been taken was in a cypress
stub about 70 yards distant from the first and 47 feet from the
ground. The opening of the first nest was Q% inches by 3^/4 inches,
with the trunk of the tree 15 inches in diameter at the nest cavity,
which was 14 inches deep. The second nest hole measured 6 by 3%
inches and was likewise 14 inches deep. "The opening in both nests
was uneven and rough, and just inside the hollow was much en-
larged, being 9 inches across, and unlike the nests of other wood-
peckers, was smaller at the bottom than at the top. * * * One
marked feature of the nest tree of which I have seen no mention
made is that the outer bark of those I have examined was torn to
shreds from a point some distance below the nest site to 15 or 20 feet
above it. This made the nest tree noticeable for quite a distance.
The last nest taken this season had little of this work done."
Allen and Kellogg (1937) say further:
According to Mcllhenny (Bendire, 1895) the female does all the work of
excavation, requiring from eight to fourteen days, while the male sits around
and chips the bark from neighboring trees. Audubon, however, states that "both
birds work most assiduously at this excavation, one waiting outside to encourage
the other." Maurice Thompson (1896) likewise reports that both birds work
at the excavation. We had no opportunity to check either statement but cer-
tainly both birds take part in incubation and feeding the young. The chips are
not removed from the vicinity of the nest for each one that we have examined
has had piles of chips directly below the opening though, since most of the trees
were standing in water, the chips were not very conspicuous.
We camped within three hundred feet of our first Ivorybill nest in Louisiana,
in 1935. A pair of 24-power binoculars set on a tripod was trained on the nest
opening, and from daylight, April 10, until 11 a. m., April 14, continuous obser
vations during the hours of daylight wore made either by the writers or by
James Tanner. The nest had been found the morning of April 6, when the
female was incubating, but how far along incubation had proceeded we made no
effort to determine for fear of disturbing the birds. Contrary to most published
accounts, however, the birds were not particularly wary and soon became so
accustomed to our presence that they would enter the nest-hole with one of
us standing at the base of the tree and later even when one of us was descending
6 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
from a blind which we built on April 9 in the top of an adjacent rock elm, twenty
feet distant from the nest. On April 9, we located a second pair of Ivorybills in
the vicinity of a fresh hole about fifty feet up in a dead oak, some two miles to
the south of the nest in the maple. The following morning, however, the nest
was occupied by a black squirrel and the birds had disappeared.
Briefly summarizing our five-day vigil at the occupied nest, we learned that
the birds took turns sitting on the eggs, working in approximately two-hour
shifts when not alarmed, but changing places more frequently when disturbed.
Activities usually commenced about six o'clock in the morning, three-quarters
of an hour after Cardinals and Carolina Wrens started singing. At this time
the female relieved the male after his having spent the night on the eggs. Activi-
ties ceased about four o'clock in the afternoon when the male relieved the
female on the eggs and went in the nest for the night. This was nearly three
hours before dark, whicli came about seven o'clock.
Eggs. — According to Bendire (1895) :
The eggs of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker are pure china white in color, close
grained, and exceedingly glossy, as if enameled. They vary in shape from an
elongate ovate to a cylindrical ovate, and are more pointed than the eggs of
most of our Woodpeckers. They appear to me to be readily distinguished from
tliose of the Pileated Woodpecker, some of which are fully as large. From three
to five eggs are laid to a set, and only one brood is raised in a season. * * *
The average measurement of thirteen eggs is 34.87 by 25.22 millimetres or
about 1.37 by 0.99 inches. The largest egg measured 36.83 by 26.92 millimetres,
or about 1.45 by 1.06 inches; the smallest, 34.54 by 23.62 millimetres, or about
1.36 by 0.93 inches.
The eggs described by Hoyt (1905) measured 1.46 by 1.09 and 1.43
by 1.07 inches in the first set and 1.43 by 1.10 and 1.43 by 1.08 inches
in the second set.
From my own experience and the observation of others, it seems to
me that the number of eggs laid by the ivorybill would not normally
exceed three, and one or two of these are often infertile. Frequently,
if the bird is successful in rearing any offspring at all, a single young-
ster is the result rather than two or three. Allen and Kellogg (1937)
describe three nests in which no young were successfully reared, al-
though at least some of the eggs apparently hatched, while Scott
(1888), Beyer (1900), and Tanner (1937 and 1938 MS.) each report
single young, and in the type set of three eggs (Ralph collection,
Lafayette County, Fla.) two were infertile, and both of Hoyt's sets
contained two eggs each. On the other hand, J. J. Kuhn reports
seeing one pair of ivorybills with four young in 1931 and again in
1936 in the same forest where Allen and Kellogg made their studies.
In 1932, 1933, and 1934 he observed a pair of ivorybills with two
young.
Plumages. —'^0, far as I have been able to find, no one has ever
published a description of the natal or juvenal plumages of the ivory-
billed woodpecker. The probability is that natal down is absent,
although Scott (1888), who found a nest containing one young in
Florida March 17, 1887, says: "The young bird in the nest was a fo-
IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER 7
male, and though one-third grown had not yet opened its eyes. Thpi
feathers of the first plumage were apparent, beginning to cover the
down, and were the same in coloration as those of the adult female
bird." -v^.-,
During April 1937, James Tanner, recipient of the Audubon fel-
loY^ship at Cornell University for the study of the ivory-billed wood-
pecker (MS.), was able to follow a young ivorybill for over 3 months
after it left the nest, and though he never had the bird in his hands,
his description is much more complete than Scott's and the most ac-
curate one available : "March 10, 1937 : The young ivory-billed wood-
pecker just out of the nest resembled an adult female in general
pattern but with the following differences : The black crest was short
and blunt; the tail was short and square; the outer primaries were
all tipped with white, instead of being wholly black as in the adult ;
the bill was shorter than that of an adult and was chalky white in-
stead of ivory ; the eye was a dark brown or sepia. One month later
the crest was long but still blunt and black, the tail was almost as
long and pointed as an adult's, and the eye and bill were beginning
to turn color.
"The bird developed gradually from then, until at three and a
half months out of the nest (July 14, 1937) its size, proportions, bill,
and eye color were the same as those of an adult. By then, scarlet
feathers had appeared in the back of the crest. The white wing tips
to the outer primaries were almost worn away."
Since Tanner's bird began to show red in the crest when it was
three and a half months old, it is probable that the postjuvenal molt
is completed by early fall and that thereafter young and adults are
similar.
The cliief difference between adult male and female ivorybills lies
in the crest, which in the male is a brilliant scarlet, not including the
uppermost feathers, which are black, like the top of the head, while
the somewhat recurved crest of the female is entirely black. Females
average somewhat larger than males in most of their measurements,
except those of bill and feet, as the following figures (length in milli-
meters) given by Ridgway (1914) for 15 males and 11 females in-
dicate :
Adult males: Skins, 420-493 (454); wing, 240-263 (255.8); tail, 147-160.5
(154.4) ; culmen, 63-72.5 (68.2) ; tarsus, 42.5-46 (44.2) ; outer anterior toe, 80-
34 (32.1).
ADtTLT females: Skins, 452-488 (471) ; wing, 240-262 (256.4); tail, 151-166
(159.5) ; culmen, 61-67.5 (64.3) ; tarsus, 40.5-44 (42.6) ; outer anterior toe,
30-33.5 (31.7).
In both sexes the general color is a glossy blue-black, with the tail
and primaries duller or with the gloss less distinct. A narrow stripe
on each side of the neck, starting below the eye and continuing down
8 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
to the folded secondaries, is conspicuously white, as are also the sec-
ondaries, all but five or six of the outermost primaries, and the under
wing coverts. The white nasal plumes and anterior edges of the
lores more or less match the ivory-white bill and help to emphasize
its size. The iris is pale, clear lemon-yellow in both sexes, and the
tarsi and toes are light gray.
Food. — Audubon (1842) mentions grapes, persimmons, and hack-
berries as food of the ivorybills in addition to beetles, larvae, and large
grubs. Mcllhenny, in his communication to Bendire (1895), men-
tions their feeding on acorns, but Maurice Thompson (1885) asserts
that "it is only woodpeckers which eat insects and larvae (dug out of
rotten wood) exclusively." Allen and Kellogg (1937) report:
We were never able to follow a bird continuously through the forest of either
Louisiana or Florida for more than an hour before it would make a long flight
and we would be unable to find it again. Ordinarily upon leaving the nest-tree
or its immediate environs the bird would fly at least a hundred yards before
stopping. Then it would feed for from a few minutes to as long as half an
hour on a dead tree or dead branch before making a short flight to another
tree. It might make a dozen such short flights and then, without any warning
and for no apparent reason, it would start off on a long flight through the forest
that would take it entirely out of sight.
Audubon states that "it seldom comes near the ground" ; but the birds we
have watched behave no differently from pileated woodpeckers in this respect,
sometimes working high up in the trees but at other times within five or ten
feet of the ground. The female of the Florida pair which we watched for over
an hour on a "burn" sometimes got down on the ground around the seared,
prostrate trunks of the saw palmettos, hopping like a Flicker, while her mate
stayed on the trunks of the pines five to ten feet up. We never saw the Louisi-
ana birds on the ground but there was plenty of evidence, both in Florida and
Louisiana, that a bird will continue scaling the bark from recently killed trees
for the beetle larvae beneath, clear to the base of the tree, until the tree stands
absolutely naked with the bark piled around its base.
Frequently they return again and again to the same tree until they have
entirely stripped it. At one time we thought* this was their chief method of
feeding, but we have since watched them digging for borers exactly like hairy
or pileated woodpeckers. At one time we watched the female working at a deep
gash in the tall stub of a dead gum, which was apparently a favorite feeding
place. She clung to the spot for about five minutes, occasionally picking hard,
but never chipping off any large flakes that would account for the depth of the
hole which was exactly like that made by pileated woodpeckers,— about four
inches deep and eighteen inches long. Finally she flew and disappeared in the
direction of the nest which was about two hundred yards away. In a few
minutes the male ivorybill came to the same spot where the female had been
working and he, too, picked at the hole and stayed there for several minutes. At
the time we decided that either the ivorybills or perhaps the pileateds had made
the gash in the tree for carpenter ants and that the ivorybills were returning each
time for more ants. Since the stub was rather rotten and full of wood-
pecker drillings, we decided to cut it down the next day and make certain of what
the ivorybills were securing. Upon examining the hole made by the birds there
was, however, no evidence of carpenter ants, and the deep gash followed the
IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER 9
tunnels of large, wood-boring beetle larvae (Cerambycidae) of which there were
a great many in the tree ; the only other available woodpecker food was termites
of which there were comparatively few.
Certainly the ivorybills did not do enough digging while we were watching
them to uncover any additional borers, so they may have been picking up such
termites as appeared in the gash. The birds, while we watched them in
Louisiana, divided their time between dead branches of live trees and com-
pletely dead trees, but more time was spent knocking of£ the bark for whatever
could be found immediately beneath it than was spent digging deeply for borers.
The forest was made up primarily of oak, gum and hackberry, and the wood-
peckers showed no preference for species so far as we could determine. In
Florida, while the nest was located in a cypress swamp in a live cypress tree,
the birds apparently did most of their feeding in the dead pines at the edge of the
swamp, scaling off the bark of those small and medium-sized pines that had
been killed by fire, or actually getting down on the ground like Flickers, as
already described.
The ivorybills are, therefore, apparently somewhat adaptable in
their food and feeding habits, but forests of mature trees with their
dying branches seem to give them the best habitat for securing their
food. The fruits of these trees may likewise add considerably to their
attractiveness. The only definite stomach analyses published are of
two birds examined by the United States Biological Survey, and re-
ported upon by Beal (1911) : "One stomach contained 32 and the other
20 of the wood-boring cerambycid larvae, which live by boring into
trees. These constituted 37.5 per cent of the whole food. The re-
mainder of the animal food consisted of engraver beetles {Scolytidae)
found in one stomach. Of these, three species were identified —
Tomiciis avulsus^ T. cdlligraphus^ and T. grandicollis. The total
animal food amounted to 38.5 per cent. The vegetable food consisted
of fruit of Magnolia foetida in one stomach, and of pecan nuts in the
other. The average for the two was 61.5 percent."
The ivory-billed woodpecker is represented in the Biological Sur-
vey's collection by the stomachs of three birds. Two of these were
males collected on November 26, 1904, at Tarkington, Tex., by Vernon
Bailey, and the third was shot at Bowling Green, West Carroll Parish,
La., on August 19, 1903, by E. L. Moseley.
The first two stomachs were well filled, and though only the content
of the third was received it was apparently well filled also. This
last stomach alone contained a trace of gravel. Forty-six percent
of the food was animal in origin, long-horned beetles (Cerambycidae,
including Parandra 'poJita and Stenodontus dasystomus) comprising
45.33 percent, while the remaining 0.67 percent consisted of 3 different
species of engraver beetles {Totnicus spp.). Southern magnolia seeds
{Magnolia grandi^ord) formed 14 percent of the vegetable food, hick-
ory {Hicoria sp.) and pecan {Hicoria pecan) nuts formed 27 percent,
90801— yo 2
10 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
and poison ivy {Rhus radicans) equaled 12.67 percent. Fragments
of an unidentified gall formed 1 percent of the content.
BehaA}ior.—ThQ uniform direct flight of the ivorybill resembles
that of the red-headed woodpecker more than it does the swooping
undulating flight of the pileated, and this general resemblance is em-
phasized by the large amount of white in the wings. When viewed
from below, the long pointed tail is quite conspicuous and the wings
seem very narrow because the black portion is so much more con-
spicuous than the white, which apparently cuts off the whole rear of
the wing. This is perhaps not so conspicuous when viewed from the
side, but even so it is remarkable how ducklike the bird can appear
as it flies swiftly and directly up a lagoon, so much so in fact that cer-
tain Louisiana hunters have told me that they have even shot at them
under such circumstances, mistaking them for ducks. In this connec-
tion Audubon's (1842) description of the flight of the ivorybill is
quite misleading : "The flight of this bird is graceful in the extreme,
although seldom prolonged to more than a few hundred yards at a
time, unless when it has to cross a large river, which it does in deep
undulations, opening its wings at first to their full extent and nearly
closing them to renew the propelling impulse. The transit from one
tree to another, even should the distance be as much as a hundred
yards, is performed by a single sweep, and the bird appears as if
merely swinging itself from the top of the one tree to that of the
other, forming an elegantly curved line."
Voice. — Concerning the voice of the ivorybill there seems to be
considerable agreement in that the ordinary note sounds like a single
blast from a tin trumpet or a clarinet. In the words of Audubon,
"Its notes are clear, loud, and yet rather plaintive. They are heard
at a considerable distance, perhaps half a mile, and resemble the
false, high note of a clarionet." According to Hoyt (1905) : "It is
a single note and resembles the w^ord Schwenk, at times keyed very
high, again soft and plaintive, it lacks carrying capacity and can
rarely be heard over 100 yards on a still morning, while the harsh
notes of the pileated woodpecker can be heard a full mile." Allen
and Kellogg (1937) state that anyone can produce the sound very
accurately by using only the mouthpiece of the clarinet. They ques-
tion whether the loudest calls can be heard half a mile :
It is doubtful, however, if tlie loudest calls can be heard, under normal condi-
tions, for a quarter of a mile, and some of the weaker ones are scarcely audible
at 300 yards. However, when we tested the carrying power of one of our
recordings of the common alarm note, kent, amplified until it sounded to our
ears normal at about one hundred feet, the call was distinctly recognizable
at a distance of 2,500 feet directly in front of the amplifier with no trees or
buildings intervening. At a 45-degree angle the sound was not recognizable
at half this distance. The birds are so often quiet for such long periods
that we can scarcely agree with Audubon's statement that "the bird spends
IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER 11
few minutes of the day without uttering them." They seem much more likely
to call when they are alarmed, as when they discover an intruder in their
haunts. Both birds give the call, hut that of the female is somewhat weaker.
In addition to this kent note, as it is called by the natives of Louisiana, and
because of which they call the birds "Kents," they have a variety of low
conversational notes when they exchange places at the nest, which are sug-
gestive of similar notes of the Flicker ; but they never, so far as we know,
give a call at all similar to the pup-pnp-pvp ! of the pileated, nor have we ever
heard them sound a real tatoo like other woodpeckers, such as described by
Thompson (1885), and which Mcllhenny (Bendire, 1895) compares to the "roll
of a snare drum." The birds in Florida and all those in Louisiana telegraphed
to each other by single or double resounding whacks on the trunk or dead
branches. Mr. Kuhn who has had years of experience with them, likewise
has never heard any notes or tatoos that were comparable with those of the
Pileated. Our observations agree with Audubon's, rather than with those of
some others, in that "it never utters any sound while on the wing."
Tanner (MS.) reports, however, that in his studies during 1937 he
occasionally heard a rapid succession of "kents" given on the wing as
one bird flew in to join another.
The calls of the two large species of woodpeckers are so distinct
that they should not be confused with each other or with those of
any other birds. The fact, however, that ivorybills are continually
being reported, even from the Northern States, indicates how unob-
servant many people are and how necessary it is to stress even such
conspicuous differences as those mentioned above.
Winter. — Ivory-billed woodpeckers are apparently not only non-
migratory but also sedentary and perhaps spend their entire lives
within a few miles of the spot where they were hatched. At least,
once a pair has established a territory it seems to cling to that area
winter and summer, and Tanner (MS.) reports one pair using the
same roosting hole in December that they used the preceding April.
These territories are doubtless several miles in diameter, but the
tendency was for the birds to build up small communities in certain
areas until in former years, when their distribution was normal, they
were reported as fairly common by observers who happened upon
one of these communities. On the other hand, there were perhaps
always large areas of similar timber uninhabited by them, so that with
equal truth by equally competent observers they were called ex-
tremely rare. How much farther they range during the winter than
during the nesting season has not yet been worked out, but doubtless
the area covered at such times is considerably larger, and this ac-
counts for sporadic records of birds in the nonbreeding seasons in
areas where no nests have been located and where no one has been able
to find the birds subsequently.
The family groups apparently keep together until the following
nesting season, and Mr. Kuhn has reported seeing groups of from
three to five birds even as late as early March. Hoyt (1905) states
12 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
that "after the young leave the nest in April they and the parents
remain together until the mating season in December. During the
summer they are always found in bands of three to five, and I have
never seen more than the latter number."
Conservation. — Arthur T. Wayne (1910) records having "encoun-
tered more than two hundred of these rare birds [in Florida] during
the years 1892, 1893, and 1894." Today it is doubtful if there are a
fourth of that number left alive in its entire range.
A number of theories have been advanced for the increasing scarcity
of the ivorybill, that most often mentioned being the destruction of
its natural habitat, the virgin cypress and bottomland forests of the
South. Commercialization, avarice of collectors, shooting for food
by natives, predation by natural enemies that can enter its hole (but
not the pileated) are likewise suggested, while Allen and Kellogg
(1937) suggest that with increasing scarcity because of their sedentary
habits, inbreeding and lack of sex rhythm resulting in weak young
and infertile eggs have become increasingly important. At this writ-
ing the National Association of Audubon Societies has established a
Fellowship at Cornell University for the study of the ivorybill, and
it is hoped that the incumbent, James Tanner, may ascertain such
facts regarding the bird and its habits that constructive measures
for its preservation can be undertaken.
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — The Southeastern United States; nomnigratory.
The range of the ivory-billed woodpecker extends north to north-
eastern Texas (Gainesville) ; southeastern Oklahoma (Caddo) ;
northeastern Arkansas (Newport and Osceola) ; southeastern Mis-
souri (Little River) ; southeastern Illinois (Mount Carmel) ; southern
Indiana (Monroe County and Franklin County) ; and southeastern
North Carolina (Wilmington). East along the coast from North
Carolina (Wilmington) to southeastern Florida (Cape Florida).
From this point the southern limits of the range extend westward
along the Gulf coast to Texas (Guadalupe and New Braunfels).
West to eastern Texas (New Braunfels, San Marcos, Brazos River,
and Gainesville).
The range of the species has been so restricted in modern times that
periodically it is feared the bird is on the verge of extinction. It is
now known to exist only in a very few remote areas, chiefly in
Louisiana.
Egg dates. — Florida: 4 records, March 4 to April 19.
Louisiana : 5 records, March 6 to May 19.
Georgia : 2 records, April 6 and 10.
Texas : 2 records, April 11 and May 3.
EASTERN HAIRY WOODPECKER 13
DRYOBATES VILLOSUS VILLOSUS (Linnaeus)
EASTERN HAIRY WOODPECKER
Plate 3
HABITS
The hairy woodpecker, with its various subspecies, ranges through-
out practically all the timbered regions in North America, but the
type race, the subject of this sketch, is confined, during the breeding
season at least, to the Transition and Upper Austral Zones of North-
eastern United States and extreme southern Canada.
In the region where I am most familiar with it, southern New
England, it is not an abundant bird at any season, quite rare in
summer and oftener seen in winter. It is essentially a retiring, for-
est-loving bird, being found with us in summer in the dry deciduous
woods, or occasionally in rural districts in old orchards near the
borders of wooded areas. In winter, it is given more to wandering
into villages and towns, or may be seen even in the shade trees in
larger cities.
I remember having found it only twice in swampy woods, but Dr.
George M. Sutton (1928b), in his paper on the birds of Pymatuning
Swamp, Crawford County, Pa., says : "The hairy woodpecker occurs
only rarely in the higher deciduous woods outside the borders of
Pymatuning during the nesting season, but it is abundant everywhere
in the wooded Swamp, and in the restricted area, closely examined
in 1922, was considered one of the most numerous species."
Courtship. — Francis H. Allen has sent me the following notes on
this subject: "The courtship dance consists of a weaving motion of
the head, as with the flicker, accompanied by a liigh-pitched cK'weech^
cK'weech, cli'weech^ repeated over and over vociferously. The note
is much like that of the flicker, but higher-pitched and more rapidly
delivered. Three and sometimes four birds may be seen so engaged
together, but I have no observation as to the sexes. In quiet inter-
vals in courtship, the head is held with bill parallel with the axis of
the body, not at right angles as in feeding."
Edward H. Forbush (1927) writes:
On bright March days this bird begins to practise what is either a love
song, a challenge, a call to its mate, or all combined. This is no vocal music
but instead a loud drumming on some resonant dead tree, branch, or pole. This
long roll or tattoo is louder than that of the downy woodpecker, not quite so
long, and with a slightly greater interval between each succeeding stroke. It
takes a practiced ear, however, to distinguish between the drumming of these
two species. In courtship the male chases the female from tree to tree with
coaxing calls, and there is much dodging about among the branches and bowing
to each other before the union is consummated.
14 BULLETIlsr 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Eex Brasher (1926) writes:
Seated under a cluster of small maples, one day in early May, I watched the
interesting courting antics of the pair. The jaunty male's favorite position
was one in which he appeared to be almost standing on his tail. With bill
upright, wings thrown forward, and tail wide-spread he repeated over and
over what was undoubtedly intended for a love-song, a series of notes divided
between chuckles and whistles. But the strangest, most mystifying performance
was a series of baclvward drops on the under side of a limb inclined about
forty-five degrees. * * * Why didn't the little acrobat fall when he released
his claws? Studying his movements carefully through the binoculars, I came
to the conclusion that at the instant of releasing his grip he jerked his body
toward the limb with sufficient impetus to catch the bark six inches or so below.
Lewis O. Shelley says in his notes : "I have watched the act of copu-
lation of the hairy woodpecker and noted its dissimilarity to the
downy. For the hairy invariably instills a follow-up procedure to the
display, the male coming to her call and, soon thereafter, hopping up
the branch toward her with a short jerking movement, in which he
calls tvich-up, loick-up^ wick-wp, wings agitating, this immediately fol-
lowed by copulation."
Nesting. — The hairy woodpecker is rather rare, as a breeding bird,
in my home territory in southeastern Massachusetts, but I have the
records of 12 local nests. It shows a decided preference for deciduous
woodlands, six of the nests being in dry, upland woods and two in
maple swamps; of the other four nests, three were in apple orchards,
close to extensive woodlots, and the fourth was in a small, living, red
maple in a swampy meadow, some distance from any woods. The
birds showed no decided preference for any one species of tree ; three
nests each were found in maples and apple trees, two each in chestnuts
and poplars, and one each in a dead oak and a dead beech. Only
four nests were in dead trees or dead branches ; the others were all in
living hardwoods. The heights from the ground varied from 5 feet
in a dead poplar stub to 90 feet, or more, in tall chestnuts or maples.
The entrance to the nesting cavity often appears nearly, or quite,
circular, but on careful measurement will usually be shown to be
more or less elliptical, higher than broad; a typical entrance hole
that I measured was \% high by II/2 inches wide. The depth of the
cavity was found to vary from 10 to 12 inches, but Mr. Shelley (1933)
measured one that was 15 inches deep, and even deeper holes have been
reported. Owen Durfee's notes give some very careful measurements
of two of our local nests, one of which is worth quoting as showing
an unusually elliptical entrance : "The entrance to the nest was on the
northeast side of \ he trunk of a live chestnut and 22i/o feet from the
ground. The tree leaned toward the east about 2 feet. At the butt
it was 9 inches in diameter and at the opening about 61/2 inches. The
opening had the usual elongated appearance, 2% high by 1% inches
wide. The top of the hole went straight in across the cavity for 4^/2
EASTERN HAIRY WOODPECKER 15
inches, the bottom edge of the opening slanting up % of an inch
while going in li/^ inches. Then the cavity went nearly straight down
below the hole for 12 inches, enlarging only a trifle, so that the base
was about 41/2 inches in diameter. The shell of the tree was only
about yg iiicli thick on one side but on the other was 2 inches thick."
Dr. Sutton (1928b) says of the nests in Pymatuning Swamp, Pa.:
"The cavities were drilled near the tops of dead trees which nearly
always stood in water. It was impossible to climb many of them
because their bases were weak ; but the clamoring of the young birds
could be heard some distance away. On May 30, 1922, I located six
nests within a half hour by watching the parent birds and listening
for the young. * * * The twenty-six nests averaged roughly over
thirty feet from the ground."
T. E. McMullen mentions in liis notes a Pennsylvania nest that
was 50 feet from the ground in a large maple in some woods. J. Claire
Wood (1905) reports some very high nests in Michigan; one was in
the "trunk of very large barkless dead elm about 50 feet above
ground"; another was in the trunk of a "dead beech 55 feet up and
just under a large limb."
The female probably selects the nesting site, but both sexes work
alternately at the labor of excavating the cavity. This work requires
one to three weeks, depending on how hard the wood is ; a cavity in
the soft wood of a poplar, which is a favorite with this species in some
localities, might be excavated in a very short time, but I have known
a pair to take over three weeks to excavate a nest in a hard maple;
the trunk of a living tree may have a soft center, and some of the
birds seem to be clever enough to select such a tree. A new nest may
often be recognized by the presence of fresh chips on the ground around
the tree, as the birds are not very particular about removing them.
The male sometimes digs out another shallower hole near the nest-
ing tree, which he uses as a sleeping place. Usually a fresh hole is
made each season, but I have seen occupied holes that were very
much weathered, as if they had been occupied for more than one
season; in such cases, the cavity may be deepened somewhat and the
bottom covered with fresh chips. I once found a pair of these wood-
peckers excavating their domicile, which they later abandoned, as I
found on a later visit that the hole was partly full of water and sap.
They are not always successful in their first attempt, for this and
other reasons, and may have to start two or three holes before they
find just the conditions they want. The eggs are laid on a soft bed
of fresh chips at the bottom of the cavity and are usually half buried
in it; no nesting material is carried in.
Eggs. — The hairy woodpecker lays three to six eggs, but four seems
to be the commonest number. The eggs vary in shape from oval to
elliptical-oval, usually more nearly oval. The shell is smooth and
16 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
often quite glossy. The color is pure white, but in fresh eggs the
yolk shows through the translucent shell, giving the egg a beautiful
orange-pink color. The measurements of 47 eggs average 23.81 by
18.04 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure
29.50 by 18.80, 28.70 by 18.90, and 20.57 by 16.26 millimeters.
Young. — Only one brood is raised in a season, but, if the nest is
robbed, the female will lay a second set after an interval of 12 or 14
days, and sometimes even a third set; often subsequent layings may
be in the same nest hole.
Bendire (1895) says:
The duties of incubation are divided between tbe sexes and last about two
weeks. The young when first hatched are repulsive-looking creatures, blind
and naked, with enormously large heads, and ugly protuberances at the base of
the bill, resembling a reptile more than a bird. They are totally helpless for
some days, and can not stand ; but they soon learn to climb. They are fed by
the parents by regurgitation of their food, which is the usual way in which
the young of most Woodpeckers are fed when first hatched. * * * The
young remain in the nest about three weeks. When disturbed they utter a low,
purring noise, which reminds me somewhat of that made by bees when swarm-
ing, and when a little older they utter a soft "puirr, puirr." Even after leaving
the nest they are assiduously cared for by both parents for several weeks, until
able to provide for themselves.
Plumages. — The young hairy, like all other young woodpeckers,
is hatched naked, and the juvenal plumage is assumed while in the
nest, so that when the young birds emerge they are fully fledged.
In the juvenal plumage the sexes are sometimes much alike, though
oftener there is a decided difference. In both sexes the bill is de-
cidedly smaller, weaker, and more pointed than in the adult; the
color pattern is almost exactly like that of the adult, but the plumage
is softer and fluffier ; the white markings are more or less tinged with
yellowish, the two inner primaries are dwarfed, and the innermost
white tail feather is usually tipped with black. The colored mark-
ings in the crowns of both sexes are very variable in color and in
extent. L. L. Snyder (1923) has made a careful study of the crown
markings of young hairy and downy woodpeckers of both sexes.
He found that 90 percent of the young male hairies had more or less
red, pinkish, or yellowish markings in the crowns, and only about
14 percent of the young females were so marked. But only 10 percent
of the young males and about 43 percent of the young females had
white markings only on a black crown ; and about 43 percent of the
young females had the entire crown black. There is great individual
variation in the amount and in the distribution of these colors; the
white spots are often mixed with the other colors; the reddish and
yellowish colors may invade nearly the whole crown, exist in one or
two large patches, or appear on only a few scattered feathers.
EASTERN" HAIRY WOODPECKER 17
The Juvenal plumage is worn but a short time; the molt into the
first winter plumage is accomplished between July and October.
This first winter plumage is much like that of the adult in both sexes,
but the white spots are not quite so pure white, and the red nuchal
patch of the male is duller and often interrupted. Adults have a
complete postnuptial molt in August and September and perhaps a
partial prenuptial molt in spring.
Food. — Various studies of the food habits of the hairy woodpeckers
show that these birds are among our most useful birds and especially
valuable as protectors of our forest and shade trees and orchards.
More than 75 percent of their food consists of injurious insects, while
the amount of useful insects and cultivated fruits that they destroy is
insignificant. Prof. F. E. L. Beal (1911) has published the most
exhaustive report on this subject, based on the study of 382 stomachs
collected during every month in the year and from many parts of the
range of the species, including practically all of the races. He says :
"In the first analysis the food divides into 77.67 p(>rcent of animal
matter and 22.33 of vegetable. The animal food consists of insects,
with a few spiders and millepeds; the vegetable part is made up of
fruit, seeds, and a number of miscellaneous substances." Of the ani-
mal food, hft says : "The largest item in the annual diet of the hairy
woodpecker consists of the larvae of cerambycid and buprestid bee-
tles, with a few lucanids and perhaps some other wood borers. These
insects constitute over 31 percent of the food and are eaten in every
month of the year. * * * q^^ stomach contained 100 of these lar-
vae and 83 and 50, respectively, were taken from two others. Of the
382 stomachs, 204, or 53 percent, contained these grubs, and 27 of
them held no other food. Other beetles amount to a little more than
9 percent."
Ants rank second in importance, amounting to a little more than 17
percent, and are taken every month in the year; other Hymenoptera
are eaten in very small quantities and irregularly. Caterpillars are
the next most important item, many of them wood-boring species,
amounting to a little less than 10 percent. "Prof. F. M. Webster
states that he has seen a hairy woodpecker successfully peck a hole
through the parchment-like covering of the cocoon of a Cecropia
moth and devour the contents. On examining more than 20 cocoons
in a grove of box elders, he found only 2 uninjured," according to
Professor Beal (1911), who adds that bugs (Hemiptera) and plant
lice (aphids) form only a small part of the food, and says: "Orthop-
tera, that is, grasshoppers, crickets, and cockroaches, are rarely eaten
by the hairy. A few eggs, probably those of tree crickets, and the
Qg'g cases (u5theca) of cockroaches, constitute the bidk of this food.
These with a few miscellaneous insects amount to a little more than
18 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
2 percent for the year. Spiders with their cocoons of eggs, includ-
ing one jointed spider (Solpiigidae), and a few millepeds, were eaten
to the extent of about 3.5 percent, which completes the quota of
animal food."
He says further:
The vegetable food of the hairy woodpecker may be considered under four
heads : Fruit, grain, seeds, and miscellaneous vegetable substances. Fruit
amounts to 5.22 percent of the food, and was contained in 54 stomachs, of which
13 held what was diagnosed as domestic varieties, and 41 contained wild species.
Rubus seeds (blackberries or raspberries) were identified in 4 stomachs, and
were counted as domestic fruit, but it is perhaps more probable that they were
wild. * * * Of wild fruit 18 species were identified. It constitutes the
great bulk of the fruit eaten, and is nearly all of varieties not useful to man.
Corn was the only grain discovered in the food. It was found in 10 stomachs,
and amounted to 1.37 percent. * * * The seed of poison ivy and poison
sumac {Rhus radicans and R. vernix) were found in 17 stomachs, and as they
usually pass through the alimentary canal uninjured, the birds do some harm
by scattering the seeds of these noxious plants. * * * Cambium, or the in-
ner bark of trees, was identified in 23 stomachs. Evidently the hairy does but
little damage by denuding trees of their bark. Mast, made up of acorns, hazel-
nuts, and beechnuts, was found in 50 stomachs. It was mostly taken in the fall
and winter months, and appears to be quite a favorite food during the cooler part
of the year.
Illustrating the quantities of insects eaten by individual birds, F. H.
King (1883), Wisconsin, writes: "Of twenty-one specimens examined,
eleven had eaten fifty-two wood-boring larvae; five, thirteen geome-
tric! caterpillars ; ten, one hundred and five ants ; six, ten beetles ; two,
two cockroaches; two, nine ootheca of cockroaches; two, two moths;
one, a small snail; one, green corn; one, a wild cherry; and one, red
elder berries. * * * One of the above birds had in its stomach
eleven wood-boring larvae (Lamides?) and twelve geometers; an-
other, thirteen larvae of long-horn beetles and four cockroach ootheca ;
another, nine wood-boring larvae ; and two others together had three
wood-boring larvae, and nine larvae not coleopterous."
V. A. Alderson (1890) published the following interesting note:
"Last summer, potato bugs covered every patch of potatoes in Mara-
thon County, (being my home county,) Wis. One of my friends here,
found his patch an exception, and therefore took pains to find the
reason, and observed a hairy woodpecker, making frequent visits to
the potato field and going from there to a large pine stub a little
distance away.
"After observing this for about six weeks, he made a visit to the
pine stub and found, on inspection, a large hole in its side about
fifteen feet up. He took his axe and cut down the stub, split it open,
and found inside, over two bushels of bugs. All had their heads off
and bodies intact."
EASTERN HAIRY WOODPECKER 19
The woodpecker's method of locating tree-boring larvae and its
specialized apparatus for extracting them are so well described by
Dr. Thomas S. Koberts (1932) that I cannot do better than to quote
him, as follows :
The hairy woodpecker possesses in its tongue one of the most remarliably
developed and perfectly adapted instruments for extracting the tree larvae
from their tunnels. The tip is a rigid, barbed spear and can be thrust out to
an astonishing distance by reason of greatly elongated, posterior horns which
pass up over the back and top of the head and run together down in front of
the right eye, around which they are coiled for almost the entire circumference
of the socket ! So that, the drilling into the tunnel accomplished, the tongue
darts out, the inner ends uncoil, the spear transfixes the grub, and with little
ado the larva is dragged from its retreat into the bill of the bird, pounded per-
haps for a moment or two, swallowed forthwith or carried to the young, and this
most perfectly contrived and highly efficient engine is once more ready for
action. There has been considerable discussion as to how the woodpeckers locate
the larvae, active or dormant, which are hidden deeply in the wood and for
which they drill so unerringly. All the special senses of birds are very highly
developed, and it seems probable that in this case hearing, touch, and smell all
may play a part. The active grub, as it crunches the wood, makes a sound that
would surely be audible to a bird with its keen sense of hearing. The tunnel
produces a cavity which would give both a different sound and feeling on tapping
over it. Such things as grubs have a strong odor, and it is probable that this
plays a part also.
Forbush (1927) says: "Maurice Thompson asserts that the hairy
woodpecker strikes its bill into the wood and then holds the point of
one mandible for a moment in the dent thus made. He believes that
the vibrations produced by the insect in the wood are then conveyed
tlirough the beak and skull of the bird to its brain."
In winter this woodpecker comes readily to suet or meat bones hmig
up on our trees or feeding stations to attract birds. It is also said to
feed on the carcasses of animals left in the woods by trappers or
hunters and to pick the fat from fresh skins that the trapper has hung
up to dry. Although often called a sapsucker, there is practically no
evidence that it ever does any injury to trees in this way; any sap or
cambium eaten is probably taken incidentally in its search for insects.
Behavior. — The hairy woodpecker is a much shier, more retiring
bird than the confiding little downy ; it is also more active and noisier ;
it usually will not allow such close approach but will dodge around
the trunk of a tree or fly away, if an intruder comes too near, bound-
ing through the air in a series of graceful dips and rebounds. Rex
Brasher (1926) followed one for four hours that alighted "on two
hundred and eighteen different trees, an average of nearly one a
minute ! The longest time he remained on one tree was seven min-
utes. This was a dead chestnut with most of the bark still adhering.
By far the larger proportion of the trees were old chestnuts, and
under their loosely attached covering he found most successful hunt-
20 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
ing. Kougli-bark species were preferred — chestnuts, oaks, old
maples and hickories, about in the order named. Smooth-barked
ones received little notice."
Dr. Morris Gibbs (1902) says: "Have my readers carefully watched
a Woodpecker leave its perch on the trunk or limb? The bird
throws itself backward from its vertical position by a leg spring,
together with a tail movement, turns in the air in the fraction of a
second and is sweeping away to the next perch. Arriving at the next
resting place it makes a single counteracting stroke of the wings
against the air, and perches lightly on the bark of limb or trunk."
Like all woodpeckers, the hairy is an expert climber, perfectly at
home on the trunk of a tree, or even on the under side of a branch,
where its strong claws enable it to cling in almost any position or
to move about with astonishing rapidity and skill in any direction.
Its stiff tail feathers act as a prop and help to support it while ham-
mering away at the bark with its powerful beak. Forbush (1927)
says that it "is the embodiment of sturdy energy and persistent
industry. Active, cheerful, ever busy, its life of arduous toil brings
but one reward, a liberal sustenance. It sometimes spends nearly ari
hour of hard labor in digging out a single borer, but commonly
reaches the object of its quest in much less time."
Voice. — The ordinary call of the hairy woodpecker is louder and
shriller than that of the downy. Francis H. Allen says, in his notes,
that it bears "about the same relation to it as the solitary sandpiper's
peet-weet does to that of the spotted sandpiper. I hear it most fre-
quently from the female. In fact, a female of the species that visits
my place at all times of the year often utters this note continually,
as if calling for a mate or claiming territory, but she never nests
very near."
Bendire (1895) describes its ordinary note as "a shrill, rattling-
note, triii^ triii;''^ and again as several loud notes uttered on the wing,
like huip, huip. Forbush (1927) calls the ordinary note "a high,
sharp, rather metallic chink or click.'''' Aretas A. Saunders (1929)
says : "The call is a loud 'keep,' like that of the downy woodpecker,
but louder. Another call is a loud rattle, suggesting that of the
Kingfisher, but slurring down the scale. Another call, 'kuweek
kuweek kuweek kuweek,' is used during the mating season, and
suggests the Flicker's 'oweeka.' "
Field inarh8. — The hairy woodpecker is a large edition of the
downy woodpecker, a black and white woodpecker, white below and
black above, spotted with white on the wings, and with a broad white
stripe down the center of the back. Only the male has the red patch
on the back of the neck. It can be distinguished from the downy
by its much larger size, its more restless behavior, its relatively
EASTERN HAIRY WOODPECKER 21
longer and larger bill, and by the lateral tail feathers, which are
pure white in the hairy and somewhat barred with black in the
downy.
Enemies. — B. T. Gault, in his notes from Marshall County, 111.,
states : "The hairy woodpecker is now a very rare breeder here owing
to the fact that the English sparrow appropriates almost every nest
hole as soon as it is excavated. I once saw one of these sparrows
enter the hole of one of these birds, take a newly hatched bird out
in its bill, flutter for an instant over the water (the nest was in a
dead willow snag standing in the overflowed Illinois River bottoms) ,
and drop the young bird into the water to drown. It then returned
into the nest and soon appeared with another newly hatched wood-
pecker in its bill. As it fluttered over the water for an instant, my
gun cracked and the sparrow died."
Verdi Burtch (1923) writes: "April 16, 1922, when in a thin wood
I heard a female hairy woodpecker making a great fuss as they do
when one invades the vicinity of their nest. As I neared the place
I saw the nest hole about twenty feet up in an elm stub. About ten
feet aw^ay, sitting erect on a limb of another tree, w^as a red squirrel
eating something that it held in its fore-paws. My 8-power binoculars
showed this to be a naked baby bird, presumably a hairy woodpecker
and not more than two or three days old."
Mr. Shelley (1933) tells of a pair of hairy w^oodpeckers that were
twice, in the same season, driven out of their nest by starlings and
their eggs destroyed.
Fall. — The hairy woodpecker has often been said to be a perma-
nent resident on its breeding grounds, but this is not strictly true.
The species may be present all through the year over much of its
range, but there is evidence to indicate a general southward move-
ment in fall; the individuals seen in winter are probably not the
same as those seen in summer. Moreover, there is a noticeable in-
crease in numbers in certain localities in winter.
Lewis O. Shelley has sent me some full notes on the migration of
hairy woodpeckers, as he has observed it near East Westmoreland,
N. H., from which I quote as follows: "For four years I have
watched, in the autumn months, passing hairies that go through,
some dropping down into the valley to feed as they go along, but
others passing over the valley from hill to hill (2 miles) without
stopping. In passing through, they traverse in general the same
route each year. They come from an eastern and continue on in
a western direction at an oblique angle to the Connecticut River,
which they must cross in the vicinity of Brattleboro, Vt.
"These migrants usually appear here late in August or early in
September and continue to arrive at irregular intervals until late
22 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
in October. It is common for one, or two, rarely more, to pass to-
gether; but such occurrences have happened, as on October 24, 1934,
when, beginning soon after noon and lasting until four o'clock, the
birds continued to pass through. At least 12 were seen as I walked
up a roadway parallel to their course ; and other moving birds were
heard. It was also noticed that they kept spaced 40 to 50 yards
apart, keeping abreast of one another, traversing in a leisurely man-
ner; and as they approached a rock maple woods, the tendency was
to close in like passing through the neck of a bottle and, once through
the woods, again to spread out. Their progress was rather fast ; and
they fed little, if at all. They often called, as though to locate each
other, since they were keeping about 40 yards apart, as was easily
noted when they crossed pasture and mowing land.
"I followed and watched in particular a male that continued
keeping along ahead of me. He repeatedly crossed the road in a
zigzag manner. Climbing to the top of a fence post or stump, he
made lengthy observations, probably noting the progress of the
other birds, and often answered their ringing calls. He, as well as
the others, gave the appearance of a stranger in a new environment,
truly a migrant. I noted how low the birds were passing, quite
frequently flying not over 2 feet from the ground over open spaces,
where long, bounding flights were made."
L. McI. Terrill told Mr. Forbush (1927) that the few local breed-
ing birds disappear from the vicinity of Montreal early in autumn,
and others, in a very noticeable wave, appear toward the end of
October or early in November.
Winter. — Aside from the regular migratory movements, the hairy
woodpecker is much more given to wandering about in winter. It is
apt to forsake its woodland haunts and travel about in search of
food, coming frequently into the farmer's orchard, into rural villages,
and even into thickly settled communities in some of our larger
cities. Here it often joins the merry parties at our winter feeding
stations, feeding readily on the suet or scraps of meat provided for
our insect-eating birds ; and here the smaller birds show due respect
for its larger size, or perhaps for its formidable beak, and it is
usually allowed to eat alone. It seems to be a solitary bird at this
season, for we seldom see more than one at a time. I find it not so
constant and regular a visitor to my feeding station as the downy
woodpecker and some other birds; it probably wanders about more.
Mr. Forbush (1927) writes: "During the inclement season it is said
to require a sheltered place in which to sleep and, like the downy
woodpecker, to excavate a hole in a tree for a sleeping chamber, but
there is evidence that it does not always seek such shelter, as the
late Charles E. Bailey and myself watched one for several winter
EASTERN HAIRY WOODPECKER 23
evenings in a grove, clinging upright against a tree trunk in the
usual woodpecker position. Night after night, the bird was there
at dusk, remained there until dark, and was there also at daybreak
each morning in precisely the same place."
Joseph J. Hickey tells me that, around the lower Hudson River
Valley in winter, woodpeckers obtain much of their food by de-
liberately scaling the bark off trees in search for their insect food.
The Arctic three-toed woodpeckers work mainly on pines and hem-
locks, but the hairies appear to confine their work to the hemlocks,
using the same methods as the three-toed.
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — Northern and Central America; not regularly migratory.
The range of the hairy woodpecker extends north to Alaska
(Kenai Peninsula, Fairbanks, and Fort Egbert) ; Yukon (Forty Mile,
Fort Reliance, and Macmillan River) ; Mackenzie (Fort Wrigley,
Lake Hardisty, and Fort Resolution) ; northern Saskatchewan
(mouth of the Chariot River and Poplar Point) ; northern Manitoba
(Grand Rapids, probably Fort Churchill, and probably York Fac-
tory) ; Ontario (Hat Island and Cobalt) ; Quebec (Blue Sea Lake,
Quebec City, Godbout, Eskimo Bay, and Anticosti Island) ; and New-
foundland (Nicholsville and Raleigh). From this point the range
extends southward along the Atlantic coast to southern Florida (Eau
Gallic) ; the western Bahama Islands (Great Bahama, Abaco, and
Andros) ; and Panama (Boquete). The southern boundary of the
range extends westward from Panama (Boquete) ; Nicaragua (San
Rafael) ; western Guatemala (Tecpam) ; Chiapas (San Cristobal) ;
to Guerrero (Chilpancingo and Omilteme). From this point, north-
ward through the mountains of western Mexico, northern Baja Cali-
fornia (Sierra San Pedro Martir and Sierra Juarez) ; and the coastal
districts of California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia,
to Alaska (Chilkoot, Chitina Moraine, and the Kenai Peninsula).
As outlined, the range is for the entire species, which has, however,
been so divided that no less than 13 subspecies are currently recog-
nized as occupying the range north of Mexico, while still others oc-
cur in Central American countries. The typical eastern hairy
woodpecker (Z>. v. villosus)., occurs in the Eastern United States and
southern Canada west to Manitoba, North Dakota, and Colorado
and south to North Caralina and central Texas. The northern hairy
woodpecker {D. v. septentrionalls) occupies the zone to the noi-th,
from southeastern Quebec, northwestward to western Mackenzie,
Yukon, and central Alaska. The Newfoundland woodpecker (Z>. v.
terraenovae) is found only on the island of that name. The southern
hairy woodpecker {D. v. auduboni) occupies the southeastern part
24 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
of the range from Missouri, Illinois, and western Virginia south to
southeastern Texas and southern Florida. The Sitka hairy wood-
pecker {D. V. sifkensis) is found in southeastern Alaska and north-
ern British Columbia. The Queen Charlotte woodpecker (D. v.
picoideus) is found only on the group of islands of that name off
the coast of British Columbia. Harris's woodpecker {D. v. harrisi)
occupies the coastal regions of southern British Columbia south to
northwestern California. Cabanis's woodpecker {D. v. hyloscopus)
is confined to certain coastal and mountain areas of California, chiefly
in the southern part. The Lower California hairy woodpecker {D. v.
ficrippsae) is restricted to the Sierra Juarez and the Sierra San Pedro
Martir of Baja California. The Modoc woodpecker (Z>. v. orius)
is found in the Sierra Nevada of central California north to Oregon
and Washington and east to Nevada. The Rocky Mountain hairy
woodpecker (Z>. v. tnonfAcola) is found through the Roclcy Mountain
region from central British Columbia south to northern New Mexico
and east (in winter) to western South Dakota and Nebraska. The
white-breasted woodpecker (Z>. v. leucothorectis) is found chiefly in
Arizona and New Mexico but also east to central Texas and north
to southern Utah. The Chihuahua woodpecker (Z>. v. icastus) occurs
principally in western Mexico but occurs also in southern Arizona
and southwestern New Mexico.
Migration. — As stated above, the hairy woodpeckers are generally
nonmigratory and may be found in midwinter even in the northern
parts of their range, as Alaska, Mackenzie (Fort Simpson), and
Manitoba (Aweme, Minnedosa, and Roseau River). Nevertheless,
some individuals are given to a certain amount of wandering dur-
ing the winter months, which explains the occasional records of some
subspecies far outside of their normal range. There also is more
or less vertical migration in the mountainous regions of the north
and west, the birds descending into the lower valleys during the
winter season. This is noted particularly in the Rocky Mountain
form, which in winter has been taken east to Nebraska and South
Dakota.
Despite the fact that during the past 18 years several hundred
individuals of this species have been marked with numbered bands,
and many have been subsequently recaptured, there is no evidence
that any of these moved at any time more than a few miles from
the point of banding.
Egg dates. — British Columbia : 8 records, April 27 to June 24.
California : 43 records, March 23 to June 21 ; 22 records, April 28
to May 29, indicating the height of the season.
Colorado : 10 records, May 5 to June 18.
Florida : 18 records, April 10 to May 16 ; 9 records, April 22 to 28.
Illinois : 8 records, May 1 to 23.
NORTHERN HAIRY WOODPECKER 25
Iowa : 8 records, April 21 to May 15.
Labrador : 5 records, May 26 to 30.
Massachusetts: 17 records, May 1 to June 5; 9 records, May 10
to 19.
Ontario : 8 records. May 6 to June 16.
DRYOBATES VILLOSUS SEPTENTRIONALIS (Nuttall)
NORTHERN HAIRY WOODPECKER
HABITS
This large northern race of the hairy woodpecker inhabits the
Canadian Zone of northern North America, north almost to the limit
of trees, from central Alaska and northern Canada southward. In
the eastern portions of southern Canada it intergrades with typical
villosus, and in northwestern Montana with monticola, where the
ranges of these races meet. Specimens have been taken as far north
as Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie Kiver, in latitude 62° N., and
at Fort Reliance, on the upper Yukon River, Alaska, in about lati-
tude 66° N. It may occur as a straggler farther north, where it can
find sufficient tree growth, but it is said to be rare north of latitude
56° N., and apparently it does not reach the Arctic coast or the coast
of Bering Sea. It is a decidedly larger bird than typical villosus,
the white markings average rather larger, and the white is purer.
In the southern portion of its range, where it begins to intergrade
with villosus, these characters are, of course, less pronounced and
many individuals are difficult to name.
Living in a region over much of which coniferous forests pre-
dominate, this woodpecker frequents and breeds in this type of
forest. Winton and Donald Weydemeyer (1928) say that it is an
abundant permanent resident in Lincoln County, Mont., where it
intergrades with monticola. They also say:
In the valleys it is most numerous, during summer, in forests containing a
large percentage stand of western larch (Larix occidentalis) . The next trees
in attractiveness seem to be Douglas fir {Pseudotsuga taxifolia), western yel-
low pine {Finns ponderosa) , and Engelmann spruce {Picea engelmanni), in
the order named. In the Hudsonian zone it frequents trees of white-bark pine
{Pinus alUcaitlis) and alpine larch {Larix hjaUii). The species is noticeably
rare or absent in forests containing nearly pure stands of western white pine
{Pinus monticola), arborvitae (Thuja plicata), or lodgepole pine {Pinus con-
torta), except where the woods have been logged or injured by fire.
Nesting. — The same observers say : "In Lincoln County this species
uses a wide variety of nesting sites. Of eight nests included in our
records, three were in live aspens; one in a live cottonwood; one in
a live larch; one in a dead larch, one in a dead Douglas fir; and
one in a woodpecker nesting box."
90801—39 3
26 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Ernest Thompson Seton (1890) found a nest in a tall poplar tree
about 30 feet from the ground, in Manitoba; the hole was about
a foot deep, 3 inches wide inside and 2 inches at the entrance. John
Macoun (1909) quotes Kev. C. J. Young as saying: "Most of the
nests I have seen have been in wet places or near water, and almost
all were in white ash trees, from thirty to fifty feet from the ground.
Two nests were in elm trees and one in a telegraph pole by the
roadside not more than ten feet from the ground."
Eoderick MacFarlane (1908) writes: "On the 6th of May, 1885,
Mr, Reid discovered a nest in a hole in a dry standing poplar tree
near Fort Providence. There were eight eggs therein, and the
parent was seen and shot. * * * At Fort St, James, Stuart's
Lake, on the 25th of May, 1889, a native hunter found a nest holding
four fresh eggs in a similar position. Both parents in this instance
were also observed near by and shot. On 4th June, in the same lo-
cality, an Indian girl brought us four eggs. * * * The nest was
found in a hole in a dry pine tree, at a height of several feet above
the ground."
Henry Mousley (1916) says that near Hatley, Quebec, "as a rule
the nest hole is somewhat high up but on one occasion I found one
which was only three feet above the ground in a birch stub, contain-
ing four eggs, the entrance hole being two inches in diameter, extreme
depth eleven inches and average width two and three quarters
inches."
P. B. Philipp and B, S. Bowdish (1919), referring to northern
New Brunswick, say : "A nest with young was found in a dead maple
stub in a burnt barren, on May 29, 1917. On May 30 of the same
year another nest about fifteen feet up in a dead maple stub in a
similar situation, contained four eggs, very slightly incubated. On
June 9, 1917, a third nest in a cedar telephone pole beside a public
road was examined. It was at a height of about nine feet; cavity
141/^ inches deep; entrance 21/8 inches in height by 21^ inches in
width. This nest contained four nearly fresh eggs."
Eggs. — The northern hairy woodpecker lays three to five eggs ; the
eight eggs mentioned above by MacFarlane may have been the prod-
uct of two females or eggs of the boreal flicker; in the latter casa
the collector may have shot the wrong parent. The eggs are like those
of the eastern hairy woodpecker but average slightly larger. The
measurements of 41 eggs average 25.39 by 20.10 millimeters ; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure 28.45 by 22.10, 27.43 by 22.35,
and 21.5 by 16.6 millimeters.
The plumage changes, food, behavior, voice, and other habits ap-
parently do not differ materially from those of its southern relative.
It is said to be a permanent resident throughout its range, but there
SOUTHERN HAIRY WOODPECKER 27
is probably some southward migration or wandering from at least
the northern portion of its range and perhaps from the southern
parts also. That some individuals remain far north in winter is
shown by the fact that the Fort Simpson specimen was taken on
December 29, 1860. The Weydemeyers (1928) say that during win-
ter, in northwestern Montana, "this woodpecker is commonly found
in mixed broad-leaf and conifer associations along streams, but it is
most abundant at that season in the larch woods of the valleys."
DRYOBATES VILLOSUS AUDUBONI (Swainson)
SOUTHERN HAIRY WOODPECKER
Plate 5
HABITS
In the Lower Austral Zone of the South Atlantic and Gulf States
we find this small race of the hairy woodpecker. In addition to being
decidedly smaller than its northern relative, the white of the under
parts is less pure, and the white markings of the upper parts are
somewhat smaller.
Arthur H. Howell (1932) says of its haunts in Florida: "The
southern hairy woodpecker, though not particularly shy, prefers the
wilder sections for its home. It occurs in a variety of situations —
the open pine forests, oak hammocks, and the hardwoods of the deep
river swamps. The birds are of a rather solitary disposition, and
rarely is more than a single bird or a pair found near together."
Nesting. — Mr. Howell (1932) says that "the nests are located 12 to
45 feet from the ground in holes excavated in dead oaks or willow
stubs, or in cypresses growing on the edge of a swamp." S. A.
Grimes (1932) says: "A nest thirty feet up in a live cypress near
Eastport [Florida] held three eggs on April 13. Two well feathered
young were found in a hole fifteen feet up in a dead sweet gum in
southern Duval County on May 13. A nest eight feet up in a pine
stub in northern St. Johns County contained three heavily incubated
eggs on May 11."
Arthur T. Wayne (1910) says that in Soutli Carolina "the nest
is very hard to find; indeed I have found but six nests, two which
contained eggs, and four which contained young. I have known
this species to excavate a hole and raise a brood in a limb of a living
live oak tree, but it generally excavates its hole in a dead tree and at
a great height. A set of three fresh eggs was taken April 7, 1898,
from a hole 40 feet from the ground in a dead pine. This hole was
14 inches deep. The young remain in the hole for more than a
month after they are hatched."
Harold H. Bailey (1913) says that in Virginia "dead stubs of gum
and poplar treetops seem to be their favorite location for a nesting
28 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
site, varying from 25 to 60 feet up, the cavity from eight to twelve
inches deep. They are one of our earliest breeding birds, the drilling
of the nesting cavity beginning the last week in March, and by April
10th to 15th finds a full complement or set of eggs, numbering from
four to six."
J. G. Suthard writes to me of a nest he found near Madisonville,
Ky. The cavity was "excavated in a dead crab apple stub in open
woodland. Only the female was observed excavating the hole and
caring for the eggs, which proved to be infertile. No male was ever
observed near the nesting stub, though it was carefully observed."
M. G. Vaiden tells me of a nest 9 feet up in a chinaberry tree in a
yard at Rosedale, Miss., and another that was 23 feet up in a pecan
tree and 3 feet out in a dead snag.
Eggs. — The southern hairy woodpecker is said to lay three to six
eggs. The latter number must be unusual, as the set generally consists
of three or four eggs. The eggs are scarcely distinguishable from
those of other hairy woodpeckers, though they average somewhat
smaller than those of the more northern races. Tlie measurements
of 42 eggs average 21.29 by 18.29 millimeters ; the eggs showing the
four extremes measure 26.1 by 19.2, 25.8 by 19.8, 21 by 19, and 23.8
by 16.6 millimeters.
Food. — Major Bendire (1895) says that this subspecies seems to be
fonder of fruit and berries than are the northern races and that "the
young are fed largely on figs." Audubon (1842) says that in the salt
marshes about the mouths of the Mississippi "it alights against the
stalks of the largest and tallest reeds, and perforates them as it is
wont to bore into trees. * ' * * I have often observed it clinging
to the stalks of the sugar-cane, boring them, and apparently greatly
enjoj^ing the sweet juices of that plant; and when I have seen it, in
severe winter weather, attempting to bore the dried stalks of maize, I
have thought it expected to find in them something equally pleasing
to its taste."
Milton P. Skinner (1928) says of these birds, in the sandhills of
North Carolina: "In winter the hairy woodpeckers vary their diet
of insects with various berries and dried wild fruits. They are par-
ticularly fond of the small black berries of the sour gum {Nyssa
silvatica). Soon after the early frosts the birds flock to these swamp
trees and feast as long as the berries last."
The main food supply of this and other woodpeckers consists of
insects and their larvae, which are obtained by searching in the
crevices in the bark of whatever trees are available, or drilling into
the trunks and branches to find the grubs. Mr. Skinner (1928) saw
one working on "a charred and dead stub of a shrub oak. Here it
worked steadily for fifteen minutes pulling out small white grubs and
HARRIS'S WOODPECKER 29
borers. It drove its bill for three or four strokes up under a bit of
bark and then pried the bark off with its bill as a lever. Then it at-
tacked the semi-rotten wood so uncovered, directly. It did not seem
to work so fast as a downy woodpecker, but then it was so busy eating
grubs that it did not have to dig much."
Behavior. — The same observer says :
They do not show a preference for any one kind of tree but are found on both
living and dead shrub oaks, long-leafed pines, loblolly pine, sycamore, sour gum
and sweet gum. They work on both trunks and limbs but usxially at low
heights, from the ground up to twenty feet above. On a vertical surface these
birds work up, spiraling it and tapping it as they go. They move by a series
of short hops, propping themselves each time with their tails. When hopping
lightly along a horizontal limb they still use their tails as props. Perhaps
their most astonishing feat is to spiral horizontal limbs, and to cling beneath
them and hammer them with their backs down. Sometimes they work their
way up to the very tip of slender shoots.
Even in a heavy wind they cling to the violently swaying twigs while eating,
but they stay only a short time before flying to a tree trunk to perch and rest
before trying it again. * * •
The flight of these birds is strong and undulating, with fast beating wings,
and generally only from one tree to the next. Where the trees are not very
close together, they swoop down to within a few feet of the ground and then
fly with nearly level flight untU they glide up to their next stopping place.
Where they have to fly out across intervening open fields their flight becomes
more undulatory, at times deeply so.
DRYOBATES VILLOSUS HAKRISI (Andubon)
HARRIS'S WOODPECKER
Plates 4, 5
HABITS
The range of this well-marked subspecies is now restricted to the
humid coast belt from southern British Columbia southward to
Humboldt County, Calif. In 1895, Bendire wrote :
Until within the last few years all the Hairy Woodpeckers from the eastern
slopes of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast have been considered as
belonging to this subspecies. * * *
The breeding range of this race, as now considered, is a very limited one,
and is probably coextensive with its geographical distribution. It is apparently
confined to the immediate vicinity of the coast, and is not found at any great
distance inland. Among the specimens collected by me at Fort Klamath,
Oregon (mostly winter birds), there are two which might be called intermediates
between this and the more recently separated Dryobatcs villosus hyloscopus,
but the majority are clearly referable to the latter. In the typical Harris's
woodpecker the under parts are much darker, a smoky brown, in fact ; it is also
somewhat larger and very readily distinguishable from the much lighter-colored
and somewhat smaller Cabanis's woodpecker.
30 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Dawson and Bowles (1909) say: "Doctor Cooper judged the Harris
to be the most abundant Woodpecker in Western Washington ; and this,
with the possible exception of the Flicker {Colaptes cafer saturatior) ,
is still true. The bird ventures well out upon the eastern slopes of
the Cascade Mountains, and is found sparingly in the higher mountain
valleys ; but its favorite resorts are burns and the edges of clearings,
rather than the depths of the woods."
Johnson A. Neff (1928) quotes Dr. I. N. Gabrielson as saying:
"The Harris woodpecker is found throughout western Oregon from
the western slope of the Cascades to the coast, altho in the Rogue
River Valley some specimens which are close to 'orius' have been
taken. I have one labeled 'orius' by Dr. H. C. Oberholser, also have
typical Harris from this district, so that this is probably the region
of inter-gradation between these two forms."
Harris's woodpecker, like many other races of the humid Northwest
coast region, is darldy colored, one of the most easily recognized of
all the hairy woodpeckers. Even in Audubon's day it was recognized,
described, figured, and named by him in honor of his friend Edward
Harris. Ridg-way (1914) describes it as "similar to D. v. hylosco'pus^
but under parts (including lateral rectrices) light drab or buffy
drab-gray, instead of white or nearly white, the head-stripes and
stripe on back also usually more or less suifused with the same color,
often uniformly light drab; average size slightly larger."
Gourtshij). — Theed Pearse (1934) gives us the following interesting
description of the courtship display of this woodpecker :
There were two males on the limb of a small cedar and my attention was first
drawn to them by their note, which is very similar to the flicker's "wickety" note
but softer, and might almost be described as "caressingly soft." Both birds
were calling.
The displaying bird would draw in its head so that no neck was apparent,
with beak pointed outwards and upwards and would then slowly swing the
upper part of the body from side to side, thereby bringing into play the red
nape marking. Once the bird very rapidly lifted its wings into an upriglit
position, at other times there was a quivering flicking motion of the wings as
they lay against the sides.
The two birds flew to another branch, settling side by side and instantly each
froze, the neck drawn in and the beak pointed upwards. They were perched
sideways on the branch and were displaying the white markings in the tail
which each of them would slightly spread and turn out (to one side). The
feathers of the back were at the same time hunched up as though to show up the
white markings there also. They did this several times before flying off
together.
Nesting. — Although this is evidently a common bird within its re-
stricted range, surprisingly little has appeared in print regarding
its nesting habits. Authentic eggs seem to be very rare in collections ;
most of the eggs in collections, of which I have the records, that are
HARRIS'S WOODPECKER 31
labeled harrisi, prove to be referable to one of the neighboring sub-
species.
D. E. Brown writes to me:
Its nesting cavities may be at any height from 4 feet to well over 100 feet from
the ground. I found a nest 8 feet vip in an 8-inch dead fir stub in a dry open
locality. The female flushed from the nest, and the date was just right for
fresh eggs, May 6. The cavity was carefully opened. It was 16 inches deep and
contained a single egg. This egg was so fresh and the shell so clear that the
yolk could be plainly seen. The cavity was carefully repaired with bark from
the stub, held in place with black thread. Both birds were near all this time,
complaining loudly. I returned in five days. The bark was still in place, but
the egg was gone. The dust from the decaying stub, where the egg had been,
was very dry, and I am of the opinion that the parent bird had removed the egg.
G. D. Sprot has sent me a beautiful photograph (pi. 4) of a nesting
site of this woodpecker in a dead alder stump in a coniferous forest
clearing, near Mill Bay, Vancouver Island, taken May 23, 1928.
Dawson and Bowles (1909) say:
The nest of this bird is usually placed well up in a small dead fir tree in some
burn or slashing on dry groiiud. It is about ten inches deep and has no lining
save fine chips, among which the crystal white eggs, four or five in number, lie
partially imbedded. Incubation is begun from the last week in April to the last
week in May, according to altitude, and but one brood is raised in a season.
These Woodpeckers are exceptionally valiant in defense of their young, the
male in particular becoming almost beside himself with rage at the appearance
of an enemy near the home nest.
S. F. Kathbun sends me the following note on a Harris's woodpecker
that made an attempt to dig a nesting hole in a small young fir topped
about 10 feet up : "The tree had been cut off so that it could be used
as one of the supports of a cross piece to which a swing was attached.
The woodpecker began to dig a hole in the topped upright, and the
owner of the place called me up and wanted to know what the bird
was and what it was up to. I told him all about it and suggested that
he keep away from the stub. Two weeks later, I asked him how the
bird was getting on. He said at first the bird was busy digging away
every day, but of late seemed to have something the matter with it, for
'lately every day it just sat with its head sticking out of the hole and
did no work on it.' I cut a piece from the edge of the entrance and
quickly found out. Wlien the crossbar for the swing had been nailed
to the sapling, a 10-inch spike was used to hold it ; and this had gone
nearly through the sapling. The woodpecker ran into this spike, as it
was digging the hole, after progressing 6 inches or so downward. It
did not seem able to go around the spike, although it had enlarged the
cavity an inch on each side of the heavy nail and had cut away the
wood for 2 inches or more below the spike. But the job proved to be
too much for the bird, and it eventually gave up and disappeared. I
told my friend to pull the spike and maybe next year the bird would
32 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
be back. He followed my suggestion, and, the following spring, a
Harris's woodpecker showed up, dug a hole in the stub, and raised its
young. This was repeated the next spring after, and then no return
of the bird. So quite likely it may have been the same woodpecker."
Eggs. — Harris's woodpecker apparently lays four or five eggs, prob-
ably seldom fewer or more. Bendire (1895) was evidently unable to
locate any properly identified eggs of this race, and I have not fared
much better. The eggs are probably indistinguishable from the eggs
of other hairy woodpeckers of similar size. The measurements of 34
eggs average 25.29 by 18.91 millimeters; the eggs showing the four
extremes measure 27.9 by 19.6, 25.46 by 20.32, 22.86 by 18.29, and
23.5 by 17.5 millimeters.
Food.— 3. A. Neff (1928) says:
A total of 57 stomachs of hairy woodpeckers were taken for the present
study, over three fourths of them of the Harris type. The months were repre-
sented by fairly even numbers of specimens. Analysis of these stomachs shows
a considerable variation from the results of Professor Beal's California studies.
The total animal food averaged 82.00 percent, while vegetable matter made up
(he other 18.00 percent. * * *
The larvae of wood-boring beetles, Cerambycids and Buprestids, composed
49.00 percent of the total. This total is unexceeded in Federal studies of
birds. Since these two groups of borers include species doing enormous dam-
age to both forest and ornamental trees, as well as to orchards, this item of
food alone almost settles the question of the utility of having woodpeckers.
* • *
The vegetable food was of little value economically. Fruits, of small wild
varieties, totaled 6.00 percent, and seeds, mostly of coniferous trees, averaged
12.00 percent.
Behavior. — Taylor and Shaw (1927) made the following interest-
ing observation :
As is well known, western "Washington is a region of copious rainfall. Dur-
ing the frequent downpours one can not help speculating on the manner in
which the different birds and mammals avoid injury from the damp and chill
of the storm. The thick foliage of firs and hemlocks is well suited, in many
instances, to serve as a thatched, roof; and in the deep woods there are many
big branches and large logs under which birds — and mammals too — find dry
retreats. During the heaviest rain of the summer a Harris woodpecker was
frightened from its shelter beneath a huge log in the heavy forest of Tahoma
Creek Canyon. Here the bird was keeping perfectly dry. One can imagine
its displeasure at being driven out from its comfortable refuge into the
drenching rain.
Winter. — D. E. Brown says in his notes: "Early in fall Harris's
woodpecker very often excavates a cavity that is its winter home. It
can be found there every night and quite often in the daytime on
stormy days. It is not always secure in this retreat. Such a cavity
was made in a partly dead stub, about 20 feet high, just back of my
house. Frequent visits were made to find out how much the nest was
CABANIS'S WOODPECKER 33
used. At first the bird, a male, would fly to a nearby tree when I
rapped on the stub, but soon it contented itself with just coming to the
opening. One time, while I was in plain sight of the stub, a western
pileated woodpecker alighted at the cavity and proceeded to open it
up, which it did clear to the bottom in less than three minutes. It had
taken the Harris about a week to dig it out."
Dawson and Bowles (1909) say: "The Harris woodpecker visits the
winter troupes only in a patronizing way. He is far too restless and
independent to be counted a constant member of any little gossip club,
and, except briefly during the mating season and in the family circle,
he is rarely to be seen in the company of his own kind."
DRYOBATES VILLOSUS HYLOSCOPUS Cabanis and Heine
CABANIS'S WOODPECKER
HABITS
The hairy woodpeckers of the coast district of California from
Mendocino County southward, the mountains of southern California,
and the southern Sierra Nevada, as far east as White Mountains of
California, are now known by the above name. This race is some-
what smaller than harrisi and decidedly smaller than orius, its
neighboring races to the northward ; its under parts are much lighter
colored than in harrisi; these parts are described by Kidgway (1914)
as "dull grayish or brownish white or pale drab-grayish or buffy
grayish." This and the Sierra woodpecker (orius) seem to form
comiecting links between the dark-breasted harrisi and the white-
breasted Rocky Mountain forms, monticola and leucothorectis., both
of which are decidedly larger also.
Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1908) says of the distribution of this wood-
pecker in the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California:
"Tliis was the most widely distributed species of woodpecker in the
region, occurring throughout the timbered portions, irrespective of
zones. It was common from Santa Ana Canon to the summit of
Sugarloaf, 9,800 feet, and nearly to timber line on San Gorgonio
peak. On the desert side the species was noted as low as Cactus
Flat, 6,000 feet, where one was seen in some golden oaks in a ravine,
August 16, 1905."
Courtship. — The drumming of woodpeckers in the spring on some
resonant limb or tree trunk is an important part of the courtship
urge, as a warning to any rival, or as a call to a possible mate.
Dr. Grinnell (1908) shows how the manner of drumming may also
serve as a recognition call; he says: "The resonant rattling drum
identified this species from any other of this region. Near Dry lake,
9,000 feet altitude, dead tamarack pines were selected for this pur-
34 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
pose, and on June 23, 1905, I listened for many minutes to a remark-
able demonstration of this kind. Different branches were tattoed
in rapid succession, so that a xylophone-like variety of tones was
produced, very impressive and far-carrying through the otherwise
quiet forest."
Nesting. — Major Bendire (1895) writes:
In California Cabanis' Woodpecker is common in tlie mountains, but in tlie
lowlands in the southern part of this State Mr. F. Stephens considers it a rather
rare summer resident. He found it breeding in a cotton wood tree, near San
Bernardino, on March 21, 1885. Mr. Lyman Belding took several nests of this
subspecies in Calaveras County, in the Sierra Nevadas ; in one, found on June
6, 1879, which had been excavated in a dead pine stump, 12 feet from the
ground, the eggs, three in number, were on the point of hatching. In his notes
he says : "I scared the female from it and prevented her return by inserting a
stick, the end of which protruded for several feet. When she found she could
not enter she gave several cries, which brought the male, who hopped up and
down the stick a few times, striking it with his bill and screaming angrily, paus-
ing occasionally, and apparently deliberating on the besi' method of extracting
it." Another rest, found by him on July 10, 1880, was located only 3 feet from
the ground, and contained young which were still in the nest on the 20th. Mr.
Charles A. Allen informs me that along the Sacramento River, in California, it
breeds in sycamores and willows, but that it is not common there.
Eggs. — Major Bendire (1895) says:
The number of eggs laid to a set varies from three to six ; those of four are by
far the most common ; sets of five are only occasionally met with, while sets of
six are very unusual. * * * The eggs lie on the fine chips left in the bottom
of the cavity, and are occasionally well packed into these, so that only about
one-half of the egg is visible. They resemble the eggs of Drijobates villosus in
color, but those of an elliptical ovate shape are more common than the oval and
elliptical ovals, averaging, therefore, more in length, while there is proportion-
ally less difference in their short diameter.
The measurements of 23 eggs average 24.49 by 18.38 millimeters;
tlie eggs showing the four extremes measure 25.7 by 18.2, 24.2 by 19.7,
22.8 by 18.1, and 24.9 by 16.5 millimeters.
Young. — Mrs. Irene G. Wheelock (1904) says: "Both sexes share
the labors of excavating, brooding the eggs, and feeding the young.
Incubation lasts about fifteen days, and the young remain nearly
four weeks in the nest, being fed most of that time by regurgitation.
After leaving they are fed by the parents for at least two weeks, and
usually return to the nest at night to sleep."
Food.—W. Leon Dawson (1923) writes: "Nearly half of the Ca-
banis Woodpecker's food consists of the larvae of wood-boring
beetles (the Cerambycidae and Buprestidae) ; and of the remainder
the caterpillars of various injurious moths form a large per cent.
Wild raspberries and blackberries are eaten in summer, and cer-
tain hardy fruits, such as cornel berries, acorns, and the pits of the
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HAIRY WOODPECKER 35
islay, or evergreen cherry {Primus iUcifoUa), eke out the winter
sustenance."
Keferring to its manner of feeding, Milton P. Skinner says in his
notes: "On August 10, 1933, I saw a Cabanis working on both the
trunk and the limbs of a small Douglas fir. It worked all around a
horizontal limb and really seemed to be under the limb more than
above. It also worked on upright branches as well. I have also
seen a Cabanis feeding on the bark of a lodgepole pine. One day I
found one on a dead black oak, scaling off dead bark to get at the
insects beneath. So far as I can tell, these birds, in the Sequoia
National Park, seem to prefer to pick food from the surface and fur-
rows in the bark, and do not bore into the bark and wood as much
as other woodpeckers. During my work among the Big Trees, I
noticed that these birds seem to avoid the sequoia's bark ; but at one
place I found a living tree with many holes bored in the old wood of
its charred base, where it was unprotected by bark."
Behavior. — Mr. Skinner's notes say that "this woodpecker has quite
a few mannerisms of its own. One, seen flying across a meadow,
went first to the limbs of Douglas firs, then to a small dead limb of a
sequoia, then to the limb of a fir, and then to the trunk of the same
fir. It perched lengthwise of limb and trunk each time. And this
procedure was followed again and again on different days. Usually
the Cabanis perches crosswise on a horizontal limb, especially when
resting or preening, but lengthwise on erect, or nearly erect, trunks
and limbs when feeding.
"Although this woodpecker almost always flies to the exact spot it
selects, its flight through the forest is undulatory. The undulations
are due to the fact that it progresses by a series of wing beats. At
the end of each series, it seems to actually close its wings and shoot
forward with the impetus gained."
DRYOBATES VILLOSUS MONTICOLA Anthony
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HAIRY WOODPECKER
HABITS
This large, white-breasted hairy woodpecker inhabits the Kocky
Mountain region, in the Canadian and Transition Zones, from central
British Columbia and Montana southward to eastern Utah and north-
ern New Mexico, and eastward to western South Dakota and western
Nebraska. Ridgway (1914) characterizes it as "similar, in large size
and whiteness of under parts, to D. v. septentrionalis, but with white
spots on wing-coverts much reduced in size or number, or altogether
wanting." It evidently intergrades with septentHonalis in Montana
36 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
and Wyoming and probably with the more western races west of the
Rocky Mountains.
Milton P. Skinner tells me that in the Yellowstone National Park
it "occurs at all elevations from the lowest at 5,500 feet to timberline at
9,500 feet above sea level, but never far from a tree of some kind. It is
a resident bird here but moves down from the mountain heights at the
approach of winter."
Aretas A. Saunders (1921) says of its status in Montana: "A com-
mon permanent resident throughout the western half of the state in
the mountains. Winters mainly in the valleys in cottonwood groves,
but does not breed there. * * * The eastern limits of its range are
evidently in the eastern foothills of the mountains. Just what form
breeds in the more eastern mountain ranges is not definitely deter-
mined. In the mountains this bird has been recorded by all observers.
It is common everywhere, and usually the commonest of the mountain
woodpeckers."
Nesting. — The following remarks by Major Bendire (1895), under
hyloscopus^ evidently refer to this subspecies : "Mr. Denis Gale found
it breeding in Boulder County, Colorado, on May 28, 1886, in a live
aspen tree, at an altitude of about 8,500 feet. The nest contained
five eggs, in which incubation was somewhat advanced. Mr. William
G. Smith also reports it as common in Colorado, coming down into the
valleys in winter. He says it is the earliest of the Woodpeckers to
breed, that it commences nesting in the latter part of April, and usu-
ally excavates its holes in old dead pines, frequently at a considerable
distance from the ground, and that he has seen full-grown young by
June 1."
J. K. Jensen (1923) says of this woodpecker, in northern Santa Fe
County, N. Mex. :
Quite common in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, from 8,000 to 11,000 feet.
June 21, 1920, I found a nest ttiirty feet up in a large quaking aspen. This
tree stands on the edge of a place where an avalanche has plowed its way down
through the timber on the mountain side, depositing trees and rocks in a great
heap for hundreds of feet around the tree. The nest contained young, and
judging from the noise they made, were quite well developed. The parent birds
were very noisy.
May 22, 1921, I made my way through four feet of snow to the same tree. A
new nest had been made, and the female flew off when I was about 150 feet
away. I cut into the nest and found a set of four eggs on which incubation had
just commenced. The altitude at this point is 11,000 feet. May 26, 1922, I found
a nest with young about seventy-five feet up in an aspen. This was in Santa Fe
Canyon at an altitude of 8,000 feet.
Eggs. — The eggs of the Rocky Mountain hairy woodpecker are
similar to the eggs of other hairy woodpeckers of similar size. The
QUEEN CHARLOTTE WOODPECKER 37
measurements of 33 eggs average 24.89 by 18.49 millimeters; the
eggs showing the four extremes measure 28.08 by 18.03, 27.0 by 20.1,
23.37 by 17.78, and 24.38 by 17.27 millimeters.
Food. — ^Mr. Skinner says, in his notes, that this woodpecker "seeks
its food on the trunks of lodgepole and -flexilis pines, cedars, firs,
aspens, willows, and even electric-light and telephone poles; it pre-
fers dead and diseased trees and stubs to work on, probably because
of more borers and grubs. At Basin, and over 7,000 feet elevation,
I found a female where I could watch her, only 5 feet away from
the lodgepole trunk on which she was working. She worked down,
tapping here and there as she went. Whenever a tap revealed a
borer, she scaled off the bark with quick right and left strokes, hav-
ing a slight lever motion at the end, and always secured from one
to six bark-borer grubs. Evidently the tap told her whether it was
worth while to search further, for she never made a mistake and
performed no useless labor."
J. A. Munro (1930) writes: "During the winter of 1928-29 a male
hairy woodpecker frequently was seen feeding on Virginia creeper
berries in competition with several red-shafted flickers. On one
occasion the same bird visited an apple tree, attracted by a few apples
that still clung to the bare branches. Standing crossways on a branch,
in the ordinary position of a perching bird, he rapidly stabbed his
bill downward into the top of an apple. After doing this several
times he flew to another portion of the tree and repeated the per-
formance."
DRYOBATES VILLOSUS PICOIDEUS Osgood
QUEEN CHARLOTTE WOODPECKER
HABITS
Dr. "Wilfred H. Osgood (1901) described the hairy woodpecker of
the Queen Charlotte Islands, as a full species, Dryohates picoideus.
He says it can be distinguished from all other members of the viUosus
group by the black markings on the back and characterizes it as
"similar in general to Dryohates v. harrisi,' bill slightly smaller; mid-
dle of back barred and spotted with black; flanks streaked with
black." He says that this woodpecker is not abundant on the islands;
during a period of over a month spent in active collecting he saw
only six, all of which were collected.
I cannot find that anything has been published on the habits of the
Queen Charlotte woodpecker, which probably do not differ essentially
from those of Aarm?', to which it is closely related and which inhabits
a similar, humid coast environment. There are a number of skins of
38 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
this race in various collections, but, so far as I know, no authentic
eggs have ever found their way into any American collection. Very
little exploration has been done in the interior of the Queen Charlotte
Islands, and we know very little about the habits of its birds.
DRYOBATES VILLOSUS TERRAENOVAE Batchelder
NEWFOUNDLAND WOODPECKER
HABITS
Charles F. Batchelder (1908), who discovered and described this
race of the hairy woodpecker, characterized it as —
Similar to typical Dryohates villosus, but slightly larger, the black areas of the
upper parts increased, the white areas reduced both in number and in size,
especially in the remiges and wing coverts. * * * Dryolates villosus terrae-
novae is much smaller than D. v. leucomelas, and is, of course, even more re-
mote from it in coloring than from true villosus. Between it and D. v. hijloscopus
and D. v. monticola there is a striking resemblance in coloring, but the wide
area — occupied throughout its extent either by villosus or by leucomelas — that
intervenes between the ranges of these two Western siibspecies and that of
terracnovae, precludes the possibility of immediate intergi'adation, while the
utter dissimilarity of the climatic conditions of their respective habitats forbids
the supposition that like causes in environment have developed like characters;
apparently this is a case where superficial resemblances have arisen entirely
independently of climatic influences.
I found the Newfoundland woodpecker fairly common in the heavily
timbered valleys of the Fox Island and Sandy Rivers in Newfound-
land in 1912. The timber in the flat river bottom and on the islands
in the Fox Island River is almost wholly made up of deciduous trees,
mainly poplar, canoe birch, ash, mountain ash (which grows to a very
large size), and alder, mixed with a few spruces. On the surround-
ing hillsides the forest growth consists mainly of firs and spruces,
with plenty of canoe and yellow birches, poplars, larches, and moun-
tain ashes. The Sandy River runs through a fairly level and heavily
timbered region, with forests of large firs, red, white, and black
spruces, mixed with some birches and poplars. These two regions
were the only places where we found this and the downy woodpecker,
nesting in the deciduous trees. It has been observed by others in other
places, and doubtless it occurs wherever there is heavy timber, with a
fair sprinkling of deciduous trees, mainly along the streams and about
the shores of lakes.
I can find nothing noted on its habits that is in any way diflFerent
from those of the other eastern races. So far as I Imow, its eggs have
never been taken.
CHIHUAHUA WOODPECKER 39
DRYOBATES VILLOSUS ICASTUS Oberholser
CHIHUAHUA WOODPECKER
Plate 6
HABITS
The hairy woodpeckers of the Canadian and Transition Zones in
the mountains of northwestern Mexico, southern Arizona, and
southern New Mexico are referable to this race. In describing and
naming it. Dr. H. C. Oberholser (1911a) characterized it as "simi-
lar to Dryohates villosus hyloscopus, but bill much smaller, and
wing slightly longer. * * * This bird is decidedly smaller than
Dryohates villosus leucothorectis, as well as noticeably smoky-tinged
on the under surface, instead of pure white ; and it is in size so very
much inferior to Dryohates villosus orius, that it is readily distin-
guishable."
Harry S. Swarth (1904) says of the haunts of this woodpecker in
the Huachuca Mountains, Arizona: "Fairly abundant in the higher
parts of the mountains, from 7,000 feet upward. They may be seen
almost anywhere in that region, but for breeding purposes, seem to
particularly favor the dense thickets of quaking asp." In 1922,
Frank C. Willard and I found them breeding mainly among the tall
pines near the summit of these mountains, above 7,500 feet. From
here to the summit, about 9,000 feet, the land is rolling, mostly in
gentle slopes, and covered with a fine, open, parklike forest of tall
pines of two or three species, many of them from 80 to 100 feet
high. The many dead, standing trees and stumps offered suitable
nesting sites for pygmy nuthatches, Mexican creepers, and Chihua-
hua woodpeckers. We did not see any of these woodpeckers in the
spruce and fir belt, below 7,000 feet.
Nesting. — On May 7, 1922, in the pine region near the summit of
the Huachuca Mountains, described above, we located two pairs of
Chihuahua woodpeckers and saw some new excavations in the dead
pine stubs, in which they seemed to be preparing to nest, but they
evidently had not yet laid their eggs. On May 15 we returned and
found two of the nests occupied (pi. 6). The first nest was about
40 feet from the ground in a dead pine stub at an elevation of about
7,900 feet; the cavity was about 15 inches deep and contained four
fresh eggs. Farther up, near the summit, at about 8,500 feet, we
found the second nest ; this was only about 15 feet up in a large dead
pine, in a hole we had previously passed by as an old one; but we
saw the female enter the hole and stay there, so we chopped it out
and found three heavily incubated eggs in a cavity about 12 inches
40 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
deep. Frank C. Willard (1918) tells of a pair of these woodpeckers
that "had nested for several seasons in the dead top of a tall pine.
One winter, this broke off and lodged in the top of an adjoining
pine. Even with their nest site in this apparently insecure position
the woodpeckers were unwilling to leave it, and their new nest was
found dug in the same old tree top in its inverted position."
Eggs. — The eggs of the Cliihuahua woodpecker do not differ ma-
terially from those of other hairy woodpeckers of similar size. The
measurements of three eggs in the author's collection are 24.6 by 17.2,
24.5 by 17.7, and 24.6 by 18.0 millimeters.
-W inter. — Mr. Swarth (1904) says: "They do not seem to remain
through the winter months; at any rate I saw none during Febru-
ary, 1903 nor did any appear until March 17, when I secured two
and saw one other. Ten days later they were quite abundant. The
winter of 1902-1903 was quite cold, with a great deal of snow on
the ground, and it is possible that with a milder winter they might
remain the year through. There does not seem to be any vertical
migration on the part of this woodpecker, for I saw none below 7,000
feet, and but very few as low as that." Bendire (1895), however,
writes: "In southern Arizona it does not appear to breed in the
lower valleys, but I have shot several near Tucson in winter."
DRYOBATES VILLOSUS SITKENSIS Swarth
SITKA HAIRY WOODPECKER
HABITS
In the coast region of southeastern Alaska and northern British
Columbia we find a race that Harry S. Swarth (1911b) says, in
describing and naming it, "differs from D. v. harrisi mainly in the
very much paler, less smoky hue of the lower parts, and the more
buffy coloration of the nasal tufts. Somewhat like D. v. picoideus^
but paler colored below, and lacking the barred rectrices of that race."
He says elsewhere (1922) :
Sitkensis, in its relatively light ventral coloration, is intermediate between
the extremely dark harrisi and the white-breasted monticola. The dark-breasted
lype of coloration reaches its extreme development in picoideus of the Queen
Charlotte Islands, interposed between the ranges of harrisi and sitkensis. Thus,
while specimens of sitkensis as laid out in trays may be arranged to illustrate
a step between harrisi and monticola, the geographical distribution of the
several forms is not in accordance with this idea. The geographical chains
appear to lie as follows: Starting with the white-breasted races of the interior
of the northwest, septentrionalis and monticola, there is an extension westward
on the coast of a slightly darker breasted race, sitkensis. Starting again with
the dark breasted type, harrisi, of the Puget Sound region, and going north-
ward, we reach the extremely dark colored picoideus. Thus, sitkensis and
harrisi are really far apart genetically, and the appearance of sitkensis as a
MODOC WOODPECKER 41
seeming intergrade between monticola and harrisi must be explained on grounds
other than those of such actual intermediate relationship. Sitkensis, as an
offshoot of the white-breasted type of the interior, may have arrived at the
humid coast at too recent date to be yet affected by its surroundings to the
extent that ha/rrisl and picoideus have been ; or it may be more resistant to
such an environment. In either case the slight modification of the clear white
breast of monticola produced by the humid surroundings would result in an
apparent intergrade toward liarrisi.
On the habits of this subspecies, which probably do not differ
materially from those of other hairy woodpeckers, I can find only
the following brief comment by Joseph Dixon, quoted by Dr. Joseph
Grinnell (1909) : "At the three lakes back of Mole Harbor I saw
more of these birds than at all other places put together. Their slow
drumming sounded so similar to the clicking of a telegraph instru-
ment that we dubbed them 'telegraph woodpeckers' to distinguish
them from the sapsuckers." So far as I know, the nest of this wood-
pecker has never been reported. It is probably resident throughout
its breeding range.
DRYOBATES VILLOSUS ORIUS Oberholser
MODOC WOODPECKER
HABITS
This race of the hairy woodpecker occupies a rather extensive
range in the interior of California, Oregon, and Washington, west
of the range of monticola in the Rocky Mountains, north of the
range of hyloscojnis in southern California, and east of the range
of harrisi in the above States. As might be expected, it is more or
less intermediate in size or coloration between the surrounding races.
Dr. H. C. Oberholser (1911a), who described and named it, char-
acterized it as "resembling Dryohates villosus leucothorectis, bat
larger; lower parts usually brownish white, instead of pure white."
Grinnell and Storer (1924) say of its haunts in the Yosemite region :
"As with most of the allied forms, the present race ranges through
several life zones, from the scattered digger pines at Pleasant Valley
eastward through the main forest belt to the sparse tracts of Jeffrey
pines in the vicinity of Mono Lake. It is nowhere really common,
even for a woodpecker; it reaches its greatest numbers in the upper
part of the Transition Zone and in the Canadian Zone."
In the Lassen Peak region, according to Grinnell, Dixon, and Lins-
dale (1930), "this woodpecker foraged over the trunks and larger
limbs of many kinds of trees both in the forests proper and where
there were a few trees or restricted tracts of trees in the mainlj^ un-
forested parts of the section. Much of each bird's time was spent on
90801—39 4
42 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
coniferous trees, either living or dead ones, but nesting excavations
were many of them in trunks of deciduous trees."
Bendire (1895) says that, at Fort Klamath, Oreg., "it appears to be
especially abundant in tracts in which the timber has been killed by
fire, and where many of the slowly rotting trunks still remain stand-
ing. Such burnings are frequently met with in the mountains, and
seem to attract several species of Woodpeckers, presumably on account
of the abundance of suitable food to be found."
Courtship.— GriimeW and Storer (1924) say: "At Chinquapin, on
May 19, 1919, a pair of these woodpeckers was seen going through
their courting antics. A male was in a large yellow pine at the
edge of a logged-over area, calling almost incessantly. His usual
speenh had become spenk-tej'-ter-ter, a staccato run repeated every
few seconds. The female answered in like voice but uttered the trill
less often. The male changed his location many times, and after
protracted calling on his part, the female flew to the same tree."
Nesting.— Bendive (1895) writes:
I took my first nest uear Camp Harney, Oregon, on May 29, 1875, in a
canyon on the southern slopes of the Blue Mountains, at an altitude of about
5,000 feet. The cavity was excavated in the main trunk of a nearly dead
aspen, about 12 feet from the ground. The entrance hole was about 1% inches
in diameter, and the cavity about 9 inches deep. It contained four much
incubated eggs. The female was in the hole, and stayed there looking out until
I had struck the tree several times with a hatchet, when she flew off and
alighted on one of the limbs of the tree, uttering cries of distress, which
brought the male, who was still more demonstrative, hopping from limb to
limb, squealing and scolding at me and pecking at the limbs on which he
perched. At Fort Klamath, Oregon, it was somewhat more common, and here
I took several of its nests. * * * Dead or badly decayed trees are preferred
to live ones for nesting purposes, and deciduous trees to conifers; it also
nests occasionally in firs and madrone trees.
Milton P. Skinner says, in his notes, that "in the Yosemite Na-
tional Park, one nested in a living willow trunk about ten feet above
the ground." Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale (1930) say that, in the
Lassen Peak region, "aspens and cottonwoods, dead at core, seemed
to be preferred nesting trees, although other kinds were also used.
Nest holes, when in conifers, were made in dead and decaying trunks
or stubs."
Eggs. — Three or four eggs make up the usual set for this wood-
pecker. They are indistinguishable from the eggs of other hairy
woodpeckers, though Bendire (1895) says that "those of an elliptical
ovate shape are more common than the oval and elliptical ovals."
The measurements of 15 eggs average 24.70 by 18.80 millimeters ; the
eggs showing the four extremes measure 26.4 by 20.6 and 21.5 by
16.2 millimeters.
MODOC WOODPECKER 43
Young. — Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale (1930) write: "Near Eagle
Lake Resort on June 12, 1929, an adult %Yas feeding a nestful of
young woodpeckers in a cavity three meters up in a yellow-pine stub
close to the lake. The nest hole had been freshly cut. Only the
female was seen to carry food. The young were large enough to be
fed without the parent entirely entering the cavity. Wlien the ob-
server walked near the nest stub the parent became much excited
and flew about calling loudly for several minutes. The young birds
called when the parent came with food."
Food. — Grinnell and Storer (1924) say:
The Modoc Woodpecker forages on both evergreen and deciduous trees, favor-
ing the latter, perhaps, during the winter months. In summer it is usually
rather quiet, particularly so as compared with the noisy California Woodpecker.
It gains much of its food in the outer portions of the bark, where a few strokes
of moderate intensity enable it to secure any insect or grub living near the
surface of the tree.
At the margin of the forest above Coiilterville, May 31, 1915, a Modoc Wood-
Ijecker was seen foraging in a yellow pine. The tree in question had recently
been killed by the boring beetles which were common in the western forests
that year. The woodpecker was going over the tree in systematic manner,
working out and in along one branch, then ascending the trunk to the next
branch where it would repeat the performance. The bird was flaking off the
outer layers of the bark without much evident expenditure of effort, for little
noise of tapping was heard ; it was feeding presumably on the boring beetles or
their larvae.
Bendire (1895) writes: "It is one of our most active Woodpeckers,
always busy searching for food, which consists principally of inju-
rious larvae and eggs of insects, varied occasionally with a diet of small
berries and seeds, and in winter sometimes of pifion nuts, pine seeds,
and acorns. At this season I have often seen this species around
slaughter houses, picking up stray bits of meat or fat, and have also
seen it pecking at haunches of venison hung up in the open air."
Behavior. — Mr. Skinner says, in his notes, that "the Modoc hairy
seems very unsociable. One that was feeding on a cottonwood chased
a visiting red-breasted sapsucker away from that tree to another, and
then from tree to tree. But, when a California woodpecker came to
its tree, the Modoc hairy promptly flew away."
Voice. — ^IMajor Bendire (1895) says that this woodpecker "is very
noisy, especially in the early spring. It likewise is a great drummer,
and utters a variety of notes, some of which sound like 'kick-kick,
whitoo, whitoo, whit-whit, wi-wi-wi-wi,' and a hoarse guttural one,
somewhat like 'klieak-kheak' or 'khack-khack'."
44 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
DRYOBATES VILLOSUS SCRIPPSAE Huey
LOWER CALIFORNIA HAIRY WOODPECKER
HABITS
Laurence M. Huey (1927) who described and named this wood-
pecker, characterized it as "similar to Dryohates villosus hyJoscopus
Cabanis and Heine, but decidedly smaller. In fully adult birds, the
dusky white of the breast extends farther down on the breast than does
that on examples from the northern mountains." He gives, as its
range, "the pine clad slopes of the Sierra Juarez and Sierra San Pedro
Martir, Lower California, Mexico. * * * The range of this south-
ern race does not extend north of the International Boundary, as speci-
mens examined from the moimtains of San Diego County, California,
are in no way inclined toward the race D. v. scrippsae, but are counter-
parts of typical D. v. hyloscopus from the northern localities. In fact,
the only variation that could point toward a 'blending' is found in the
Sierra Juarez birds, but their average falls so near that of the birds
from the Sierra San Pedro Martir that the name proposed herewith
should apply."
This southern race probably does not differ materially in its habits
from other hairy woodpeckers, except in so far as it is affected by its
environment.
DRYOBATES VILLOSUS LEUCOTHORECTIS Oberholser
WHITE-BREASTED WOODPECKER
HABITS
Northward and eastward from the range of the Chihuahua wood-
pecker (icastus) and southward from the range of the Kocky Moun-
tain hairy woodpecker (monticola) lies the range of this white-
breasted race of the hairy woodpecker, extending from southern
Utah, through Arizona and New Mexico, into central western Texas.
It is evidently a smaller edition of monticola, for Dr. Harry C. Ober-
holser (1911a), in describing and naming it, says that it is "much like
Dryohates vUIosus monticola, but decidedly smaller; wing coverts
practically always without white spots."
Dr. Edgar A. Mearns (1890b) says of its haunts in the mountains
of northern Arizona :
Breeds commonly throughout the pine belt, often ascending higher in sum-
mer, then preferring aspens to the fir and spruce woods of higher altitudes.
It very rarely descends to the cottonwoods of the Verde Valley to fraternize
with its smaller relative, Baird's woodpecker, and only when the mountaia
timber is icy or the weather uncommonly fierce ; then it is usually accompanied
by flocks of Cassin's Purple Finches, Red-backed Juncos, and its boon com-
panions, the Slender-billed Nuthatches. About the middle of June the young
SOUTHERN DOWNY WOODPECKER 45
leave their nests, and soon after make a partial migration downward towards
the lower border of the pine belt, in common with many other birds that breed
at high levels.
Nesting. — I can find no references to the nesting habits or eggs of
this subspecies, which probably do not differ materially from those
of the Chihuahua woodpecker, except that J. S. Ligon told Mrs.
Florence M. Bailey (1928) that it nests "generally in small trees in
canyon beds."
Eggs. — The eggs of this subspecies are apparently similar to those
of other hairy woodpeckers. They seem to be scarce in collections;
I have been able to locate only two sets of eggs, one set of four and
one set of three. These seven eggs show average measurements of
24.66 by 17.91 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes
measure 25.3 by 18.2, 24.6 by 18.6, 24.2 by 18.2, and 24.6 by 17.2
millimeters.
Food.—'MrQ. Bailey (1928) quotes Ma j. E. A. Goldman as follows:
One afternoon I found one pecking at a hole near the ground in the trunk
of an oak. It worked for a second or two and then paused long enough to
look in my direction, beginning work again immetliately. This was repeated
several times and it seemed disinclined to leave the spot, allowing me to
approach to within ten feet, when, instead of flying off, it slid around to the
opposite side of the trunk while I examined the place and found the hole in-
habited by numerous small black beetles which were running excitedly about.
I moved off a short distance and watched the Woodpecker return to the hole
which seemed to be a rich find.
She goes on to say :
On Chloride Creek in May, 1916, when Mr. Ligon was standing by a half dead
box elder containing a woodpecker nest, the mother came with her bill for half
its length jammed full of wood ants for the squawking young inside the hole.
One that Mr. Kellogg took at Silver City had recently eaten two woodboring
larvae, six caterpillars, and at least ten moth pupae, besides other insects and
mast.
DRYOBATES PUBESCENS PUBESCENS (Linnaeus)
SOUTHERN DOWNY WOODPECKER
HABITS
Because the Linnaean name Plcus puiescens was based on Cates-
by's smallest spotted woodpecker, of South Carolina, the southern
bird becomes the type race of the species, and the above scientific
name, which for many years was used for the more northern bird,
is now restricted to the downy woodpeckers of the Lower Austral
Zone of the South Atlantic and Gulf States, from North Carolina to
eastern Texas. William Brewster (1897) has given us a full review
of the changes that have taken place in the nomenclature of the
downy woodpeckers of eastern North America, to which the reader
is referred.
46 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
The southern downy woodpecker, D. p. pubescens^ is smaller, from
the more southern parts of its range decidedly smaller, than the more
northern bird, D. p. medianus^ intergrading with it where the two
ranges meet ; the under parts are more brownish, and the white mark-
ings of the wings and tail will average of less extent.
The haunts of this woodpecker are similar to those of its northern
relative, due allowance being made for the difference in environment.
It is a more sociable species than the hairy woodpecker and less of
a woodland bird.
In Florida, according to Arthur H. Howell (1932), "it occurs alike
in pine woods, hammocks, orchards, roadside hedges, and dooryards."
Nesting. — Mr. Howell (1932) says that, in Florida, "the nest of the
downy is usually dug in a decaying limb of a tree or occasionally in a
fence post, and may be anywhere from 5 to 50 feet above the ground."
Harold H. Bailey (1925) says that "for the nesting site, they usually
select a dead stub of some live tree, preferring a hard one to a soft or
decayed wood. The cavity is drilled each year anew by the birds, the
hole being about one and a quarter inches in diameter and eight to
twelve inches deep, varying in height from twenty to sixty feet above
ground." John Helton, Jr., tells me of a nest he found on April 20,
near Troy, Ala., that "was drilled in a rotten oak limb, which had
fallen, been caught, and was suspended among the branches of a pine.
It contained three small young and one infertile egg. The mother
bird fed the young with great regularity every three minutes." M. G.
Vaiden, of Kosedale, Miss., writes to me of a nest 35 feet up in a dead
snag of a pecan tree; the limb was four inches in diameter and the
cavity only five inches deep. George Finlay Simmons (1925) says
that, in Texas, it nests "10 to 20 feet from ground in small dead
deciduous trees, or in old stumps or telegraph poles."
Eggs. — The eggs are like those of the northern downy but slightly
smaller. The measurements of 25 eggs average 19.43 by 15.24 milli-
meters ; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 20.8 by 14.9, 20.6
by 16.7, and 17.78 by 13.46 millimeters.
Behavior. — Writing of the habits of these woodpeckers in the sand-
hills of North Carolina, Milton P. Skinner (1928) says:
They are seen at times with Chickadees, red-cockaded woodpeclvers, Brown-
headed Nutliatches, Kinglets and Juucos. And these associations seem to be
actual and usual, and not temporary and accidental ones as they are between
most birds of different species. The downy woodpeckers are peaceable little
fellows but other birds will impose on them. I have seen a yellow-bellied sap-
sucker and a mob of three or four English Sparrows near Pine Bluff chasing
one about. But downy was a fast flier and outflew all his tormentors each
time. Their flight Is undulating and typical of the woodpecker family. These
woodpeckers have one trait of the Brown Creepers— they prefer to work up
a tree and fly dou>n to the base of the next one.
SOUTHERN DOWNY WOODPECKER 47
Perhaps a downy woodpecker does not really work any harder or faster for
its food than any other bird, but somehow it seems that it does. I found one
once on an inclined limb of a catalpa near the Highland Pines Inn and watched
it work up ten feet in thirteen minutes. During that time downy's blows fell
good and hard at the average of a hundred strokes each minute except for a
dozen momentary stops when a big bird flew over, or the downy scratched its
head. It was feeding on small white grubs which it secured at an average rate
of four per minute. * * *
These woodpeckers have the habit in the Sandhills of digging holes in which
to sleep. One found a suitable place in the end of a dead limb of a large gum
standing in a flooded swamp near Mid Pines Club. This limb had been broken
and left a stub sticking out about five feet long at right angles to the trunk
of the gum and about forty feet above the ground. It was about five inches in
diameter where the woodpecker began work on it. Work was started on the
under side of the limb about nine inches from the outer end on February 11,
1927, and the bird dug at it for forty-five minutes to such good purpose that
the hole would then admit all its bill and half its head. As it worked it clung
head down under the limb. Then it left its work to go foraging but came back
in thirty minutes to resume work. During the next three days this woodpecker
must have worked steadily for it then had a hole into which it could com-
pletely disappear. But the hole was not large enough nor deep enough, and
the bird was still at work, continually popping in and out (backward) of its
hole; usually when it backed out it carried a bill full of chips and shavings
that it threw over its shoulder. As it did so, it glanced once or twice to either
side as if to assure itself that all was well. Then back into the hole for
another period of steady hammering. Apparently this woodpecker worked
thus from thirty minutes to an hour after each half hour's foraging trip. Two
more days of work completed the sleeping quarters in a snug cozy retreat.
When finished, the hole was six inches deep, and the limb around it was a
mere shell. The opening being beneath the limb, it was sheltered from storms,
and from any water running into it.
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — North America; nonmigratory.
The range of the downy woodpecker is north to Alaska (Eussian
Mission, Tanana, and Fort Egbert) ; southwestern Mackenzie (Fort
Simpson and Fort Providence) ; northern Alberta (Fort McMurray) ;
central Saskatchewan (Big Eiver and Prince Albert) ; southern Man-
itoba (Lake St. Martin, Shoal Lake, and Indian Bay) ; Ontario (Lac
Seul, Gargantua, and Sudbury) ; Quebec (Lake Mistassini, Godbout,
and Natashguan River) ; and Newfoundland (Nicholsville and prob-
ably St. Johns) . The eastern limit of the range extends south along
the Atlantic coast from this point to southern Florida (Miami, Eoyal
Palm Hammock, and Flamingo). From this southeastern point the
species is found westward along the Gulf coast to Mississippi (Biloxi)
and Louisiana (New Orleans), thence in the interior to south-central
Texas (Giddings and Pecos) ; southern New Mexico (Mayhill, Cloud-
croft, and Silver City) ; Arizona (San Francisco Mountain and Fort
Valley) ; and southern California (Escondido). The western limits
48 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
extend nearly or quite to the Pacific coast north through California,
Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia to Alaska (Sitka, Sitka-
lidak Island, Bethel, and Russian Mission).
The range as above outlined is for the entire species, which has
been separated into six subspecies. The typical form, the southern
downy woodpecker (Z>. p. pubescens) , is found in the South Atlantic
and Gulf States north to North Carolina and Oklahoma ; the northern
downy woodpecker {D. p. medianus) ranges north from Virginia,
Tennessee, and Kansas (casually eastern Colorado) north to southern
Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, and Newfoundland; Nelson's downy
woodpecker {D. p. nelsoni) ranges southeast from northwestern
Alaska to central Alberta and is found casually even farther east;
Batchelder's woodpecker [D. p. leucuriis) is the Rocky Mountain form
and is found from the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska south to New Mexico
and Arizona, casually east to Nebraska and on the coast of British
Columbia; Gairdner's woodpecker {D. p. gairdneri) is found on the
Pacific coast from British Columbia south to northern California;
and the willow woodpecker (Z>. p. turati) is confined to California,
being distributed rather generally over the State except in the desert
areas and the northwestern part.
While the downy woodpecker is not migratory in the accepted sense
of the term, and during the months of November and December has
been recorded north to Mackenzie (Fort Simpson) and central Quebec
(Lake Mistassini) , it appears to have some local movements and seems
given to a certain amount of wandering after the close of the breeding
season. In some of the more northern areas it is commoner in winter
than in summer, while in the mountainous regions of the West there
is apparently a vertical movement in winter to the valley floors.
"VVliile the files of the Biological Survey contain the data for more
than 4,600 of these birds that have been marked with numbered
bands, many of which have been subsequently recovered, only one of
these indicates a flight of any distance from the point of banding.
This bird (83460), banded on February 2, 1925, at Elkader, Iowa, was
found dead at Balsam Lake, Wis., on October 25, 1925. The distance
between the two points is about 185 miles.
Egg dates. — Alberta : 12 records. May 25 to June 14.
California : 82 records, April 7 to June 9 ; 41 records, April 24 to
May 13, indicating the height of the season.
Colorado : 9 records. May 4 to June 30.
Florida : 7 records, April 2 to May 14.
Illinois : 16 records, April 3 to June 3 ; 8 records. May 12 to 20,
New York : 12 records. May 10 to June 2.
Washington : 8 records. May ]. to June 2.
CxATRDNER'S WOODPECKER 49
DRYOBATES PUBESCENS GAIRDNERI (Audubon)
GAIEDNER'S WOODPECKER
HABITS
This subspecies of our well-known downy woodpecker is one of
those well-marked dark-colored races that occur in the humid North-
west coast region, ranging in the Transition Zone from southern
British Columbia to Mendocino County, Calif. It is practically a
small edition of the equally dark Harris's woodpecker, which in-
habits the same region. Its characters are so well marked that it was
recognized and named by Audubon (1842). Kidgway (1914) de-
scribes it as "similar to D. p. turati, but color of under parts darker
(often light brownish gray or drab), the white of back often tinged
with brownish gray."
D. E. Brown, in his notes from western Washington, says : "Gaird-
ner's woodpecker is next to the commonest woodpecker in western
Washington, the northwestern flicker being the only one that out-
numbers it. This, the smallest of the woodpeckers in this locality, is
fond of old river beds, willow swamps, and the deciduous trees along
streams. It is found here at all times of year but seems to be more
in evidence in winter, probably because the leaves are off the trees
where it is usually found."
Nesting. — Mr. Brown states further that "it digs its nesting cavity
usually in a dead willow stub of small size, but at times it excavates,
with much labor, a cavity in a growing tree. Nests have been found
as low as 3 feet from the ground, and they are seldom more than 30
feet up. Three to six eggs are laid, five being the usual number.
The first week in May is the best time for fresh eggs. The incubat-
ing bird has a habit that, I think, saves its eggs many times ; when
the stub that contains the eggs is rapped, the sitting bird comes to the
opening with its bill full of chips from the bottom of the nest ; these
are dropped outside, and the bird drops back into the nest, only to
repeat this action when the rapping is repeated. I have seen this
performance not once but many times, and I think it a regular occur-
rence when the eggs are well incubated."
Dawson and Bowles (1909) write: "Gairdners place their nests at
inconsiderable heights in deciduous trees, and those, if possible, among
thick growths on moist ground. Both sexes assist in excavation, as
in incubation. Partially decayed wood is selected and an opening
made about an inch and a quarter in diameter. After driving
straight in an inch or two, the passage turns down and widens two
or three diameters. At a depth of a foot or so the crystal white
eggs are deposited on a neat bed of fine chips. Incubation lasts
twelve days and the young are hatched about the 1st of June."
50 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Eggs. — The eggs of Gairdner's woodpecker resemble those of the
northern downy {medmnus) in every respect but average slightly
smaller. The measurements of 34 eggs average 18.71 by 14.51 milli-
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 20.83 by 15.24,
20.32 by 16.0, 17.27 by 14.22, and 17.78 by 12.95 millimeters.
Food. — Johnson A. Neff (1928) had 68 stomachs available for
study, mostly Gairdner's woodpeckers from the Willamette Valley,
Oreg., and states that —
the animal food items averaged 82.07 percent of the annual food, and vegetable
matter, 17.93 percent. * ♦ *
At Peyton, in August, the Gairdner Woodpeckers were observed working
busily for several days removing the larvae, pupae, and adults of weevils from
the stems of common mullen, Verhasciim thapsus. * * *
During July, 1925, whole families of the Gairdner Woodpecker were observed
in the huge cottonwoods which abound near the Willamette River, feeding on
aphids and scale. They often numbered as high as ten birds in one tree, and
worked from the lowest limb to the highest leaf. While paying some attention
to the brandies, their chief interest was in the clusters of leaves ; they clam-
bered out each small branch to the group of leaves at the tip, peered under
each leaf intently, even swinging around sidewise and up-side down in their
efforts. Through the binoculars it was easy to see them remove small objects
and, later, stomach analysis showed that most of the objects were scale
insects. * * *
These woodpeckers have yet to be observed doing any injury to a living tree ;
the writer has been unable to find any evidence of their doing so in this area.
While they nested abundantly in the river-bottom lands in very close companion-
ship with true sapsuckers, they were never seen to visit the flowing sap
pits. * * ♦ -Sjir^l
Fruit was hardly touched by these birds; elderberry (Sainhuctis) and Madrona
(Arhutus) were the only kinds found, averaging only 0.46 percent of the
diet. * * *
The Gairdner, Willow, and Batchelder Woodpeckers in the orchard are worth
their weight in gold to the fruit grower. They should be strictly protected, and
every known means of attraction should be used in the attempt to persuade them
to remain about the ranches.
Winter. — Anderson and Grinnell (1903) say that, in the Siskiyou
Mountains, Calif., "the Gairdner woodpecker is usually to be found
in company with the flocks of mountain chickadees which frequent the
black oak groves all winter. The oaks are their favorite working
places, but they are also to be seen among the pines and spruces. Six
specimens brought home are all quite near gairdneri. The smokiness
of the lower surface is not so intense as in skins from western
Oregon, but the size, especially of the feet, is decidedly that of the
northwest coast form."
BATCHELDER'S WOODPECKER 51
DRYOBATES PUBESCENS LEUCURUS (Hartlanb)
BATCHELDER'S WOODPECKER
HABITS
The downy woodpecker inhabiting the Rocky Mountains and ad-
jacent regions from southern Alaska to Arizona and New Mexico is
described by Ridgway (1914) as "similar in large size and whiteness of
under parts to 1). p. nelsoni, but with less of white on wing-coverts,
sometimes with none, the spots, when present, only on terminal or
(usually) subterminal portion, and on only a few of the covert fea-
tures." It also differs from it in a "tendency to reduction or absence
of bars on lateral rectrices."
The common name of this woodpecker is in honor of Charles F.
Batchelder, who first (1889) called the attention of American orni-
thologists to the characters of this race under the name D. j). oreoecus.
Batchelder's name was used in the 1895 A. O. U. Check-List, but it
was later found to be antedated by Dinjohates homorus of Cabanis and
Heine, which was adopted in the 1910 Check-List. This was found to
be still further antedated by the name Picus leucurm, given to the
downy woodpecker of the Rocky Mountains by Hartlaub in 1852.
It seems rather strange that this race remained so long unrecognized
in this country. This may be due to the fact that this woodpecker
seems to be a comparatively rare bird throughout most of its range.
The Weydemeyers (1928) say of its occurrence in northwestern
Montana :
A rather rare permanent resident, irregular in winter. Occurs throughout
the county, but is rare at high elevations. It frequents mixed broad-leaf and
conifer woods along the lower streams, where it undoubtedly breeds in preference
to other locations. During winter it is often seen about farmsteads and pas-
tures, and in bordering woods of Douglas fir, yellow pine, and larch. In the
Canadian zone it occurs sparingly in lodgepole pine and alpine fir {Ahies
lasiocarpa) woods, usually along streams.
In the western half of the county, an observer may consider himself fortunate
to see an individual of this species twice a week. In the eastern portion, during
July and August, along Transition zone streams, one or two birds may be seen
nearly every day.
We have obtained no definite nesting dates for this species, although It evi-
dently breeds in suitable locations. On July 22, 1923, a brood of young on the
wing was seen near Fortine in woods of spruce and aspen, in the Transition
zone, at 2,960 feet altitude.
Major Bendire (1895) writes:
Dr. Edgar A. Mearns, United States Army, reports it breeding sparingly
throughout the Pinus ponderosa belt, ascending into the Spruce zone, on the San
Francisco cone, and considers it the rarest of the woodpeckers found in Arizona.
Mr. Denis Gale took a nest and eggs of this subspecies in Boulder County,
Colorado, on June 12, 1889. The excavation was found in a half-dead aspen,
30 feet from the ground, and presumably well up in the mountains, as Mr.
52 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
William G. Smith informs me that it is only a winter visitor in the lower
valleys, and is never seen there during warm weather. I found it rare near
Fort Custer, Montana, and only obtained a single male specimen, on November
23, 1884, among the willows and eottonwoods on the Little Horn River. Dr.
James C. Merrill, United States Army, met with it breeding at Fort Shaw,
Mont., early in June, 1879, and tells me that five or six eggs are generally laid
to a set, and that the nesting habits are just like those of the downy woodpecker.
Lee R. Dice (1918) says that, in southeastern Washington, it is
"numerous throughout the year in the timber along the Touchet River
near Prescott.
"* * * On June 11, 1908, a nest containing young was found
four feet from the ground in an apple tree near Prescott. The female
was seen gathering large, red aphids from nearby golden-rod. Shs
would gather all her mouth could hold and until the aphids stuck out
like a fringe all around the edges of the bill. Then she flew in a
direct line toward the nest. This female was also seen to gather
aphids from apple trees.'*
A set of four eggs in the Thayer collection was taken near Fort
Shaw, Mont,, on June 8, 1879 ; the nesting cavity was 12 feet from the
ground in a dead tree and was excavated to a depth of 10 inches. The
eggs are characteristic of the species, short-ovate in shape, dull white
in color, and only slightly glossy.
The measurements of 28 eggs average 19.86 by 15.29 millimeters;
the eggs showing the four extremes measure 23.37 by 16.00, 19.0 by
14.8, and 18.4 by 14.4 millimeters.
DRYOBATES PUBESCENS MEDIANUS (Swainson)
NORTHERN DOWNY V/OODPECKER
Plates 7, 8
HABITS
Contributed by Winsok Makrett Tylek
The downy woodpecker, including six geographical forms, inhabits
nearly the whole of the wooded parts of North America. It is absent
or rare on the arid deserts and less common in the densely forested
regions than some of the larger woodpeckers ; its favorite country is
the open woodland that covers a large part of the United States.
When civilized man invaded their territory, the downy woodpeck-
ers of the Atlantic coast — the northern and southern races — did not
retreat before his advance but accepted as a home the orchards and
shade trees with which man replaced the forest. At the present time
it builds its nest sometimes within sight from our windows and often
in the parks of our large cities. It is one of the best known of our
permanent residents.
NORTHERN DOWNY WOODPECKER 53
The ornithologists of a century ago show unanimity in their char-
acterization of the bird. Audubon (1842) remarks that it "is per-
haps not surpassed by any of its tribe in hardiness, industry, or
vivacity"; Wilson (1832) says that "the principal characteristics of
this little bird are diligence, familiarity, perseverance" and speaks of
a pair of the birds working at their nest "with the most indefati-
gable diligence"; and Nuttall (1832) characteristically shares Wilson's
opinion even to the extent of employing his exact words, "indefat-
igable diligence," in his own account of the building of the nest.
Nearly a hundred years later Forbush (1927), when near the end of
his long life, put the seal of his approval upon this sentiment, ex-
pressed long ago, by summarizing the downy as a "model of patient
industry and perseverance."
Backed by these authorities we may regard the downy woodpecker
as a bird with a stable and well-balanced nature, a bird which, un-
concerned by the rush and traffic "of these most brisk and giddy-paced
times," still perseveres in its "indefatigable diligence."
Spring and courtship. — As spring advances, the downy woodpecker
seems to wake up; it attracts our notice by its more frequent notes
and increased activity. During the cold months of the year the bird
has been comparatively silent, although even in the depth of winter
we may occasionally hear its single chip and even the long whinny,
but in April, for so sedate a bird, it becomes a lively personality ; it
moves about quickly — sometimes with lightninglike agility — and takes
a voluble interest in the members of its own species.
Francis H. Allen, in his notes, gives the two following graphic
accounts of the initial stage of the bird's courtship : "April 10, 1904.
West Roxbury, Mass. I found two downy woodpeckers courting — at
least, I suppose that was what they were up to. They acted like
mating flickers, chasing each other about from tree to tree, keeping
almost constantly on the move and only pausing now and then to ex-
ecute a sort of dance, spreading their wings and tails. From time to
time I heard from them a long call resembling the flicker's which^
lohich which which, etc., but higher pitched than the flicker's and, of
course, not so loud. Less often I heard another note — a softer,
slighter, more hurried call, similar in quality. I did not make out
whether, these two calls were made by different sexes, nor did I posi-
tively make out that the birds were a pair, they kept in such con-
stant motion. At least once one lit crosswise of a twig. At last one
flew off, and then the familiar and characteristic long call of a downy
sounded from another direction, and the remaining bird flew over
to the third bird, which was clinging to the trunk of an elm. Then
these two stayed in each other's company but did not conduct so
elaborate a dance as the first couple.
54 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
"All this time a fourth bird had been drumming on a tree not far
away. I went up to the place and timed the drum calls, finding
each roll to last about two seconds. I could not count the taps, but
thought they numbered eight or ten to each roll. While I watched this
bird, another downy came along, sounding the flickerlike call, but
rather faintly, and the drummer flew to join her. They flew off to-
gether. I believe it is only the male that drums, and I think it prob-
able that the bird that answered the drummer was the one that had
taken part in the dance before described, for that bird when she left
her partner had flown off in this direction.
"April 8, 1917. West Koxbury. Watched a pair courting this
morning for several minutes. Both sexes had a curious 'weaving'
action, moving the head and whole body from side to side on the
tip of the tail as a pivot with the neck stretched out and bill pointed
on a line with the body, and the whole body elongated. They did
this both when clinging to the side of a trunk and when on a hori-
zontal or slanting branch. They were silent but very active, flitting
one after the other from branch to branch and tree to tree, but making
only short flights. The waving, or 'weaving,' motion of the head was
rather rapid, perhaps two waves, that is from left to right and back
again, in about a second — but this is stated from general impressions
and memory only. These birds did not spread the wings and tail as
did the courting pair observed on April 10, 1904, and, as stated, they
uttered no note."
My notes refer to a bit of courtship observed during the actual
breeding season. May 11, 1911, in a Avooded swamp in Lexington,
Mass., where the species used to nest every year. The female bird
was perched motionless along a horizontal limb of a tree, and the
male was poised in the air just behind and a little above her. He
was hovering. His wings were more than half spread, I should say,
and waving slowly up and down, a maneuver which displayed finely
the rows of white spots on the flight feathers and coverts.
William Brewster (1936), in his Concord journal under date of
May 5, 1905, notes another form of courtship. He says : "At 8 A. M.
saw a pair of Downy Woodpeckers in young oaks behind Ball's Hill,
behaving very strangely. They kept flying from tree to tree, flapping
their vvings slowly and feebly like butterflies, sometimes moving on
a level plane, sometimes in long loops, occasionally sailing from tree
to tree in a long deep loop. Their wings had a strange fin-like appear-
ance due, probably, to the way they were held or flexed. They both
uttered a low, harsh, chattering cry, almost incessantly. No doubt
this was a love performance, but they were male and female and both
'showed off' in the same way."
NORTHERN DOWNY WOODPECKER 55
Lewis O. Shelley (1932), who, at East Westmoreland, N. H., has
had an extensive experience with banded birds throughout the year,
describes the courtship thus:
Courtship activities begin rather early with the male's tattooing commencing
in the warm days of March. I believe the most active mating display is given
by a new male that desires a mate, not by a male mated the previous year
whose mate is still living. The latter male seems to give a protecti^■e display to
its rival, seemingly just enough to hold his mate's trust.
In the spring of 1931, father and son * * * fought for and sought the
favor of the young female • * * the son finally winning after days of
courtship in our yard and vicinity. * * * Courting lasted for upwards
of two weeks, or perhaps longer, before the female made her choice. Of the
two rivals the son finally was accepted, the older male shortly disappearing.
* * * The courtship display of these three birds was the same as I have
observed with other mating Downy Woodpeckers elsewhere in past seasons.
At my station the mating activities began when the birds first met and was
continued more or less regularly thereafter. The female is usually rather
quiet, sometimes giving a iceelc, week, week, week, or again a squeaking note.
The males give forth a loud loick, wick, wick, wick, icick, wick, sometimes with
a rolling k-k-k-k-k at the end. Very little drumming on resonant objects is
done by the male, once a female is located, and in this case almost none was
done except when one male was out of sight and hearing of the female and the
other courting bird. To the casual observer, the chasing of the female by the
male to a tree, and from tree to tree, in a seemingly idle manner (often, but
not always, by both males) is in reality a part of the mating manoeuvres.
When it happens that both males are in pursuit, the activities take on an,
added impetus. I have a number of times seen one male dash headlong across
a fifty-yard opening to where the other two birds were, loudly uttering his cry,
and, when alighting, dash at his adversary, the female squeaking intermittently,
and svidnging her body from side to side. The display also consists of spread
wings nervously fluttered ; raising and lowering of the scarlet patch ; mad
dashes from one tree to another at the fleeing female, who dodges to the
opposite side of the tree as the pursuing bird alights; loud calls at intervals
when he stops in his mad hopping up the limbs and smaller branches. This
activity may last from five to thirty minutes, from the large elm in our yard,
where the birds feed, to a larger area either south or east of the house. When
two birds are alone together, it is common to find them perching near together
and motionless for considerable periods of time, but let the second male appear
and the first male will drive the female from the tree and the round is begun
again. When two males come face to face in a headlong rush, wings spread,
crest raised, and beak open in a challenging attitude, it is mostly sham, for
they soon quiet down unless one advances up the tree toward the female
clinging immovable above.
There is a period when the male is very active in his rushing of the female —
I suppose to make sure of his desire, a mate — but this phase of courtship plays
no part in the act of copulation, which I have seen enacted early in the morning,
a quiet, matter-of-fact performance.
The first and last paragraphs of this quotation are taken from
Mr. Shelley'^s manuscript notes.
Nesting. — The downy woodpecker nests in a cavity that the birds
themselves drill in a branch or stub 8 feet (rarely less) to 50 feet
56 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
(rarely more) above the ground, generally in dead or dying wood,
sometimes in a solid branch. The entrance, one and a quarter inches
in diameter, is just large enough to admit the bird's body, and is per-
fectly circular unless some bits of soft wood chip off. The cavity is
roughly gourd-shaped, turning downward and widening soon after
penetrating the wood and extends to a depth varying normally from
eight to twelve inches. Generally a few chips are left in the bottom
of the cavity. *
Lewis O. Shelley says (MS.) that according to his experience "the
female selects the nest site on her winter, or year-round, territory."
He speaks of a female that in the fall "partly dug out a cavity, sup-
posedly for her winter quarters, but the following summer I found a
brood of young of this same bird occupying the nest."
Writers are almost unanimously of the opinion that both birds of
the pair excavate the nest, but Shelley (MS.) states: "Of a number
of nests observed, I have never known the male downy to assist in
excavating. He often comes near when the female is working, but
this seems to be an understood signal for her to cease work and go off
in his company."
A. Dawes DuBois, in a letter to Mr. Bent, describes the behavior of
a pair working jointly on a nest in Ithaca, N. Y., about 15 feet up
in an old stub. He says: "These birds were working the lower
depths. The jDartners worked alternately. First the female lighted
on the stub and disappeared within the cavity. Immediately she
thrust out her head, and, with a quick shake, disposed of a billful of
chips. She repeated this a number of times. She was throwing out
the loose chips from the bottom of the cavity. Soon she began to
chisel, remaining inside where we could not see her. After she had
been working for five or six minutes, her mate flew to the stub and
uttered a chirp, whereupon the female came out and flew away.
"The male went in to continue the work by a somewhat different
method. He was never entirely lost to view — his tail was always
visible — and he backed out of the hole to dispose of the chips. He
ruffled his feathers considerably in squirming out backward, as his
body was a snug fit in the entrance hole. He threw out a quantity of
loose chips in this manner and then began chiseling, his tail mean-
while protruding from the doorway. He worked for 22 minutes;
then his mate came back.
"She went inside and came out with her mouth quite full of chips;
but instead of tossing the chips to the ground, she flew off with them
to another tree. She stayed away for several minutes, then returned
and went to work in her accustomed way, staying within the cavity,
and thrusting only her head outside. Wlien she had worked about
15 minutes the male came again to the entrance. She put her head
NORTHERN DOWNY WOODPECKER 57
out of the doorway ; they rubbed their bills together and chirped a
few remarks. The female then flew away and the male took up the
task again."
Audubon (1842) says: "About the middle of April it begins to
form its nest, shewing little care as to the kind of tree it selects for the
purpose, although it generally chooses a sound one, sometimes, how-
ever, taking one that is partially decayed. The pair work together
for several days before the hole is completed, sometimes perhaps a
whole week, as they dig it to a depth of a foot or sixteen inches. The
direction is sometimes perpendicularly downwards from the com-
mencement, sometimes transverse to the tree for four or five inches,
and then longitudinal. The hole is rendered smooth and conveniently
large throughout, the entrance being perfectly round, and just large
enough to admit one bird at a time."
A. Dawes DuBois (MS.) writes that the male bird of a pair was
caught in a nest 6 feet from the ground, evidently incubating the
six eggs well advanced in development. This observation is in ac-
cord with the general belief that the male takes his share in incuba-
tion.
Mrs. Alice Hall Walter (1912) states that "in the North, only one
brood is raised during a season ; but it is not uncommon in the South
for one brood to be raised in May and a second in August."
Eggs. — [Author's note: The northern downy woodpecker lays
ordinarily four or five eggs, though sets of three or six are not rare,
and as many as seven or even eight eggs have been found in a nest.
The eggs are pure white, either dull white or more or less glossy, and
they vary in shape from ovate to rounded-ovate. The measurements
of 55 eggs average 19.35 by 15.05 millimeters; the eggs showing the
four extremes measure 22.*35 by 16.26, 17.78 by 14.73, and 18.80 by
13.97 millimeters.]
Young. — The incubation period of the downy woodpecker is 12
days, according to Frank L. Burns (1915) and Dr. Arthur A. Allen
(1928).
Wliether in their earliest days the young birds, hidden in the
depths of their dark chamber, are fed by regurgitation has not been
determined, but very soon after they leave the ^g^ food is brought
directly to them. Dr. Allen (MS.) says: "Certainly by the time
the young are four or five days old entire insects are brought in the
parents' bills and given to the young ; I have photographic proof of
this."
Craig S. Thoms (1927), in a study of the nesting habits in South
Dakota, says : "On June 9 the young were beginning to come up to
the door of their excavation to receive food. Presumably the largest
and strongest sticks his head clear out. When he fed he subsided
90801 — 39 5
58 BULLETIlsT 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
and the next came up, but not quite so far. He in liis turn subsided
and the parent entered to feed the weaker ones still farther
down. * * *
"On June 12 the last of the young left the nest, which upon being
measured was found to be 10 inches deep."
A. Dawes DuBois (MS.) tells of the flight of the young birds from
the nest : "The young chattered most of the time during the last two
days of nest life. One at a time they looked out a great deal at
the strange outer world. They left the nest on Jujie 11. The last
two, a male and a female, left during the afternoon, each after being
fed at the entrance and seeing the parent fly away. The young male
flew from the nest hole straight to a tree 60 feet away. His sister
quickly followed, lighting on the trunk of the same tree and follow-
ing her parent up the bole in the hitching manner of their kind
as though she had been practicing this vertical locomotion all her
life."
Plumages. — [Author's note: Young downy woodpeckers are
hatched naked and blind, but the juvenal plumage is acquired before
the young leave the nest. In this first plumage, the young male is
much like the adult male, except that the red nuchal patch is lacking ;
the forehead is black, spotted with white, but the crown and occiput
are more or less marked with various shades of red, pinkish, or yellow-
ish, as well as spotted with white ; the black portions of the plumage
are duller than in the adult ; the sides of the breast are streaked and
the flanks obscurely spotted with dusky ; the white areas, underparts,
and white spots elsewhere, as well as the rectrices, are tinged with
yellowish.
The young female is like the young male, except that there is no
red on the head, and the crown is clear black, or black spotted with
white. L. L. Snj^der (1923) has shown that young males sometimes
have only white markings on a black crown and that young females
sometimes have reddish, pinkish, or j^ellowish markings on the crown.
The juvenal plumage is worn but a short time, for a complete molt,
beginning in September or earlier, produces a first winter plumage,
which is practically adult. Adults have a complete annual molt from
July to September. Both adults and young show a tinge of yellowish
in the white areas in fresh fall plumage, which gradually fades away.]
Food. — F. E. L. Beal (1911) in an examination of the contents of
723 stomachs of the downy woodpecker found that 76.05 percent was
animal matter, the remaining 23.95 percent vegetable matter. The
following quotations are from his exhaustive report.
BeetlPs taken collectively amount to 21.55 percent, and are the largest item
of the food. Of these, a little less than 14 percent are wood-boring larvae.
* * * They were found in 289 stomachs, or about 40 percent of all, and 10
contained no other food. This is only about half the amount found in the
Js^ORTHERX DOWNY WOODPECKER 59
stomachs of the hairy woodpecker, aud shows that the downy pecks wood
much less than the hairy. These larvae are eaten at all times of the year,
though the most are taken in the cooler mouths. * * * The economic value
of the destruction of these larvae is very great.
Weevils amount to a little more than 3 percent, but appear to be a rather
favorite food, as they were found in 107 stomachs. * * *
Ants are eaten by the downy to the extent of 21.36 percent of its diet, aud
are taken more regularly than any other element of the food. * * *
Caterpillars appear to be a very acceptable food for the downy woodpecker,
as they constitute 16.50 percent of the yearly diet. * * *
Fruit was eaten to the extent of 5.85 percent of the whole food. Most of it
is of useless wild varieties. * * *
The charge sometimes made that the downy injures trees by eating the
inner bark is disproved. It eats cambium rarely and in small quantities.
Beal gives a list of 20 seeds and fruits found in the downy's food.
Summarizing his findings, he says: "The foregoing discussion of
the food of the downy woodpecker shows it to be one of our most
useful species. The only complaint against the bird is on the score
of disseminating the poisonous species of Rhus. However, it is for-
tunate that the bird can live on this food when it is difficult to procure
anything else. The insect food selected by the downy is almost all of
species economically harmful."
Forbush (1927) lays stress on the usefulness of the downy to man;
he says that it "searches out the pine weevil which kills the topmost
shoot of the young white pine and so causes a crook in the trunk of
the tree, unfitting it for the lumber market."
Mrs. Alice Hall Walter (1912) shoAvs how well the downy is
equipped to secure its food. She saj's that the feet, two toes in front
and two behind, "serve to clamp the bird to the tree." She continues :
Additional support is furnished by the stiff, sharply pointed tail-feathers,
that act as a brace when the bird delivers heavy blows with its beak. Effective
as this tool is for the work of hammer, UTcdge, drill and pick-axe, it could not
obtain the deeply hidden grubs known as ''borers," from their tortuous, tunneled
grooves, without the aid of the long, slender, extensile tongue. In the case of
the Hairy and Downy, as well as some others of the family, this remarkable tool
is provided with barbs, converting it into a spear, which may be hurled one
inch, two inches or even more, beyond the tip of the beak.
A. Dawes DuBois says in his notes: "I have seen a downy wood-
pecker industriously applying tlie percussion test to the dried stalks
of the previous summer's horse weeds, which grow to prodigious
size in the creek bottoms near Springfield, Illinois. He went up each
stalk, tapping it lightly, and frequently stopping to pierce the shell
and extract a worm from the pith. I found that the weed stems he
had visited were punctured and splintered in numerous places."
The following note by Elliott R. Tibbets (1911) shows how agile
the downy is on the wing. He was watching some birds at a feeding
shelf. "I was told," he saj's, "to throw a cracked nut into the air and
60 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
see what followed — I did so, and, to my surprise, the Downy darted
after it, not allowing it to touch the ground, and then returned to the
evergreen, where he proceeded to pick the kernel from the hard shell."
Henry D. Minot (1877) also mentions that they "catch insects on
the wing,"
Behavior. — The downy woodpecker sits very still as it digs out a
grub from under the bark of a tree, or from the wood under the bark,
or as it dislodges a bit of bark in its hunt for a cocoon or a bundle
of insects' eggs. We hear the gentle taps of its bill, and when our
eyes, led by the sound, catch sight of the bird, perched on a branch
or the trunk of a tree, we understand why it has been called indus-
trious. It is concentrated on its work; it works patiently, seriously,
like a carpenter working earnestly with his chisel, spending a full
minute, sometimes more, to secure a bit of food.
As it sits there quietly, working painstakingly at the bark, it gives
the impression of a rather sedentary bird, deliberate and staid, but
when it begins to move about — taking short flights among the
the branches — alighting on little swaying twigs and flitting off again —
we see it in another mood. It is lively now; all deliberateness is
gone. It hops upward over the branches with quick jerky hops,
rearing back a little after each one; it may descend a little way by
backward hitches; it winds about the smaller branches, peering at
the right side, the left side, and around at the back ; it flits to a twig
no thicker than a pencil for the space of a single peck, and then is
off with the speed of an arrow, weaving and undulating through a
maze of branchlets, cutting the air audibly with its wings.
We can watch the downy woodpecker best in winter when the
trees and shrubs are bare. But even in such an exposed situation as a
leafless tree, we do not find it a conspicuous bird — one hop and it is
hidden behind a branch, seeming almost to glide out of our sight.
At the slightest alarm it disappears; it uses a branch as a shield —
slipping behind it, safe from observation or attack.
The bird is at home also in shrubbery, moving easily among the
smaller branches, hitching along their slender length, picking at the
bark, and leaping from one branch to another with the aid of a flip
of the wings. It sits crosswise on a perch scarce!}' bigger than a
twig, leaning forward a little, bill outstretched, suggesting in position
and outline a tiny kingfisher.
Here, at close range, on a level with our eyes, we realize how rapid
the bird's motions are. The beak strikes and draws back — the two
movements a single flash. The head turns to one side, to the other
side, bringing first one dark shining eye, then the other, to bear on the
bark; we see the head in the two positions, although we get only a
hint of the motion between.
jSrORTHERlvr DOWNY WOODPECKER 61
Thus the day's work goes on, until the downy, replete with the
results of its industry, rests motionless for a while on a high, sunny
branch, taking its ease.
The downy woodpecker, like most of its family, has an undulating
flight when flying any considerable distance. The undulations are
not deep, as in the plunging flight of a goldfinch ; it gives rather the
effect of a ship pitching slightly in a head sea. A few strokes carry
the bird up to the crest of the wave — the wings clapping close to the
sides of the body — then, at the crest, with the wings shut, the bird
tilts slightly forward, and slides down into the next trough.
Besides employing its strong beak and the powerful muscles of its
neck to secure food and dig out a cavity for its nest, the downy wood-
pecker makes use of them to beat a loud tattoo on the branch of a
tree or some other resonant object. This habit is oftenest noticed in
spring, when it appears to form a part of courtship or a prelude to
it, but Lewis O. Shelley says in his notes that "on February 3, 1934, a
male downy commenced its drumming on a dead elm branch near the
house. A few hours earlier the temperature had been 5° below zero.
On the 6th, 8th, and 9th he was tattooing at the usual hour, about 8
a. m. On the 8th the temperature registered zero, and on the 9th
18° below zero !"
Dr. Charles W. Townsend, in his Ipswich manuscript notes, under
date of March 16, 1930, speaks of "a male bird hammering a rat-at-at-
too on the apex of a telephone pole for three seconds. He then
paused, hunching up a little and looking about for from five to twelve
seconds, before resuming the hammering. He made a small round
dent in the pole, but there were no chips."
A. Dawes DuBois tells in his notes the following anecdote: "One
April day I watched this avian drummer as he entertained himself by
beating on the wooden insulator-pins of an unused cross-arm on a
telegraph pole. From each pin he rang out a different tone — loud,
clear, and high-pitched. It was evident that this pleased him, for
he hopped from one pin to another to repeat the variations."
I have found in the books no mention of drumming by the female
downy, but at the end of the extract from William Brewster's notes,
quoted under "Courtship," in which he describes a mutual display by
a pair of birds, he adds : "Both sexes drum, also."
William Brewster (1876b) points out the difference between the
tattoo of the downy woodpecker and that of the hairy woodpecker
and the yellow-bellied sapsucker. He says : "P. puhescens has a long
unbroken roll, P. villosus a shorter and louder one with a gi-eater
interval between each stroke : while S. varius commencing with a short
roll ends very emphatically with five or six distinct disconnected taps."
62 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
E. Owen Merriam (1920) gives, from Hamilton, Canada, an instance
of "snow bathing." He says :
This morning a female Downy Woodpeclier that I was watching flew to a
horizontal branch and proceeded vigorously to bathe in the loose snow lying
there. Like a Robin in a puddle, Mrs. Downy ducked her head, ruffled her
feathers, and fluttered her wings, throwing some of the snow over her back and
scattering the rest to the winds. As all the snow fell off one part of the branch,
she moved along to another, until she had cleared a place about two feet long.
Two forks held more snow than the straight limb, and apparently Mrs. Downy
enjoyed herself immensely when she came to them.
Dr. Arthur A. Allen (1928) in his admirable "Downy Woodpecker's
Story," published in the School Department of Bird-Lore, says, let-
ting the bird tell its own story : "When cold weather sets in, * * *
I begin drilling roosting-holes where I can spend the nights. I usu-
ally have to drill quite a number for they seem to be quite popular
with other birds like the Chickadees and Nuthatches, and sometimes
when I get ready to retire I find my hole occupied by a flying squirrel
or a whole family of deer mice, and it is easier to drill a new hole than
to drive them out. One winter I got tired of drilling holes and every
night retired to a bird-house and perched on an old Wren's nest that
was in it."
Many ornithologists, even as long ago as the time of Wilson and
Nuttall, have believed that the rows of small holes, such as we com-
monly see in the bark of our orchard trees, are drilled by the downy
woodpecker. These little holes, about three-eighths of an inch across,
circular when old, but oval when fresh, are arranged in fairly regular
rows parallel to the ground, and sometimes in tiers, when they have
the appearance of a waffle. In settled regions they are found oftenest
in the trunks and the larger branches of trees belonging to the rose
family — most commonly of all in apple trees. The holes may be
within 3 feet of the ground or as high as 20 feet or more above it,
depending on the height of the tree. Oftentimes they are very close
together; I have counted as many as six of them in the space of an
inch and a half. The question has arisen whether the downy wood-
pecker ever makes these holes.
We know now, what the older ornithologists did not know, that it
is a regular habit of the yellow-bellied sapsucker to drill such holes,
but there are plenty of statements in the ornithological literature
today ascribing the work to the downy woodpecker as well.
Dr. Charles W. Townsend (1932) gives an able summary of the
literature on this question and, after carefully weighing the evidence,
comes "to the conclusion that these well known and characteristic
circles of holes are made by true sapsuckers and not by downy or
hairy woodpeckers."
NORTHERN DOWNY WOODPECKER 63
He throws a good deal of doubt on some seemingly definite obser-
vations from correspondents quoted by Forbush in his "Birds of
Massachusetts," when he says that "many leave one in considerable
uncertainty as to whether the correspondents actually saw the downy
woodpecker making the rings of holes, or merely tapping in the same
region, or drinking the sap, or eating cambium from holes whose
origin was not ascertained. It may be that some of the correspondents
were unable to distinguish the true species of woodpecker."
Dr. Townsend cites several observations, two of which are quoted
below. If the first of these had not been correctly interpreted, and if
the other had not been seen in its entirety, they might have led to
error. He says:
There is one observation, however, which should be quoted here, as it is of
considerable interest in this discussion, an observation made by a capable
observer with great care. Forbush says, loc. cit., vol. ii, p. 268 : "The first trust-
worthy evidence, however, that I obtained regarding the tapping of trees for sap
by the Downy Woodpecker was in 1899, when my assistant, the late Charles E.
Bailey, on April 6 watched one for several hours. His report reads : 'At 12 : 30
I found a Downy Woodpecker, and watched him till 2 : 45 ; he took three larvae
from a maple stub, just under the bark. He next tapped two small swamp
maples, four and six feet from the ground, and spent most of the time taking
sap. He tapped the tree by picking it a few times very lightly ; it looked like
a slight cut, slanting a little. The bird would sit and peck the sap out of the
lower part of the cut. The cut was so small the sap did not collect very fast.
The bird would go and sit for a long time in a large tree and not move, then
it would come back and take more sap. It did this three times while I was
watching it. It did not care to take any food but the sap.' * * * Mr. Bailey
cut off and brought me the limb, the bark of which was perforated by the bird.
* * * The perforations passed through the bark to the wood, but did not enter
it and they do not in the least resemble in shape those made by the Yellow-bellied
Sapsucker." Here is just what we should expect in a woodpecker not specialized
as a sapsucker. * * *
The next record is of considerable significance in this discussion, and had I
seen only the latter half of the drama, my conclusions might have been different.
In the Wenham swamp on May 11, 1906, my notes state that Glover M. Allen and
I found a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drilling holes in a white pine. His move-
ments were slow and he paid little attention to vis standing below him at the
foot of the tree. When he departed, a female Downy Woodpecker visited the
holes.
Speaking of his own observations. Dr. Townsend says : "I may state
that, although I have long watched Downy Woodpeckers gleaning
insects on and in the bark and wood of trees at all seasons of the year,
I have never seen them dig circles of holes in the bark. * * * I
have never found fresh rings of holes except during the time of the
sapsucker migrations."
Voice. — The downy woodpecker is by no means a noisy bird; com-
pared to the red-headed woodpecker, with its loud rattling calls, or to
the shouting, boisterous flicker, it is quiet and demure. Nevertheless,
64 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
we cannot be for long near one of these little birds, hidden high among
leafy branches, before we learn of its presence. Within a few minutes,
long before we catch sight of it, we are almost certain to hear its voice.
Its call note is a single abrupt syllable, like tchich. Although this
note is of sufficient volume to carry a considerable distance, it is not
a loud note even when heard at short range. As in the case of many
bird notes, it is recognizable from the voice of any other bird here-
abouts once we have become familiar with it, yet it is not easy to say
how it differs from numerous other calls that might be suggested by
the same letters. I believe one characteristic of the note that helps
us distinguish it is its shortness — it is over almost as soon as begun,
like a dot in the telegraph code. But in spite of being sharp, it is a
modest little sound ; it does not ring through the woods like the wild
call of the hairy woodpecker.
Another note is a long whinny made up of a dozen or more tchichs.
These increase in rapidity soon after the beginning of the series, and
the pitch drops rather sharply. Near the close, the volume diminishes,
and the whinny ends with a "dying fall."
Elizabeth Sampson (1934) brings this note very clearly to our mind
when she speaks of it as "a handful of his staccato notes * * *
flung out in a rapid run, gaining speed as they came, till they almost
tumbled over each other at the end."
This whinny is also given, although not often, without any fall in
pitch.
The downy woodpecker has other notes in its vocabulary, some of
which are described under courtship, but, compared to the two noted
above, they are rarely heard. It may be that some of these notes are
only modifications of the call note, uttered with a slightly changed
inflection. One, a single short note, has a distinct vocal quality.
Of the young birds in the nest. Dr. Arthur A. Allen (1928) says
that they "keep up an incessant chippering, especially when they get
the least bit hungry, and at times they sound almost like a bee-hive,
from the ground."
After the young birds have left the nest, I have often heard them
give a series of tchicks similar to the whinny of the adults, but in a
weaker voice and all on the same pitch. However, this note evidently
varies, for Francis H. Allen says in his notes that the young have also
a rattle resembling the kingfisher rattle of D. mllosus, but fainter and
falling in pitch like the similar note of the adult.
Field marks. — ^The downy, the smallest of our woodpeckers, may
be separated at once from any other woodpecker, except the hairy, by
the broad white stripe down the back.
The hairy is half again as large as the downy, but in situations where
comparative size counts little, the downy may be recognized by its short
NORTHERN DOWNY WOODPECKER 65
bill — ^no longer than its head. The hairy's bill is longer even in
proportion to the size of the bird.
Enemies. — Lewis O. Shelley, who as a bird bander has handled
many downy woodpeckers, says in his notes: "I find this species
practically free from parasites, but I have found among the feathers
the two bird flies, Ornithoica conftuenta and Ornithomyia
anchineuria.^^
Alexander Wilson (1832) shows that the house wren, although
not an open enemy of the downy, causes it a good deal of annoyance
by stealing its nest sometimes. He says :
The house wren, who also builds in the hollow of a tree, but who is neither
furnished with the necessary tools nor strength for excavating such an apart-
ment for himself, allows the woodpeckers to go on, till he thinks it will
answer his purpose, then attacks them with violence, and generally succeeds
in driving them off. I saw some weeks ago a striking example of this, where
the woodpeckers we are now describing, after commencing in a cherry-tree
within a few yards of the house, and having made considerable progress, were
turned out by the wren ; the former began again on a pear-tree in the garden,
fifteen or twenty yards off, whence, after digging out a most complete apart-
ment, and one egg being laid, they were once more assaulted by the same
impertinent intruder, and finally forced to abandon the place.
Maurice Thomi)Son (1885) describes thus the bird's defense
against the attack of a goshawk :
I once saw a goshawk pursuing a downy woodpecker, when the latter darted
through a tuft of foliage and flattened itself close upon the body of a thick oak
bough, where it remained as motionless as the bark itself. The hawk alighted
on the same bough within two feet of its intended victim, and remained sitting
there for some minutes, evidently looking in vain for it, with nothing but thin
air between monster and morsel. The woodpecker was stretched longitudinally
on the bough, its tail and beak close to the bark, its black and white speckled
feathers looking like a continuation of the wrinkles and lichen.
More commonly, when attacked by a hawk, the downy dodges
behind a branch and, if the hawk catch sight of it again, either winds
round the branch or dives behind another one. By this adroit
defense the downy has a fair chance of eluding the hawk's attack.
Fall and winter. — ^We see little change in the behavior of the
downy woodpecker at the approach of autumn, at the time when
many of the migratory birds are beginning to show a daily increas-
ing restlessness, seeming on tiptoe to start on their long journey,
moving about actively in their new feathers, and breaking out some-
times with a phrase of postnuptial song. In the role of permanent
resident, the downy remains calm in the midst of the bustle of
travel; it may join the hurrying groups for a time, or become sur-
rounded by them, but it does not catch the contagion of departure,
and soon drops behind to continue its local round.
66 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
The downy is not forced to seek the sun and warmth and the
inexhaustible food of the Tropics, for the woodlands of New England
and southeastern Canada are stored with food that, with a roosting
hole, enables the bird to withstand the severest winter. But this
food is limited; the insects that have been multiplying all summer,
thus adding continually to the woodpeckers' supply of food, stop
multiplying when the frosts come, and will add no more until
spring.
The downy is not a bird that ranges widely in search of food;
moreover, for protection against the weather it is held to the vicinity
of its roosting hole. Therefore each bird, in order to be sure of
sufficient food for itself during the cold months, must maintain
dominion over a territory large enough to support it through the
winter.
Thus it comes about that in autumn the downy does perforce
change its habits, or rather its attitude toward other birds of its
species. The families disperse, and until the next breeding season
each individual becomes a solitary bird, living in a restricted region,
which it defends against trespass, resenting and repelling the
approach of any other downy woodpecker.
This reversal of attitude or character — the change from a member
of a family to an anchorite in fall, and back again in spring — takes
place gradually, we may suppose, and not exactly at the same time
in every bird. Hence one bird meeting another in autumn, while the
change is in progress, may underestimate the degree to which it has
drawn away from its fellows, or, in the spring, may overestimate the
amount of cordiality that has returned to the wintering anchorite.
This lack of understanding may give rise to behavior difficult or
impossible for us to interpret.
Sometimes the relationship between two downies is clear enough,
as when, on September 20, 1910, I saw a male fly repeatedly at a
female in a menacing way and drive her off ; and when on November
3, 1935, I saw a female bird fly toward a male, which was perched
near a hole in an electric-light pole, from which he did not retire,
as a perched bird commonly does when approached by a bird on the
wing, but held his ground while she flew away ; and when Lewis O.
Shelley (MS.) tells of a female bird "rushing with antagonistic atti-
tude at her two daughters" and also driving off her granddaughters
whenever they invaded her winter territory in autumn, all these birds
being identified by bands.
There are cases, however, in which the relationship between the
birds is very puzzling. In the following scene, from my notes, there
is a hint of hostility or remonstrance, but a suggestion of courtship
also — out of place, it seems, in autumn between two female birds.
"October 15, 1935. Two birds are in a large, bare maple tree; one
NORTHERN DOWNY WOODPECKER 67
is noticeably larger than the other, but neither one has a red occipital
patch. They keep near each other, one following the other by short,
quick flights. They perch perfectly motionless for a moment a foot
or two apart; then both together sway their heads, swinging them
quickly down and up to one side, down and up to the other side.
The swing is very rapid, like the wink of an eye. They flit their
wings upward and outward, also with the speed of a wink, over and
over — all this without a sound. They fly behind a branch sometimes
but keep mostly in sight of each other, and, although neither attacks,
each seems wary of attack and dodges away when approached. They
sometimes alight on very slender branches, and once a bird goes to
the ground where it stands with its head held high up. They move
very actively and lightly, with never the slightest blundering, flitting
silently and easily from branch to branch."
The following astonishing story, taken from William Brewster's
Concord journal (1937), tells of a case in which antagonism of un-
known cause leads to the killing with brutal violence of a female
downy by a male :
March 20, 1911. We were in the dining-room, consulting about the day's
work, when we heard the tchick note of the Downy AVoodpecker repeated
almost incessantly and very rapidly just outside. For a moment or more we
paid no attention to it. But something unusual in its quality and its in-
sistence soon led me to look out and this was what I saw :
On the snow, among the outermost stems of the lilacs on one side of the
dense thicket that they form was a female Downy with extended and quiv-
ering wings. About her hopped or rather danced a handsome male, showing
the red on his occiput very conspicuously. He kept striking at her head with
his bill and occasionally he held on for a few seconds, when the two birds
fluttered about together and perhaps rolled over once or twice, closely united.
At first I thought it an amatory encounter and I am still almost certain that
the male attempted to secure sexual contact with the female once or twice.
But if so it could not have been his primary or at least sole object. For he
continued to peck her head even when she was lying almost motionless on
the snow. For a time she seemed to be trying to escape and for fully two
minutes her cries were piteous and incessant. At length he left her and
flew up into an elm where he clung for a moment or two, making w4iat
seemed to me a very unusual display of the red on his occiput. Then of a
sudden he swooped down on the female, who had meanwhile been cowering in
the middle of a cluster of lilac stems, on the snow. Dragging her forth from
this slight shelter into an open space, he attacked her again, this time with
obvious fury, fairly raining a shower of blows on the back of her head. She
seemed too weak to make any further attempt to escape and her cries, although
continued, were so faint that we could only just hear them. I now realized
for the first time that he was inspired by the lust of killing and not by sexual
ardor. It was very hard to refrain from rushing out and driving him away
but I restrained the impulse, not being willing to interrupt a tragedy of such
extraordinary, if repulsive, interest. It would have made no difference any-
way, for this final onslaught lasted only a very few seconds. During its
continuance the male Downy seemed literally beside himself with rage. No
68 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Butcher Bird that I have ever watched has shown, while dealing with a
Mouse or Sparrow, more murderous energy. After finishing the foul deed
he left the female lying perfectly motionless and flew up again into the elm.
We now went out and picked up the female. She was still living but unable
to move. The [back] of her head was soaked in blood and her bare skull
showed in places. She died a little later. I skinned her and preserved her
skull which I have attached to the skin. It is punctured in 10 or 12 places.
The bird was in normal condition physically with healthy-looking ovary the
ovules undeveloped. The only injuries were to the skull.
Doubtless a few downy woodpeckers move southward in autumn
or early in winter, especially from the northern part of the bird's
range. Dr. Charles W. Townsend in his Ipswich notes (M.S.) says
that he sees "evident migrants not uncommonly in October and
November." But most of our birds spend the whole year round with
us, and in autumn we may watch them as they make provision for
winter. Even before the leaves are off the trees — in September
here in New England — we may hear, day after day as we pass a
certain tree, the tapping of a downy woodpecker where, invisible
from the ground, high up on a branch, it is digging out a cavity,
its roosting hole, in which it will sleep alone through the long winer
nights, and into which it may retreat in the daytime whenever
"the frost-wind blows."
DRYOBATES PUBESCENS NELSONI Oberholser
NELSON'S DOWNY WOODPECKER
HABITS
This large race of the downy woodpecker inhabits the wooded
regions of northern Alaska and northern Canada, intergrading with
Dryobates pubescens mtdianus in southern Canada and possibly in
northern New England.
Dr. H. C. Oberholser (1896a), in describing and naming it, char-
acterizes it as "similar to Dryobates pubescens [=medianus^, but
averaging larger; the under parts pure white instead of brownish;
the lower tail-coverts and outer tail-feathers averaging with much
less of black markings; red nuchal band of male averaging some-
what wider."
Swainson and Richardson (1831) say: "This diminutive but ex-
ceedingly industrious Woodpecker is a constant inhabitant of the
fur-countries up to the fifty-eighth parallel. It seeks its food prin-
cipally on the maple, elm, and ash, and, north of latitude 54°, where
these trees terminate, on the aspen and birch. Its researches are
made mostly, if not wholly, on live trees."
Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) writes:
Throughout the Territory [Alaska] where woodland or a growth of bushes
and small trees occurs the present bird is certain to be found, and is a resi-
WILLOW WOODPECKER 69
dent winter and summer. It has been taken along the entire course of the
Yukon as well as at various points on the coast of Bering Sea, and thence
south at Kadiak and Sitka. In autumn it is a rather common visitant to the
coast of Norton Sound in spite of the lack of timber, and it was not uncommon
to see it clinging to the sides of the houses, or to the flagstaff, and other
similar supports ; after resting awhile, and, perhaps, tapping a few times on
the unproductive logs, they would leave for a more promising field. They
were seen at times passing from one alder patch to another, on the hill-sides,
and they follow the spruces and other trees to the shore of the sea.
While I was camping in spring, at the Yukon mouth, these birds were
rather common in the dense bushes along this stream and its tributaries. Their
holes were frequently found in the decaying stubs, although I did not find
a nest containing eggs. This species appears to frequent deciduous thickets
and trees by preference, as, in addition to the various times which I saw it in
the interior in winter, while at the Yukon mouth, I always found it about loca-
tions where only deciduous trees and bushes were found, and its holes were
always made in cottonwood or birch-stubs.
Judged from what little is known about them, the nesting, food,
and other habits of Nelson's downy woodpecker do not differ ma-
terially from those of its more southern relatives, except as influenced
by its different environment. Living in the far north, where trees are
small and scarce, it has to be content to excavate its nest in small
trees or low stumps. There are very few eggs in collections ; a set of
five eggs in the Thayer collection was taken from a hole 4 feet from
the ground in a rotten stump, near Fort Saskatchewan, Canada, on
June 10, 1898. These eggs are like other eggs of the species, pure
white, ovate in shape, and somewhat glossy. The measurements of 31
eggs average 19.54 by 15.43 millimeters; the eggs showing the four
extremes measure 21.9 by 16.1, 19.4 by 16.4, 17.5 by 15.0, and 18.65
by 14.28 millimeters.
DRYOBATES PUBESCENS TURATI (Malherbe)
WILLOW WOODPECKER
HABITS
The downy woodpeckers of California were for many years all
called D. p. galrdneri, until Dr. Walter K. Fisher (1902) called
attention to the smaller and lighter-colored race, which inhabits much
of the coast region and nearly all the lowlands of southern Cali-
fornia. For this race, he very properly revived Malherbe's name, as
given above, for this name was based on birds taken near Monterey.
He gives as the characters of the willow woodpecker :
Smaller than Dryobates piibescens gairdneri, with smaller feet; under parts
lighter ; the elongated superciliary patch and rictal stripe extending over sides
of neck, pure white, instead of smoky white of gairdneri; tertials always more
or less spotted with white. * * *
Dryolates puhescens turati is a southern representative of gairdneri, which
it resembles in the smoky under parts and restricted areas of white on the
70 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
wings, and from which it differs in its smaller size, much smaller feet, and
clearer white markings of head. The present form is near true pubescens of
the Southern States, but differs from it in having much less white on the wings,
the coverts and tertials of pubcscens being conspicuously and often heavily
marked with white. * * *
The willow woodpecker in a typical form breeds from Los Angeles and
San Bernardino counties north in the coast ranges to San Francisco Bay, and
along the west slope of the Sierra Nevada at least to Yuba County. Inter-
gradation with gairdneri occurs over the coast region north of San Francisco
Bay and in the mountains at the head of the Sacramento Valley.
Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsclale (1930) say of the haunts of the
willow woodpecker in the Lassen Peak region : "Downy woodpeckers
were seen most often close to streams and in orchards. Their forage
places included the limbs or small trunks of willow, alder, cotton-
wood, sycamore, valley oak, blue oak, digger pine, and yellow pine
trees."
Nesting. — Major Bendire (1895) writes: "Mr. Charles A. Allen
informs me that it breeds in the oaks and willows along the Sacra-
mento River, Calif., but that it is not common. Its breeding sites
seem to be confined to deciduous trees, preferably dead ones, or old
stumps, and besides those already mentioned, sycamore and cotton-
woods are occasionally used. Their nesting sites are rarely found
at any great distance from the ground, usually ranging from 4 to
20 feet up and rarely higher."
W. L. Dawson (1923) says : "Willow woodpeckers, in the wild, place
their nests at considerable heights in deciduous trees, and those, if
possible, among thick growths on moist ground. Both sexes assist
in excavation, as in incubation. Partially decayed wood is selected,
and an opening made about an inch and a quarter in diameter. After
driving straight in for an inch or two, the passage turns down and
widens two or three diameters. At the depth of a foot or so the
crystal white eggs are deposited on a neat bed of fine chips. Incuba-
tion lasts twelve days, and the young are hatched some time in May."
Eggs. — The willow woodpecker lays three to six eggs, more com-
monly four or five; it may occasionally lay seven, as some of the
other western races have been known to do. The eggs are typical
of the species. The measurements of 40 eggs average 18.74 by 15.20
millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 22.3 by
15.7, 18.4 by 16.3, 17.3 by 14.5, and 18.0 by 14.4 millimeters.
Food. — Mr. Dawson (1923) writes:
It is as an orchardist that the Willow Woodpeclter deserves the most careful
consideration. Bird-lovers are, perhaps prone to superlatives in commending
their friends, but it is safe to say that a more useful bird for his ounces than
the downy woodpecker does not exist. He eats not only ants and the larvae of
wood-boring beetles, but scale insects, plant lice, and the pupae of the detest-
able coddling moth. The evidence is clear that these incomparable tree experts,
together with their friends, the nuthatches, the chickadees, and the creepers.
WILLOW WOODPECKER 71
would insure the health of our orchards if they were numerous enough. It
becomes of the highest importance, then, to study their welfare in turn. In
the northern and more elevated valleys of the State, it may be worth while
to offer them nuts or to hang out a bit of suet in winter. In the South no such
precautious are necessary. A fundamental consideration, however, is the pro-
vision of suitable nesting sites. Experiment has shown that the downy's forage
range dui'ing the breeding season is not extensive. The clamoring young are
fed by the product of nearby trees (fed, it may be, a thousand insects a day).
Their services, therefore, must be secured in the orchard ; and to this end the
orchardist must consent to leave certain dead branches — a foot or so at the
base of the larger ones will do — for a nesting site. Dead wood, of course, invites
insects ; but the most serious and frequent mistake which our California or-
ehardists make is to trim out all the dead wood from the fruit trees. A pair of
Willow Woodpeckers, or of Slender-billed Nuthatches, will clean out all the
dangerous pests from a dead tree, and sixteen live ones to boot.
Grinnell and Storer (1924) made some studies of the feeding habits
of the willow woodpecker in the Yosemite region, of which they say :
A pair of Willow Woodpeckers proved to be regular tenants of Curry's apple
orchard on the floor of the Yosemite Valley. They, or their ancestors, had
evidently worked there for some years, with the result that most of the 150
trees in the orchard showed marks of their attention, and many of the trunks
were fairly riddled with drillings somewhat like those of the sapsucker. * * *
However destructive this drilling may seem to be, it does not seriously affect
the vitality of the trees ; the pits are but 4 to 5 mm. deep, penetrating only
those outer layers of the bark which after a time scale off. We should judge
that all evidence of this woodpecker's work is thus removed through natural
process within about three years. The heartwood of the tree therefore seems
not to be damaged at all by the woodpecker's work ; it is damaged, however,
by the work of the true sapsucker. Our inference from these facts is that the
willow woodpecker feeds on the inner layers of bark, which the bird exposes
through the perforations described above. We watched a bird at work ; more-
over, bits of inner bark-fibers were found adhering to the bristles around the
bill of a bird shot.
Evidently this observation and report started the same old con-
troversy that arose in connection with the eastern bird, which has
been referred to under that subspecies. Charles W. Michael inti-
mated, in course of conversation with Dr. Grinnell, that they were
mistaken in ascribing these drillings to willow woodpeckers rather
than to red-breasted sapsuckers. This led to the publication, by Dr.
Grinnell (1928a), of the evidence produced by Mr. Michael and him-
self, to which the reader is referred. In spite of some evidence, and
more supposed evidence, to the contrary, it now seems to be generally
conceded that the downy woodpeckers seldom, if ever, drill these
holes for themselves, but that they often feed from holes drilled by
sapsuckers. The small amount of drilling done by the doAvny wood-
peckers seems to do the trees no great harm.
Behavior. — Grinnell and Storer (1924) write:
The quietness of the willow woodpecker, as compared with most other species
in its family, is noteworthy. We heard no single call note from it, and only at
72 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
long intervals did we hear the indescribable short trill characteristic of this
bird. Individuals are much restricted in range, foraging along a relatively
short line of cottonwoods or wUlows day after day. Once a bird is located, it
can usually be found in the same place regularly. When foraging it moves
about with very little commotion, and even when drilling for insects works so
quietly that only a keen auditor can detect its presence. No matter what the
season of the year, a pair of these birds is to be found usually within hearing
of each other. The bird's close adherence to deciduous trees makes it more
conspicuous and easier to observe in late fall and winter than in the summer-
time when the trees are fully leaved out; but even in winter, our experience
with the willow woodpecker led us to consider it about the most elusive of all
the diurnal birds of the Yosemite region.
We had always supposed that the rapid series of notes uttered by this species
were given only by the adult male and hence constituted a sort of song. But on
June 24, 1920, in Yosemite Valley a juvenile male was found, with his head out
of a nest hole eight feet above the ground in a dead branch of a live willow,
giving every few moments this very series of notes. The large croivn patch of
red on this bird established its age and sex clearly. There was every indica-
tion that the notes were being given as a food call,
M. P. Skinner contributes the following note :
One seen in Sequoia National Park in August was drilling at the bases of
willow shoots near a river. It perched lengthwise of the stems. It managed to
keep well hidden, but worked industriously and did not change its position
much during the short time that I could see it. Later, I caught a glimpse occa-
sionally of the woodpecker's red head, although the bird kept hidden most of
the time. This reminded me that I had often wondered why red usually marked
11 woodpecker's head. Certainly it makes a wonderful recognition mark. In
that way it might well be that red on the constantly moving head of the wood-
pecker would be of value to the race.
DRYOBATES BOREALIS (Vieillot)
RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER
Plates 9, 10
HABITS
Contributed by Eugene Edmund MunPHBrr
Introduced to ornithology by Wilson under the name of Picus
querulus, the red-cockaded woodpecker is locally common throughout
the open pine country of the South Atlantic and Gulf States and
extends its range into the pine country of Oklahoma and Missouri.
Its preference is very definitely for the open woods, shunning the
dense thickets of second-growth pine and the deep recesses of the
cypress swamps even when the latter are only a few hundred yards
away from its chosen environment. These open pine woods, which
abound both in the Austro-Riparian and Carolinian Zones of the
South Atlantic and Gulf States, represent not a normal growth of
pine forest but an original pine forest modified by the pernicious
RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER 73
custom of annually burning the woods under the impression that in
that way next year's pasturage will be improved.
As a result, the younger trees and seedlings are killed off. Only the
hardier and more resistant survivors remain, so that there is little or
no underbrush and the general appearance of these woods is more that
of an open glade or park than of typical pine forest. William Brew-
ster (1882) comments on the character of these forests as follows:
"The pine lands of the South have an open park-like character that
is a continual surprise to one accustomed only to New England for-
ests. The trees rarely stand in close proximity to one another, and
they are often so widely scattered that the general effect is that of
an opening rather than a forest." These pines are chiefly Pinus
palustris Miller, Pinus ellioti Engelmann, and Pinus taeda Linnaeus.
From many sections of the South where it was formerly coimnon,
the red-cockaded woodpecker has disappeared by reason of the ruth-
less destruction of pine forests by the lumbermen. Wlien the large
timber is cut out, the birds leave the locality and apparently do not
return. However, there is still a considerable amount of pine forest
suitable for its nesting that is held in private hands and not about
to be destroyed. In fact, such timber holdings are largely on the in-
crease, particularly in the "low country" of South Carolina and
Georgia and in certain zones around Thomasville, Ga., and Aiken,
S. C, where vast tracts are being conserved by private ownership
as game refuges and shooting preserves.
There is also a very considerable amount of intelligent reforesta-
tion being carried out, which in time will also furnish adequate and
suitable breeding grounds. This species is so highly specialized at
least in the South Atlantic States in its habits and its choice of en-
vironment that the destruction of the pine forests would probably
put its existence in serious jeopardy.
Nesting. — ^Audubon (1842) stated that "the nest is not unfrequently
bored in a decayed stump about thirty feet high." G. W. Morse
(1927) found the bird nesting in a willow tree in a pasture in Okla-
homa. M. G. Vaiden (MS.) reports fi'om Collins, Miss., the taking
of a nest from a pine tree, the top of which was dead and the nest
hole about 8 feet from the top. Arthur T. Wayne (1906), who has
probably had more intimate experience with this bird than any other
observer, states :
I have seen perhaps a thousand holes in which this woodpecker had bred or
was Breeding, and every one was excavated in a living pine tree, ranging from
eigliteen to one hundred feet above the ground. This bird never lays its eggs
until the pine gum pours freely from beneath and around the hole, and in order
to accelerate the flow the birds puncture the bark to the "skin" of the tree
thereby causing the gum to exude freely. This species, unlike the Pileated Wood-
pecker, returns to the same hole year after year until it can no longer make
00801—39 6
74 BULLETIN" 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
the gum exude. But like the Pileated Woodpecker, it is much attached to the
tree in which it has first made its nest, and as long as it can find a suitable
spot it will continue to excavate new holes until the tree is killed by this process
of boring. I have frequently counted as many as four holes in one tree, and
in two instances I have seen as many as eight. These birds seem to know by
instinct that the center of the tree is rotten, or what lumber men call "black-
heart," and they never make a mistake when selecliiig a tree ! The hole is bored
through the solid wood, generally a little iipward, and to the center of the tree
(which is always rotten).
The overwhelming majority of observers who have studied the red-
cockaded woodpecker in its normal habitat concur in the opinion
that the site of selection for the nest hole is in a living pine that,
however, has begun to rot at the core, and this condition of the heart
of the tree the birds seem to be able to discern with unfailing ac-
curacy. All the nests I have seen and studied were in living pines,
and other ornithologists have made similar observations. T. Gilbert
Pearson (1909) says: ''So far as I have observed, always excavated
in the trunk of a living pine tree. The site chosen varies from
twenty-five to fifty feet from the earth." H, L. Harllee (MS.), of
Florence, S. C, writes: "It nests in the same hole each year in close'
proximity to several pairs, usually from two to four." The observa-
tions of Gilbert R. Rossignol (MS.), writing from Savannah, Ga.,
agree with the foregoing. He states: "Before the lumberman in-
vaded our great pine forests, the red-cockaded was fairly common,
for I have found 10 or 12 pairs nesting in a 50-acre tract, provided,
of course, that the pine trees were not too close to one another. These
little woodpeckers did not like dark heavily timbered forests. The
bird drills a hole in a living pine ranging from 25 to 80 or more
feet high, and it is almost impossible to get the eggs without full
equipment. It takes a brace and bit to bore holes a little above where
you think the bottom of the nest is located, and then sometimes you
strike below it, or again right into it on an incomplete set or no eggs
at all. The eggs I have found were always more or less sticky with
pine gum. This bird will nest in the same hole for several years
and use the same tree probably during its entire life, but if the tree
dies, or the gum does not flow freely, the birds will desert their old
home." Henry Nehrling (1882), writing from Texas, states that "it
usually excavates its nesting sites in deciduous trees," and E. A.
Mcllhenny (Bendire, 1895) that "in southern Louisiana it generally
nests in willow and china trees." The nesting hole is bored usually
slightly upward for several inches then straight through into' the
softer unsound heart of the tree and downward for 8 inches to a
foot or more. The nest cavity is gourd-shaped, and the eggs are
laid upon fine chips and debris in the bottom of the cavity. The
most striking thing about the nesting site, however, is due to the
bird's custom of drillino- numerous small holes throujrh the bark of
RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER 75
the tree until the resin exudes freely. This glazed patch of gum
around the nesting hole is unmistakable and when once seen becomes
an easy landmark for the location of the nests, inasmuch as it may be
discerned through the open woods for a distance of several hundred
yards. During the period of incubation, the birds are a sorry spec-
tacle, the abdomen being largely denuded of feathers, as is customary
with many birds, and the breast feathers from the clavicle to the
end of the sternum begaumed and matted togetlier with resin, and,
in fact, they remain permanently unfit to be taken as specimens
until the next molting has been completed.
The nidification is earlier along the coast and southward than in
the interior and toward the northern limits of its range, beginning
sometimes as early as February, but the major nesting season may be
said to be the last week in April and the first week in May.
S. A. Grimes tells us that old nests of this species are used by red-
bellied and red-headed woodpeckers, white-breasted nuthatches, blue-
birds, crested flycatchers, and flying squirrels.
Eggs. — The eggs vary from three to five in number, the latter
being unusual; they are elliptically ovate in shape, pure glossy white,
and semitranslucent when fresh. Not infrequently they are stained
or smeared with resin from the breast feathers of the incubating bird.
As a rule only one brood is raised in a season unless the first set has
been taken, and both parents participate in incubation. There is
some evidence tending to show that the eggs and even the unfledged
young are sometimes thrown out of the nest by the birds when it
has been disturbed.
The measurements of 50 eggs average 24.04 by 17.86 millimeters;
the eggs showing the four extremes measure 26.42 by 18.54, 26.4 by
19.8, 21.38 by 17.46, and 23.77 by 16.66 millimeters.
Plumages. — The young in their first plumage bear the general
color pattern of the adults with this important exception — ^the young
male has a dull crimson oval central crown patch. However, while
the pattern is identical with that of adult birds, the black is replaced
by a dark sepia merging at times into an aniline black, and the bluish
gloss evident on the crowns of the mature birds is lacking. Similarly,
the feathers of the cheek patch in both sexes lack the fine silky gloss
and texture that are later attained. The underparts show uniformly
a buffy or ochraceous wash everywhere, and the barring of the tail
is more pronounced. During this phase, the plumage is much softer
and looser than it subsequently becomes.
With the first molt, the red crown patch is lost.
It is the belief of the writer, without sufficient specimens properly
to verify it, that the cockades of the full adult male plumage are not
attained until at least the third molt. Without careful dissection and
sex determination of the immature birds, a fact notoriously difficult
76 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
to the average ornithologist, the young of both sexes, after the crown
patch is lost and the cockades have not appeared, would be indis-
tinguishable.
Food. — The food, like that of most woodpeckers, consists primarily
of larvae of various wood-boring insects, although beetles and grubs
of other kinds as well as ants, grasshoppers, crickets, and caterpillars
are frequently taken. An interesting habit of the red-cockaded wood-
pecker is that of going into the cornfields throughout the South at the
time when the corn is at the roasting-ear stage and when many of the
ears are infested with a worm that damages the grain to a very con-
siderable extent. This habit is reported by Billy Ward (1930), of
Timmonsville, S. C, and by Edward Dingle (1926), of Mount Pleas-
ant, S. C, who says, "The Ked-cockaded Woodpecker {Phreno'picus
horealis) is very commonly found in cornfields during the time the
corn is in the ear ; in fact, the bird spends a large part of its time at
this season in extracting the worms that bore into the ears of corn.
I have often, at short distance, watched them engaged in this valuable
work." They also feed on pine mast, the small wild grape, poke-
berries, and other small wild fruit. I have never seen them in orchards
or in fig trees, where the red-headed woodpecker is frequently found
feeding.
As far as is known, this species does not visit cultivated fields, ex-
cept as above referred to, or orchards and is not destructive to fruit
and deserves to be regarded as wholly beneficial. This statement takes
into account the fact that a number of observers say that they will con-
tinue to bore into certain pines that they have selected for a nesting
site until the tree is killed. The fact is, however, that the tree is
diseased and unsound before the woodpecker begins to utilize it and
is already worthless for lumber, so that this species seems w^orthy of
complete protection.
Behavior. — The bird is strikingly gregarious as compared with
other woodpeckers and is ordinarily to be found in small groups
of six, eight, or even ten individuals, which seem to keep in con-
tinuous touch with one another, calling back and forth, sounding
their drum roll on resonant timber and apparently not satisfied un-
less assured of the near presence of the group.
This behavior is no doubt due to the fact that the family remains
together until early in winter, although family groups are probably
joined by other individuals until the number above referred to is
attained. Numerous observers speak of the frequent association of
the red-cockaded woodpecker with other birds. This to the mind of
the writer, however, is purely accidental and is due to the fact that
there are certain species of birds that inhabit the open pineries and
-have common feeding ground and habitat. It is true that one often
sees bluebirds, tufted titmice, white-breasted and brown-headed
RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER 77
nuthatches, and red-cockadecl woodpeckers in the same woodland and
that when sitting quietly and concealed all the species mentioned
pass in review before the observer, but probably it is not a true
gregariousness that embraces all these various species; rather the
restlessness that so frequently seems to possess the avian population
of a given tract of woods communicates itself from one to the other
and the entire avifauna of a limited patch of woodland begins to
move in a certain direction perhaps because of some alarm which
has been communicated from one member of the group to the others.
These woodpeckers are exceedingly active, galloping from one
tree to another and rapidly ascending it in quest of food or ap-
parently often merely to secure a better observation point some-
where near the top of the tree. Their usual custom is to ascend
the tree in spirals, although they have frequently been observed
to continue a straight course up the trunk particularly when feeding.
The bird may be described as wary rather than shy and is most
adept at the familiar woodpecker trick of keeping the trunk of the
tree between an approaching observer and itself.
As a rule they do not feed close to the ground, nor have I ever
observed one on the ground even after the burning of a woodland,
at which time the flicker and the red-bellied woodpecker may both be
observed on the ground searching for grubs and insects killed by
the blaze. Dr. Irving Phinizy (MS.) states that he has on sev-
eral occasions observed the red-cockaded woodpecker descend a tree
in a series of backward hops. This the writer has never observed.
Arthur H. Howell (1932) states that the ivorybill inches back-
ward down a tree, a somewhat different procedure. Frequently also
they are observed, particularly when feeding near the top of a pine
and out toward the end of a limb, to descend the hanging limb
nuthatch fashion. Much of their feeding is done in the highest
branches of the trees, and they seem to have a predilection for re-
maining there, spending a considerable portion of their time in the
very crown of the tree, where they are very difficult to see.
They are exceedingly quarrelsome, particularly during the breed-
ing season, yet their quarrels do not seem to be so serious or so pro-
longed as those of the red-headed woodpecker ; and not infrequently,
after the lapse of a very little time, birds that have been scold-
ing one another most extensively again alight on the same pine
tree and go about their respective businesses in perfect amity.
C. J. Maynard (1896) states, concerning its habits, as follows:
Wilson called the Cockaded Woodpeckers, Picus querulus, and this seems, at
first glance, to be a most appropriate name, for, of all the family, these are
not only the most noisy, but their notes are given in a decidedly fretful tone
as if the birds were constantly in an irritable state of mind. It must have
been upon the impulse of the moment, however, that the Pioneer Ornithologist
78 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
gave them the name of Querulus Woodpeckers, for a close study of their
habits gives a very different impression of them. They are, in fact, a most
jovial class of birds, being almost contantly engaged in sporting about the
tops of tall pines or chasing one another from tree to tree, uttering their
peevish sounding notes very frequently when in the best humor. The noise is
more noticeable because they congregate in flocks, and it is quite rare to find
even a pair v^^ithout other companions. They are also fond of the company of
other members of the family and will even associate with the Jays, Blue
Birds, or Warblers. This gregarious instinct does not forsake them during
the breeding season, for they build in detached communities. The nests are
almost always in living pines, often thirty or forty feet from the ground ;
thus, as the trunks of these trees are covered with a smooth bark, it is
quite difiicult to climb them and, when the nests are reached it is not easy
to cut the hard wood, especially as the straight trunks afford no foot-hold.
In flight, the cockaded woodpeckers resemble the downy but when they
alight they strike the object upon which they wish to rest very hard. Like
the preceding species, they are also exceedingly agile, moving spirally up the
tall tree trunks with great celerity. Although they will occasionally alight
near the ground, yet they spend the greater part of their time in the tops of
the lofty pines ; in fact, they pass a large portion of their lives there, for they
are seldom, if ever, found elsewhere than in the piney woods and they inhabit
this kind of woodland even to the extreme southern portion of the main-land
of Florida.
The bird is resident throughout its normal range, although David
V. Hembree, of Roswell, Ga., in the very foothills of the Appalachian
Range, a lifelong student and collector of birds, writes me, "This
bird does not breed in this locality. I have never seen a nest. A few
are found here, nearly always males in April or May, and I have
always thought them to be migrants or strays from their regular
range."
In common with the other small black and white woodpeckers,
this species carries the vernacular name of sapsucker and in the main
is not differentiated from the others, although one astute lumberman
once said to me: "Speaking of sapsuckers, there is a piney- woods
sapsucker which is different from the others, leastways he acts dif-
ferent."
Voice. — The voice is variously described by different observers-—
"harsh and discordant," "almost exactly resembling the calls of the
Brownheaded Nuthatch," "resembling the yank-yank of a White-
breasted Nuthatch," "they have sharp calls more like loud sparrow
alarms than woodpecker notes," "resembling the querulous cries of
young birds."
The bird is noisy, and its call notes and scolding notes are to the
ear of the writer quite radically different, the scolding note being
more prolonged, somewhat rolling in character and lower in pitch.
There is a definite nasal character to a note that to that extent does
resemble the notes of the nuthatch. The note is quite characteristic
TEXAS WOODPECKER 79
and when once learned is distinguishable with ease from that of the
other small woodpeckers. It resembles more the high note of some
small Avoodwind instrument than anything else, having a definite
clarinetlike quality.
Descriptions of bird notes are notoriously variable because of the
variability of the human ear, and many attempts at phonetic repro-
duction of the bird notes are unsuccessful, and when, as is so often
done, the attempt is directed to reproduction in syllables, the result
is usually a futile and meaningless onomatopoeia.
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — Southeastern United States; nonmigratory.
The range of the red-cockaded woodpecker extends north to north-
eastern Oklahoma (Copan) ; southern Missouri (Shannon County) ;
Tennessee (Beersheba and Allardt) ; and North Carolina (Red
Springs and Beaufort) . East on the Atlantic coast from North Caro-
lina (Beaufort) to southern Florida (Long Pine Key). South on
the Gulf coast from the Florida Keys (Long Pine Key) to south-
eastern Texas (Houston). West to Texas (Houston) ; northwestern
Louisiana (Mansfield) ; probably western Arkansas (Mena) ; and
eastern Oklahoma (Tulsa and Copan).
Casual records. — It seems probable that this species may breed or
upon occasion has bred in the vicinity of Raleigh, N. C, as it was
noted there several times in April from 1890 to 1898. It also has
been reported as seen at Piney Creek, N. C, on July 6, 1932, and on
September 12, 1933.
A specimen in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
was collected near that city in 1861 ; one in the collection of the Ohio
State University was taken near Columbus, Ohio, on March 15, 1872.
According to Stone (1909) the collection of George N. Lawrence
contained a specimen taken near Hoboken, N. J.
Egg dates. — Florida: 30 records, April 3 to May 28; 15 records,
April 29 to May 20, indicating the height of the season.
South Carolina : 14 records, April 27 to May 28.
DRYOBATES SCALARIS SYMPLECTUS Oberholser
TEXAS WOODPECKER
HABITS
This is the subspecies that was formerly known as Baird's wood-
pecker, Dryohates scalaris bairdi, which was then understood to be
the resident bird of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. But when
Dr. H. C. Oberholser (1911b) revised the scaUris group, the name
bairdi was restricted to the bird of central Mexico, and the Texas
80 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
bird was described, as a new subspecies, under tlie above name. It
was characterized as follows:
Resembling Dryobates scalaris cactopMlus, but male smaller; upper parts
lighter, the white bars wider, the black bars narrower, and with more white
on pileum; and sides of breast less often streaked (mostly spotted). * * *
This new subspecies differs from Dryobates scalaris bairdi, from Hidalgo,
much as does Dryobates scalaris cactophilus, except that it is smaller, and still
more extensively white on all the upper parts.
This race reaches its extreme development in Texas; and specimens from
central Tamaulipas and central Nuevo Leon are not so light above, showing a
tendency toward Dryobates scalaris bairdi. They are also somewhat more
smoky below. There is, however, no difference in size between examples from
Texas and Tamaulipas.
The range of the Texas woodpecker extends northward into south-
eastern Colorado and southward into southern Tamaulipas. George
Finlay Simmons (1925) says that in Texas it is "rather general in
distribution and in choice of habitat ; somewhat open post oak woods
and oak upland gravel terraces; mesquite forests; hackberry shade
trees in town ; mesquite association pasturelands ; open woods not far
from water; marginal timber along streams. In the hills, cotton-
woods and oaks along stream bottoms; wooded slopes of gorges. In
winter, leafless city shade hackberry trees."
The Texas woodpecker is widely distributed and fairly common all
over Texas, except in the extreme eastern and extreme western por-
tions ; it is a well known and familiar bird, just as our eastern downy
woodpecker is in the East; it is locally known as the "Texan sap-
sucker" or "ladder-backed woodpecker." Most of its habits are similar
to those of the cactus woodpecker, but it seems to enjoy a somewhat,
more diversified habitat and is more inclined to forage and nest in
larger trees; it is not so strictly confined to the deserts and their
environs.
Nesting. — ^Mr. Simmons (1925) says that the nest is located from
"4 to 25, average 12, feet from ground, in rotten stubs or dead and
partly decayed branches of oak, mesquite, hackberry, and willow
trees, usually alongside lake, river, creek, or ravine; when suitable
trees are not to be found, nests in cedar fence posts or telegraph poles
along roadsides; when in mesquite tree on mesquite-covered prairie,
entrance of cavity on under side of low, drooping limb. * * *
Entrance diameter 1.50. Depth of cavity 7 to 8, rarely 10."
Eggs. — The Texas woodpecker lays 2 to 6 eggs, usually 4 or 5,
rarely as many as 7. These are indistinguishable from the eggs of
the cactus woodpecker. The measurements of 51 eggs average 20.50
by 15.83 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure
22.86 by 15.75, 20.32 by 17.02, 17.27 by 15.49, and 19.05 by 14.73
millimeters.
TEXAS WOODPECKER 81
Food. — Mr. Simmons (1925) says that it "searches high up on the
knotty trunks of oak trees in open groves for Larvae and eggs of in-
jurious wood-boring insects, for the aduhs of similar as well as
other insects, and for weevils and ants."
Voice. — Simmons (1925) says that this is "usually a thin, high-
pitched, shrill cheek; tcheeh., qijueeip or queep-queep., uttered as the
bird gives a hop in its progress up the tree-trunk. Sometimes an in-
credibly rapid, shrill, ringing, even, not-so-high-pitched cheeky-
cheeky - cheeky - cheeky - cheeky or tchee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-
dee-deet; less commonly, chickp.^ chickp^ chick-chick-chick-chick-
chick-chick-chick-chick. Drums rapidly with its bill on dead limb of
tree at any time of year."
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — Southwestern United States, Mexico, and British Hon-
duras; nonmigratory.
The range of this woodpecker extends north to southern California
(Hesperia and Needles) ; southern Nevada (Upper Cottonwood
Springs) ; southern Utah (Virgin Kiver Valley) ; and probably south-
eastern Colorado (Swink). East to probably southeastern Colorado
(Swink and Springfield) ; western Oklahoma (Kenton and Hollis) ;
Texas (San Angelo, Kerrville, Boerne, San Antonio, Corpus Christi,
and Brownsville) ; Tamaulipas (Presas and Ciudad Victoria) ; Yuca-
tan (Chichen-Itza) ; Quintana Koo (Cozumel Island) ; and British
Honduras (Manatee Lagoon and Ycacos Lagoon). South to British
Honduras (Ycacos Lagoon) ; Jalisco (Zapotlan) ; Nayarit (Tres
Marias Islands) ; and Baja California (Cape San Lucas). West to
Baja California (Cape San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo, El Sauz, San
Fernando, and Cocopah) ; and southern California (Paint Canyon,
White Water, and Hesperia).
The range as above outlined applies to the entire species, which
has, however, been divided into 15 or more subspecies or geographic
races. Most of these, including the typical variety {Dryohates sca-
laris scalaris), are found only in regions south of the Rio Grande.
The four races found in North America are distributed as follows:
The Texas woodpecker (D. s. symplectus) is found from southeastern
Colorado south and east through east-central Texas to Coahuila, Ta-
maulipas, and Nuevo Leon. The cactus woodpecker {D. s. cacto-
philus) ranges from Avestern Texas through New Mexico, Arizona,
and southern Utah and Nevada south to northern Durango. The
western edse of the range of this race cuts across southeastern Cali-
fornia and northeastern Baja California. The San Fernando wood-
pecker {D. s. eremicus) is found in northern Baja California except
for the northeastern part. The San Lucas woodpecker (Z>. s. lucasa-
82 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
nv^) occurs in southern part of Baja California north to about
latitude 29° N.
Egg dates. — California : 7 records, April 11 to May 9.
Baja California: 12 records, April 16 to June 2.
Texas: 45 records, April 14 to June 22; 23 records, April 20 to
May 7, indicating the height of the season.
DRYOBATES SCALARIS LUC AS ANUS (Xantus)
SAN LUCAS WOODPECKER
HABITS
The ladder-backed woodpecker of the southern half of the penin-
sula of Baja California, Mexico, has long been recognized as a dis-
tinct subspecies under the above name. It inhabits the Lower Aus-
tral deserts from Cape San Lucas north to about latitude 29" N.
William BreM^ster (1902) says: "Mr. Frazar considers this wood-
pecker 'rather common and generally distributed in the cape region,
except on the mountains, where it was not met with.' He found it
most numerous about La Paz, but did not see it anywhere to the
northward of that place during his trip along the Gulf coast."
This is a smaller bird than Dr^yohates scalaris eremicus from the
northern half of Baja California ; both upper and lower surfaces are
lighter in color, with the white bars on the back broader and with
the sides of the breast spotted. Mr. Brewster (1902) writes :
All the characters which have been proposed for this Woodpecker are shown
by the large series before me to be subject to much variation, but this, as in
the case of Melanerpes (mgustifrons, is confined within limits wliich do not
overlap, if, indeed, they quite reach those of tlie bird's nearest allies. The
restriction of the black on the outer tail feathers is perhaps its best distin-
guishing feature, although this is not at all uniform, for many of my specimens
have three complete dark bars crossing both webs of the outer tail feathers,
while in one a fourth bar is only broken by a small space near the middle of
the feather. The width of the dark bars on the back is also variable, although
these bars are usually wider than in any of the allied forms. The feet average
larger than those of bairdi, but they are by no means always larger. A differ-
ence which I do not find mentioned in descriptions, but which is shown by my
series to be quite as constant as most of the characters that have been pro-
posed, is that the white spots on the top of the head are much larger and
more numerous than in bairdi, while the red is less vivid and more nearly
restricted to the crown and occiput.
Griffing Bancroft (1930) writes of this woodpecker, in central
Lower California, near the northern limit of its supposed range :
This little denizen of brush and thick undergrowth requires a heavy stand
of low cactuses in which to feed and rest. It occurs from the shores of the Gulf
to the mouth of Jose Maria Caiion. Though the rarest of the resident Picidae
it is still fairly common. Its nesting instincts are quite distinct from other
DryoMtes scalaris. They, similarly situated, would utilize sahuaro, it is true,
but they would also be prone to add such substitutes as dry mescal stfalks.
CACTUS WOODPECKER 83
telephone poles, tree yucca and mesquite and would, more often than not,
chose one of these other sites by preference. But lucasmius confines itself to
the cardon, at least in the district we were studying, selecting a single-stalked
giant cactus and drilling its hole very near the top of the plant. As a result
the nest-cavity is rather uniformly twenty feet above ground. The entrance
hole is at the top of a cavity typically five inches in diameter by fifteen in
depth. No foreign material is brought in for a nest. The eggs lie on the chips
that fall in the process of excavating.
The number of eggs in a clutch is two, three, or rarely four. The first two
weeks in May find almost all the San Lucas Woodpeckers at the peak of laying.
After the middle of the month nests with young may be expected. The parent
bird will ordinarily flush, especially if the cardon be tapped, but it is not very
nervous about its home. It is too busy with family duties to waste much
attention on strangers.
The eggs are similar to those of the other subspecies. Bancroft
(1930) gives the average measurements of 23 eggs as 22.9 by 18.1
millimeters. The measurements of 10 other eggs average 21.30 by
16.61 millimeters ; the eggs, in this series, showing the four extremes
measure 24.40 by 18.70, 23.70 by 18.80, 19.50 by 16.80, and 21.43 by
15.42 millimeters.
DRYOBATES SCALARIS CACTOPHILUS Oberholser
CACTUS WOODPECKER
HABITS
The ladder-backed woodpeckers are quite widely distributed in the
Southwestern United States and in nearly all Mexico and in British
Honduras, chiefly in the Lower Austral and Tropical Zones. When
Dr. Harry C. Oberholser (1911b) wrote his revision of this group,
he split the species Dryohates scalaris into 15 subspecies, 9 of which he
described and named as new subspecies. Only two of these sub-
species are found within the limits of the United States, and only
two in Baja California, giving us four on our Check-List.
The name Dryohates scalaris hairdi^ which was for a long time used
to designate the ladder-backed woodpeckers of the United States,
was restricted by Oberholser to a Mexican form. He gave as the
characters of cactojjhUus^ "much like Dryohates scalaris eremicus, but
smaller, particularly the tail and bill ; lower surface lighter, laterally
almost always streaked with black; upper parts lighter — the black
bars on back and scapulars narrower; wing-quills with larger spots
and broader bars of white; outer long rectrices with exterior webs
barred throughout with black; black bars on posterior lower surface
narrower."
Ridgway (1914) compares it with sy 771 pi edits, the Texas bird, as
"slightly larger, and with black bars on back, etc., decidedly broader."
The cactus woodpecker ranges, according to the 1931 A. O. U.
Check-List, from ''central western Texas through New Mexico and
Arizona to extreme northeastern Lower California and southeastern
84 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
California, north to extreme southern Nevada and southwestern
Utah, and south to northern Durango." It frequents the deserts, or
thej borders of the deserts, and the lower slopes of the mountains in
the Sonoran Zone, a hot, dry region where there are no trees of any
size and where this is about the only species of woodpecker found.
We never found it in the giant-cactus, or saguaro, region, where it
seemed to be replaced by the noisy Gila woodpecker and Mearns's
gilded flicker. W. Leon Dawson (1923) says:
Of course it must not be understood that the Cactus Woodpecker tries to
live in the central wastes of the desert ; for however much it may forage
over the creosote and cholla patches, on occasion, it requires something of
more ample girth for a nesting site. Hence its breeding range is confined
to the more fruitful upper edges of the Lower Sonoran zone, and to the moister
bottoms. In the former situation the dried stalks of the agave and the lesser
yucca (whipplei) , or of the Joshua tree {Yucca arborescens) , and the Mohave
Yucca offer asylum. In the valley of the Colorado, fearing no rivalry from
D. puhescens tiirati, the Cactus Woodpecker is able to monopolize the willows
which grow so rankly along the lagoons.
Keferring to Arizona, Harry S. Swarth (1904) says: "This wood-
pecker is seldom seen above 5,500 feet, and rarely ventures into the
canyons. On the plains below, wherever there is brush or trees, and
all along the San Pedro River it is very common, as in fact, I have
found it in all similar places I have visited in southern Arizona."
Swarth says elsewhere (1929) :
In southeastern Arizona, east of the Santa Rita Mountains, the vast areas
of prairie laud are for the most part unsuitable to this species. Wherever even
a scanty growth of chaparral has found a foothold, though, the Cactus Wood-
pecker is pretty sure to occur, for it does not require large trees. Along the
streams and washes in this same area, as elsewhere, it does frequent the syca-
mores and other larger growths, but these do not form the preferred habitat.
In the lowlands west of the Santa Rita Mountains this woodpecker is in the
surroundings that suit it best. It does not frequent the giant cactus (I do
not believe that there is a known instance of its nesting in one), but stays
nearer the ground, in cholla cactus, creosote bush, catclaw or other low-
growing vegetation.
Nesting. — Major Bendire (1895) writes:
In southern New Mexico and Arizona it nests sometimes in the flowering
stems of the agave plant and also in yucca trees, and I have found it nesting
on Rillito Creek, Arizona, in a small dead willow sapling not over SY2 inches
in diameter. The cavity was about 12 feet from the ground and 10 inches
in depth, and the entrance hole a trifle over 1% inches in diameter. Tliis
nest was found on June 8, 1872, and contained only two eggs, in which incuba-
tion was about one-half advanced ; the eggs laid on fine chips. The nesting
sites are placed at various distances from the ground, from 3 to 30, usually
from 6 to 14 feet. Dead branches of trees or partly decayed ones seem to be
preferred to live ones. * * * j^ nests by preference in mesquite trees, one
of our hardest woods, and it must require a long time to chisel out a nesting
site in one of these trees. While it is true that the heart is usually more or
less decayed, the birds have first to work through an inch or two of solid
wood which is almost impervious to a sharp ax.
CACTUS WOODPECKER 85
Mrs. Florence M. Bailey (1928) says that in New Mexico the
nests are "from 2 to 30 feet from the ground in holes in mesquite,
screw bean, palo verde, hackberry, and China trees, willows, cotton-
woods, walnuts, oaks, and other trees, telegraph poles, fence posts,
and stalks of agave, yucca, and cactus."
While collecting with Frank C. Willard, in southern Arizona, we
found the cactus woodpecker fairly common about Tombstone and
near Fairbanks on the San Pedro River. Near the former place, one
nest was 6V2 feet up in a fence post ; the cavity was about 10 inches
deep and 314 inches in diameter at the bottom; another nest was in
a cavity 12 inches deep in the dry stalk of a mescal about 5 feet from
the ground. In the valley of the San Pedro River, we found a nest
about 12 feet from the ground in a willow stub; and another nest
was located in a stump of a willow beside a fence; it was only 6
feet up in the solid part of the stub, and so well concealed behind a
bunch of sprouts that we had passed it many times without seeing it.
Mr. Willard (1918) says:
Along the Sau Pedro River the Cactus Woodpecker (Dryobates s. cactophilus)
is the only one nesting at all commonly. In the lines of willows bordering the
irrigation ditches and in all the small groups found along the river bants, I
had quite a list of pairs whose nests I could count upon finding within certain
circumscribed areas. They exhibited individual characteristics. One pair
never dug its nest lower than twenty feet from the ground and usually selected
a site that overhung the water. Another liked short stubs not over five or
six feet tall. Another was partial to fence posts. While these selections were
not invariably followed they were so usual that I always began my search by
examining all the available sites of that character before looking at others and
was usually successful in my first search."
Eggs. — The cactus woodpecker lays 2 to 6 eggs, usually 4 or 5.
These are usually oval or short oval, sometimes elliptical-oval or el-
liptical-ovate. They are pure white and more or less glossy. The
measurements of 18 eggs average 21.48 by 16.18 millimeters ; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure 23.02 by 16.67, 22.5 by 17.0, and
19.2 by 15.1 millimeters. Bendire (1895) says that incubation lasts
for about 13 days and is shared by both sexes.
Plumages. — The young are probably hatched naked (I have not
seen any), as is the case with other woodpeckers, but the juvenal
plumage is acquired before the young bird leaves the nest. This first
plumage is much like that of the adult male, but the sexes are not
quite alike. In the young male, the forehead, sides of the occiput,
and the nape are uniform black; only the croAvn is scarlet, more or
less dotted with white. The young female is similar to the young
male, except that there is usually much less scarlet on the crown,
often only a few scarlet tips. In both sexes the back is barred with
dull black and grayish white, instead of the clear black and white of
the adult ; the under parts are "vinaceous-butf," faintly spotted on the
86 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
sides and flanks; the plumage is softer and the markings are not so
clearly defined as in the adult. Just how long this plumage is worn
I have not been able to determine, but July birds show signs of body
molt and an increasing amount of the clear black streaks of the adult
plumage on the sides and flanks. Probably a plumage that is prac-
tically adult is assumed by the first fall at the latest. Adults appar-
ently have a complete annual molt in summer, mainly in August.
Food. — The cactus woodpecker lives mainl}^ on the larvae of wood-
boring beetles, which it gleans from the trunks and branches of trees.
It also eats the larvae of the coddling moth and other Lepidoptera,
ants, caterpillai^, and cotton worms. It usually forages at low ele-
vations on small trees, shrubs, and various cacti and is often seen
feeding on the ground. Major Bendire (1895) says that this wood-
pecker, "like several other species, is very fond of the ripe figlike
fruit of the giant cactus, and I have met it more than once in
Sahuarito Pass, Arizona, eating it on the ground."
Voice. — Ralph Hoffmann (1927) compares the notes of the cactus
woodpecker with those of the downy woodpecker and says that
"the common notes are a single high-pitched tschik or a longer rat-
tling call with a slight fall toward the end. It often calls as it
flies, and like other woodpeckers drums in spring on dry limbs."
Dawson (1923) refers to the notes as "his pUnJc, plink, and his long
rolling chirrup."
Field marks. — A small woodpecker with the upper parts distinctly
and extensively barred with black and white is either one of the
races of Dryohates scalaris., commonly called ladderbacks, or Dryo-
hates nuttalli. These two species are very much alike in superficial
appearance and might be easily confused; but fortunately their
ranges do not overlap, except to a slight extent in some of the moun-
tain passes of southeastern California. Mr. Dawson (1923) says that
the cactus woodpecker "is browner above, more strikingly, heavily,
and numerously barred, with less of black on sides of head, and red
(of adult male) pervading crown as well as nape."
Winter. — W. E. D. Scott (1886) says that these woodpeckers "are
at times gregarious. I particularly noticed this in December, 1885,
when I frequently met the species in flocks of from four to a dozen, on
the plains at an altitude of 3,000 feet."
DRYOBATES SCALARIS EREMICUS Oberholser
SAN FERNANDO WOODPECKER
HABITS
This race of ladder-backed woodpeckers occupies the northern
half of Baja California, north of the range of Dryohates scalaris
luca^anus, \\'\i\\ w^hich it intergrades about midway the peninsular.
It is described by Dr. H. C. Oberholser (1911b) as "similar to Dryo-
NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER 87
hates scalaris lucasanus, but larger; lower surface darker; upper
parts darker, the white bars on back averaging narrower and less
regular, the black bars wider; black bars on posterior lower parts
averaging somewhat wider."
Very little seems to have appeared in print about this wood-
pecker, but, as it lives in a similar habitat to that occupied by the
San Lucas woodpecker, it probably does not differ materially from
it in habits. It lives in the lowland, desert regions and nests in the
giant cactus. Both races are said to be rather shy. It is replaced in
extreme northwestern Baja California by Nuttall's woodpecker and
in the extreme northeast by the cactus woodpecker.
Griffing Bancroft (1930) states that the measurements of nine
eggs of this subspecies average 21.7 by 16.7 millimeters.
DRYOBATES NUTTALLI (Gambel)
NUTTAL^•S WOODPECKER
Plates 11, 12
HABITS
Though closely resembling, superficially, the ladder-backed wood-
peckers of the scalaris group, Nuttall's woodpecker is a very distinct
species ; the ranges of the two species come together at several points
but do not overlap; and the habitats of the two are in different types
of environment. The 1931 A. O. U. Check-List gives the range of
nuttalU as "Upper Austral Zone west of the southern Cascade Moun-
tains and the Sierra Nevada from southern Oregon to northwestern
Lower California."
W. Leon Dawson (1923) described the haunts of this woodpecker
very well, as follows :
Although one who is forming the acquaintance of the Nuttall Woodpecker
soon learns where to look for him, his range is hard to characterize in terms
of associations. Upper Sonoran, foothill, oak, live oak, chaparral, deciduous
trees bordering narrow stream beds — all these apply to vuttnUl well enough,
but they are not exhaustive, save for the first, which is all inclusive. Within
Upper Sonoran limits it is, perhaps, easier to tell where he will not be found ;
thus, not (or only occasionally) in pine timber; not in stands of pure willow
(which are given over to D. pubcscens turaii) ; not in orchards, nor about
cultures of any sort; not, most decidedly, "nesting in giant cactus." Least of
all, is it "seldom found along streams," as one precocious authority avers. A
narrow canyon whose floor harbors sycamores and alders and bay trees,
nourished by a purling stream, and whose sides are lined with live oaks which
run up into ceanothus chaparral, is precisely the best place to look for D.
nuttaUi.
Nesting. — Major Bendire (1895) quotes the following contribution
from B. T. Gault :
I had been out on the bowlder plain [in the San Bernardino Valley 1 several
hours, on the morning of April 23, 1883, collecting birds, and spying a clump
88 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
of elder bushes in the distance, not far from the brook, the thought occurred
to me that I might talie a rest beneath their shade and at the same time be
ready for any bird that put in an appearance. These bushes, or more prop-
erly trees, are a great deal larger shrub than our eastern plant, their trunks
growing from 4 to 8 inches through ; and if they are not the same species, their
umbellate blossoms are strikingly similar, if not identical, to those of our
common eastern shrub (Saonbucus canadensis). I had hardly seated myself
on an arm of the shrub when my attention was attracted to a hole in the main
trunk, directly above my head. At almost the same instant a bird appeared
at the opening from within, and dodged back again as soon as she saw me.
The movement was executed so quickly that I was unable to tell whether it
was a wren or a woodpecker, but concluded that it was the latter. Upon
examination of the aperture it seemed to have been lately made. Of course
I thought that there would be no trouble in dislodging her, and commenced
to rap on the trunk of the shrub with the butt of my gun ; but this seemed
to have no effect. I then walked back about 50 feet, and taking a stand,
waited from ten to fifteen minutes in the hope that she would come out, afford-
ing me an opportunity to secure her and thus solve the mystery, but in this
maneuver I was also baffled. I then went up to the bush and shouted with
all my might, but this did not shake her nervous system in the least, when I
finally resorted to my jackknife in order to enlarge the orifice, but, from its
being such a tedious job, gave it up in disgust. The next morning I took
a hatchet along with me, for I desired very much to know what that hole
contained. It did not take me very long to cut a place large enough for me
to get my hand in, and I was thoroughly surprised to learn that the bird
was still on her nest. I pulled her out, and she appeared to be stupefied —
dead, apparently — but soon revived. Upon further inspection I found that the
nest contained eggs. The bird proved to be a female Nuttall's woodpecker,
and the eggs were pretty well advanced in incubation and would have hatched
in a few days.
The nest, which was about 5% feet from the ground, was nearly a foot
deep and about 5 inches wide. The hole at the entrance to the nest was but
a little larger than a silver half dollar. The eggs were six in number.
Mr. Dawson's (1923) remarks on the nesting of this woodpecker
are rather cryptic, but I infer from them that it nests in willows,
alders, elders, cottonwoods, sycamores, live oaks, and other oaks and
at heights varying from 21^ to 60 feet above ground. The only
nest of this species that I have seen was shown to me by A. M. Inger-
soll, while collecting with him and James B. Dixon, in San Diego
County, Calif., on April 9, 1929; the nest, which the birds had not
quite finished excavating, was about 30 feet from the ground in a
leaning, dead cottonwood tree (pi. 11). A set of four eggs in my
collection was taken by Henry W. Carriger, on April 23, 1897, in
Sonoma County, Calif.; the nest was in a dead limb of a large
laurel along a creek; he had taken a set of six eggs from the same
tree the previous year.
Eggs. — Nuttall's woodpecker lays three to six eggs, most commonly
four and often five. These are ovate, or rarely short-ovate or ellip-
tical-ovate. The color is dull creamy white or pure white, and some-
times rather glossy. The measurements of 47 eggs average 21.75 by
NUTT ALL'S WOODPECKER 89
16.27 millimeters; the eccfs showing the four extremes measure
25.0 by 16.0, 23.3 by 17.0, 19.30 by 15.75, and 19.7 by 14.6 millimeters.
Young. — The period of incubation is said to be about 14 days, and
to be shared by both sexes. Mr. Dawson (1923) says:
The male Nnttall not only takes a lively interest in all matters connected
with the nesting, but it is believed that he monopolizes the task of excavation.
Certainly he takes his turn at incubating, and he is invariably, in my experi-
ence, the more valiant of the two in defense of young. The female, however,
is probably the closer sitter, as there are several instances in which she has
submitted to the hand rather than forsake her trust. * * * When the
chicks are astir the father is fairly beside himself with joy and apprehension.
In fact, if you ever require a symbol of doting solicitude, picture a male Nuttall
woodpecker thrusting his head into a dark hole to make sure that nothing has
spilled out of it since his last inspection — which occurred exactly three seconds
ago.
Plumages. — The young are hatched naked, as with other wood-
peckers, but the Juvenal plumage is acquired before the young leave
the nest. The young male, in ju venal plumage, has the forehead,
occiput, and nape uniform dull black, leaving only the crown scarlet,
spotted or speckled with white dots; the black bars on the back are
dull black and the white bars are grayish white, instead of clear
black and pure white, as in the adult ; these bars are also less clearly
defined than in the adult; the under parts are yellowish white,
spotted on the sides and flanks less distinctly than in the adult, and
with pale dusky, instead of clear black ; the wings and tail are as in
the adult.
The young female is similar to the young male, except that the
red of the crown is more restricted and the forehead is streaked
with white. This plumage is, apparently, worn all through the first
summer ; I have seen young birds in this plumage as late as August
30. Probably early in fall a post ju venal molt produces a plumage
that is practically adult. I have been unable to learn anything
about the molts of adults. Ridgway (1914) says that spring males
have the "white streaks on forehead and crown much reduced in
size, sometimes obsolete, and red nuchal area more restricted,
through wearing off of red tips of feathers." The white streaks on
the crown of the adult female also wear away almost entirely during
winter, leaving the crown clear black.
Food. — The food of Nuttall's woodpecker is very similar to that
of the downy and other small woodpeckers. Prof. F. E. L. Beal
(1911) summarizes it by saying: "In its animal food the Nuttall
woodpecker is beyond criticism. Practically all of the insects eaten
are either pests or of no positive benefit. While some fruit is eaten,
it consists largely, and perhaps entirely, of wild varieties. Prob-
ably the worst that can be said of the bird is that it helps in the
distribution of poison-oak seeds."
90801—39 7
90 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Among the insect food, the most prominent items seem to be the
larvae of the very harmful wood-boring beetles Cerambycidae and
Elateridae ; other beetles are eaten largely, as well as ants and other
Hymenoptera, scales, plant lice and other bugs, weevils, cater-
pillars, spiders, flies, and millipeds. Prof. Beal (1911) says: "Two
stomachs contained each between 30 and 40 box-elder bugs {Lep-
tocoris trivittatus) . These insects have a way of becoming very
abundant at times and making a nuisance of themselves by invading
buildings in search of winter quarters."
The vegetable food consists mainly of wild fruits, such as black-
berries, elderberries, and the seeds of poison-oaks; a few acorns and
some grain are occasionally eaten. Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale
(1930) write: "Trees that this woodpecker foraged over were syca-
more, cotton, valley oak, blue oak (most frequently), digger pine,
yellow pine (rarely), and orchard trees. On June 3, 1926, one was
seen feeding on cherries in an orchard near Manton."
Behavior. — Florence M. Bailey (1902) says of this little wood-
pecker :
It has a nuthatch-like way of flying up to light on the underside of a limb,
and when hanging upside down turns itself around with as much ease as a fly
on a ceiling. * * *
He is a sturdy little fellow, and in flight will sometimes rise high in air and
fly long and steadily, dipping only slightly over the brush. He has the full
strength of his convictions and will drive a big flicker from a sycamore and
then stretch up on a branch and call out triumphantly. Two Nuttalls trying
to decide whether to fight are an amusing sight. They shake their feathers and
scold and dance about as if they were aching to fly at each other, but couldn't
quite make up their minds to so grave a matter.
Voice. — The same writer says of the voice of Nuttall's wood-
pecker: "At times the small Nuttall waxes excited, and shakes his
wings as he gives his thin, rattling call. All his notes are thin, and
his qiAee-quee-quee-quee'^p has a sharp quality. His chif tah is a
diminutive of the yV coh of the California woodpecker."
Ralph Hoffmann (1927) says: "One cannot remain long near a
grove of live oaks in the foothills of California without hearing from
some tree a hoarse ringing call 'prrip., often lengthened to a rattling
prm'TTt. It has the exclamatory quality of the Hairy Woodpecker's,
but is less clear and metallic, with more burr. * * * Like the
other woodpeckers the Nuttall, particularly in spring, drums on
resonant timber or telephone poles; it also gives at that season a
rapid, squealing quee quee quee quee^
Mr. Dawson (1923) says that this woodpecker "always has a
grouch on, and you are sure to be challenged as you pass, by repe-
tition of his double notes of distrust, ticket, ticket — ticket it.''''
Field marks. — Nuttall's woodpecker closely resembles the cactus
woodpecker, and where the ranges of the two species come together,
ARIZONA WOODPECKER 91
in southeastern California, there is a chance for confusion ; but their
ranges barely touch each other, and fortunately the habitats of the
two species are quite different and mainly well separated. Nuttall's
is somewhat lighter colored on the under parts, and the black bands
on the back are slightly wider than in the cactus woodpecker ; but the
best distinguishing mark, if the observer is near enough to see it,
is the black forehead and front of the crown, which in the male
cactus woodpecker is spotted with white and red. It is only slightly
larger than the downy woodpeckers but can be readily distinguished
from that species by the conspicuous, transverse barring of black and
white on the back, instead of the broad, white, longitudinal band of
the downies; there are also more white spots in the wings than in
the western races of the downy.
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — Southwestern Oregon, California, and northern Baja
California ; nonmigratory.
The range of Nuttall's woodpecker extends north to southwestern
Oregon (probably Ashland) ; and northern California (Weed and
Lassen Peak). East to California (Lassen Peak, Oroville, probably
Florence Lake, Owens Lake, and Redlands) ; and Baja California
(San Kafael and San Domingo). South to northern Baja California
(San Domingo and Ensenada). West to northwestern Baja Cali-
fornia (Ensenada) ; western California (San Diego, San Onofre,
Santa Barbara, Morro, Monterey, and East Park) ; and southwestern
Oregon (probably Ashland).
Egg dates. — California: 82 records, March 25 to June 14; 41
records, April 21 to May 6, indicating the height of the season.
DRYOBATES ARIZONAE ARIZONAE (Hargitt)
ARIZONA WOODPECKER
HABITS
Strickland's woodpecker {Dryohates stricMandi), a Mexican
species, was formerly recorded from southern Arizona by some of
the early writers; but Edward Hargitt (1886) discovered that the
Arizona bird was specifically distinct, described it, and named it as
a new species, Picus arisonae. He gave it the following diagnosis:
"P. similis P. stricklandi, sed dorso uniformi nee albofasciato dis-
tinguendus." The two species are quite similar in general appear-
ance, but stricklandi has the median portion of the back and the
whole rump broadly barred or transversely spotted with white,
whereas in arizonae these parts are uniformly plain brown, and the
markings on the under parts are in the form of large rounded or
subcordate spots, instead of streaks.
92 BULLETIN 174, UjSTITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
The range of the Arizona woodpecker includes southeastern Ari-
zona, southwestern New Mexico, Sonora, Chihuahua, and north-
western Durango; it is another one of tliose Mexican species that
barely crosses our southwestern border.
Henry W. Henshaw (1875) was the first to report this wood-
pecker, under the name of Strickland's woodpecker, as entitled to
a place in our fauna; he writes: "This rare woodpecker is a com-
mon species on the foothills of the Chiricahua Mountains, where it
was one of the first birds that met my eye when the section where
it abounds was first entered. Whether it extends upward, and finds
its home during a portion of the year among the pines that here
begin at an altitude of about 1,000 [10,000?] feet, I do not know. So
far as I could ascertain, at this season at least [August], it is con-
fined to the region of the oaks, ranging from about 4,000 to 7,000
feet, thus inhabiting a region about midway between the low val-
lej^s and the mountain districts proper."
Harry S. Swarth (1904) writes: "Although the Arizona Wood-
pecker is resident the year through in the Huachucas, it is singular
how the birds seem to disappear in the breeding season, that is from
the middle of April to the middle of June, when the young birds
begin to leave the nest. During this time their loud shrill call may
be occasionally heard from some wooded hillside, but the birds
themselves are seldom seen. I have taken specimens from the base
of the mountains, about 4,500 feet altitude, up to 8,000 feet, but they
are not often seen above 7,000 feet."
Nesting. — We found the Arizona woodpecker well distributed in
Ramsay Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains from the base of the
mountains up to 7,500 feet, but nowhere common. On April 15, 1922,
while exploring the lower part of the canyon, which is quite heavily
wooded with giant sycamores, various oaks, ash, maples, black wal-
nut, and locusts, we saw an Arizona woodpecker excavating a nest
hole in a solid dead stub, about 50 feet up near the top of one of
the big sycamores. The hole was on the under side of the stub and
deep enough to take in all the bird but the tail. A red-shafted
flicker was "yuckering" in the top of another big tree, and I think
it had designs on this nest, for it subsequently drove away the Ari-
zona woodpecker; and later on the nest was found to have been
deserted. We found only one occupied nest; this was at an altitude
of about 7,500 feet in a branch of Ramsay Canyon ; it was about 20
feet from the ground in a dead branch of a small walnut tree, which
^as growing up through an oak on the steep mountain side; the
entrance to the cavity, which was about 12 inches deep, was well
hidden; it contained three eggs well advanced in incubation on
May 16, 1922. The birds were heard in the vicinity, and one was
seen to relieve the other on the nest. Frank C. Willard's notes
ARIZONA WOODPECKER 93
record the finding of two nests of this woodpecker in the same
region on May 24, 1899; these were both in dea'd branches of oak
trees; one was 15 and one 18 feet from the ground, and the nesting
cavities were both 12 inches deep; "one bird was seen to leave the
nest and the other one entered it; after it got in, it stuck its head
out and uttered one sharp note, like a grosbeak's, which was
answered by its mate."
Major Bendire (1895) mentions a nest, found by Dr. A. K. Fisher
in Garden Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains, on May 14, that
was "in a large maple which overhung a stream. The cavity was
situated in a dry branch, about 20 feet from the ground, and was
about a foot in depth. It contained four young, which were still
naked." There are two sets of four eggs each in the Thayer collec-
tion; one was taken by O. W. Howard in the Huachuca Mountains
on April 24, 1902, from a nest in a mescal stalk, 8 feet from the
ground; the other was collected by Virgil W. Owen in the Chirica-
hua Mountains, on April 22, 1906; the entrance to the cavity was 9
feet up on the under side of a slightly leaning, dead and decaying
stub of an oak limb in a dead tree.
Eggs. — The Arizona woodpecker apparently lays either three or
four eggs; we have no record of more or fewer. The few that I
have seen are practically ovate; they are pure white and some are
quite glossy, others less so. The measurements of 27 eggs average
22.82 by 17.33 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes
measure 24.0 by 18.0, 19.9 by 16.7, and 22.5 by 16.5 millimeters.
Young. — The period of incubation does not seem to have been de-
finitely determined, but it is probably about 14 days, as with other
Dryohates. Both sexes assist in tliis task, and probably in the care
of the young.
H. S. Swarth (1904) writes:
About the third week in April they commence laying their eggs, and after
the middle of June the young birds begin to leave the nest, and soon become
quite abundant. I have never had any difficulty in approaching these birds as
they are usually quite tame and unsuspicious ; far more so than the generality of
woodpeckers, and the young birds are noticeably so. I have several times stood
within ten feet of a young bird, easily distinguishable by his red cap, as he
was industriously pounding on a limb without seeming in the least disturbed
by my presence, or showing any inclination to leave. On one occasion the
confiding, and in this case inquiring nature of the bird occasioned rather a
laughable scene. An acquaintance in the mountains, passing the camp one day
stopped to lead his horse down to the well which supplied us with water. A
young Arizona Woodpecker was sitting in an oak tree close by, and soon after
the horse began drinking he flew down, and lighting on the animal's hind leg
as on the side of a tree, hit it a vigorous rap or two. The horse and its owner
appeared equally surprised, and both moving a little the bird retreated to his
tree. It wasn't a minute before he was back again, this time on a front leg,
where he went to work with such energy as to start the horse plunging and
94 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
kicking in an effort to get rid of its curions assailant. Tlie woodpecker left
but did not seem to be particularly frightened, as lie sat on the wooden curb of
the well until he was left alone again.
Plumages. — The young are hatched naked but acquire the juvenal
plumage before leaving the nest. In three young males in my col-
lection, taken on June 20, August 4, and August 30, the upper parts
are much like those of the adult male, but the crown is more or less
invaded with scarlet or vermilion-tipped feathers, sometimes with
only a few scattered feathers and sometimes covering the whole
crown and nape; they are more heavily spotted on the breast and
more heavily barred on the belly than are the fall adults, and these
markings are dark sepia, instead of black, and less well defined than
in adults; the bills are smaller and weaker. Mr. Swarth (1904) says:
"In the young female, besides occupying a less extensive surface, the
red is less intense than in the male, and not as solid, that is there is
always more or less brown showing through. The red cap of the
juvenile bird seems to be worn but a short time, as a young female
taken September 4 has hardly a trace of it remaining."
Apparently the juvenal plumage is molted, including the wings and
tail, late in August or September, when the first winter plumage,
which is practically indistinguishable from that of the adult, is ac-
quired, Mr. Swarth (1904) says of the molt of the adult:
The Arizona woodpecker commences to moult about the middle of July, and
by the first week in September the new plumage is almost completely acquired.
The plumage of the breast, abdomen, and lower parts generally, seems to be the
first to be renewed, while the remiges, rectrices and feathers of the interscapu-
lar region are the last to get their growth. An old female shot on September 3
had practically completed its moult, with the exception of the tail feathers, none
of which were over half an inch long; while several specimens of both sexes,
taken during the last two weel^s in August, are in nearly perfect autumnal
plumage, except for some small patches of old feathers in the interscapular
region. Fall specimens are considerably darker on the back than birds taken
during the spring and summer, but the change is undoubtedly due to fading of
the plumage, as birds taken in the late winter and early spring, show not the
slightest traces of moult, and a series of birds taken from February to July,
show plainly the gradual change of coloration. Singularly enough the pileum
and back of the neck does not seem to fade as the dorsum does, and conse-
quently, while birds in fresh fall plumage are of practically uniform coloration
on the upijer parts, specimens taken in the late spring and summer have the head
and neck abruptly darker than the back and exposed portion of the wings.
* * * Of twenty-four specimens from this region [Arizona] four show more
or less traces of white bars across the rump ; one of these is a male in nuptial
plumage, one a male in freshly acquired autumnal plumage, one a female in
nuptial plumage (this specimen has some faint indications of white bars on some
of the scapulars as well), and one is a young male. Another spring female has
some white bars on the scapulars but none on the rump. Presumably this is a
tendency toward the Mexican species Dryobates stricklandi.
Food. — Very little seems to be recorded on the food of the Arizona
woodpecker, which probably does not differ greatly from that of
ARIZONA WOODPECKER 95
other members of the Dryohates group. It apparently feeds mainly
on insects and their larvae, but to some extent on fruits and acorns.
Mr. Henshaw (1875) says of its feeding habits: "Wlien in pursuit of
food, they almost always alighted near the base of the trees, gradu-
ally ascending, and maldng their way along the smaller limbs, and
even out among the foliage, appearing to prefer to secure their food
by a careful search rather than by the hard labor of cutting into the
wood in the way the hairy woodpecker employs its strength."
Behavior. — The same observer says of their habits :
Here they appeared to be perfectly at home, climbing over the trunks of
the oaks with the same ease and rapidity of movement that distinguish the
motions of the do-wny or hairy woodpeclver ; though their habits, in so far
as they are at all peculiar, are, perhaps, best comparable to those of the
red-cockaded woodpecker of the South (P. borealis), especially their custom
of moving about in small companies of from five to fifteen, though they were
occasionally found singly or in pairs. * * *
I found them at all times rather shy, and gifted with very little of that
prying curiosity which is seen in some of the better known species of this
family; and if by chance I surprised a band feeding among the low trees, a
sharp warning note, from' some member more watchful than the rest, com-
municated alarm to the whole assembly, when they took flight immediately,
showing great dexterity in dodging behind trunks and limbs, and making good
their retreat by short flights from one tree to another till they were out of
sight.
In the TVhetstone Mountains, Ariz., Austin Paul Smith (1908)
observed a female Arizona woodpecker —
working on an oak-trunk, not three feet above the base ; while the trees around
harbored unnumbered Bridled Tits (Baeolaphus tvollwcberi) , Lead-colored Bush-
tits (Psaltriparus plumbeus) and Rocky Mountain Nuthatches {Sitta caro-
Unensis nelsoni). Very often did I run across a similar assemblage, but rarely
were there more than one or two Arizona Woodpeckers in it. There is no
recollection at hand, of noting above four adult woodpeckers of this species in
view at once; more likely to chance upon a solitary individual than a pair at
any time. The noisiest occasion I can accredit to the species occurred one
spring day when two adult females were located, i^erched upon a horizontal
limb of a madrona, facing each other, and emitting a continuous volume of
characteristic woodpecker notes, the eifect being heightened by that peculiar
muscular movement which accompanies the vocal utterances of some Pici.
The continuity was possible by a relay system; and so engrossed were the
participants, that I approached to directly under the limb and stood there at
least two minutes, without being detected.
F. H. Fowler (1903) writes:
The Arizona woodpecker {Dryohates arizonae) is, outside of the alpine three-
toed and pileated, the most interesting member of the woodpecker family,
that I have ever seen. So far as I have noted, the species is never common,
never noisy, and never at rest. I have not found it except in live-oak woods,
and at Fort Huachuca ; on a good field day I used to see about six on an average.
Not even the chickadees are as active as this little woodpecker. He will alight
on the mam trunk of the tree, or generally one of the largest limbs, and
96 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
the moment his claws are fastened in the bark he begins an untiring search
for insects and grubs. He ascends rapidly in spirals picking and prying away
small pieces of bark in search of food; when a promising limb is reached out
he goes on it, often on the lower side. The search over in one tree, he wastes
no time in looking around, but launches out, with barely a glance to determine
the course, in his undulating flight to the next, there to repeat the performance.
When closely approached, he works around the tree v/ithout paying any especial
attention to the intruder, and when thoroughly frightened he will take flight
with as little warning as he does when simply in search of food. While
going up the tree he gives, from time to time, a characteristic call, much like
that of the hairy woodpecker.
Field marks. — The Arizona woodpecker should be easily rec-
ognized, as it is the only small woodpecker that has a uniformly
brown, unmarked back and crown, and lower parts thickly spotted
with black; the adult male has a red patch on the nape, and young
birds of both sexes have more or less red in the crown, less in the
female than in the male.
Winter. — This woodpecker is a permanent resident in southern
Arizona, moving down from the higher parts of the mountains to
the lower levels in winter. Mr. Swarth (1904) says that "in the
winter they seem to more particularly favor the large groves of
live-oaks along the foot-hills and at the mouths of the canyons;
scattering over the mountains and ascending to rather a higher
elevation upon the advent of the breeding season." W. E. D. Scott
(1886) writes: "Karely have I met with more than two in company,
and a family, two parents and three young, were the most I ever
saw associated together. But I frequently met in the fall a party
composed of Arizona jays, California woodpeckers, various Titmice
and Warblers, and a pair of Strickland's [Arizona] woodpeckers.
The birds I have met with them appear late in January or early in
February, and are apparently already mated."
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — Southwestern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona, and
western Mexico ; nonmigratory.
The Arizona woodpecker is found north to southeastern Arizona
(Canada del Oro and the Whetstone Mountains) ; and southwestern
New Mexico (probably the Animas Mountains and the San Luis
Mountains). East to southwestern New Mexico (San Luis Moun-
tains) ; Chihuahua (Cajon Bonito, Colonia Garcia, Temosachic, and
Apache) ; Durango (Metalotes and Arroyo del Buey) ; and Zacatecas
(Sierra de Valparaiso). South to Zacatecas (Sierra de Valparaiso)
and Jalisco (Nevada Volcanoe, Colima Volcanoe, Tonila, and San
Marcos.) West to Jalisco (San Marcos and Bolanos) ; eastern Sin-
aloa (Sierra de Choix) ; central Sonora (La Chumata mine and
Saric) ; and southeastern Arizona (Huachuca Moimtains, Santa
NORTHERN WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER 97
Rita Mountains, Rincon Mountains Pantano, and Canada del Oro).
The range as outlined is for the entire species, which has been
divided into two geographic races, the true Arizona woodpecker
(Z>. a. arizonae), occupying the northern part of the area south to
northwestern Durango, and the Colima woodpecker {D. a. frater-
culus), occupying the rest of the range in Mexico.
Egg dates. — Arizona : 8 records, April 20 to May 16.
DRYOBATES ALBOLARVATUS ALBOLARVATUS (Cassin)
NORTHERN V/HITE-HEADED WOODPECKER
Plates 13, 14
liAliiTS
The northern race of the white-headed woodpecker is found in the
Cascade Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, from Washington to Kern
County, Calif., and eastward into western Idaho and western Nevada.
It is a bird of the pine and fir forests in the mountains, ranging
from 4,000 to 9,000 feet during the breeding season, but coming down
to lower levels in winter. W. L. Dawson (1923) says: "This wood-
pecker is essentially a pine-loving species and is, therefore, nearly
confined to the slopes of the Sierras and the Transition zones of the
southern ranges. Only in winter does it appear at lower levels, and
then rarely beyond the pale of the yellow pine. So close is this
devotion of bird to tree that tlie woodpecker's feathers are almost
always smeared with pine pitch ; and I have found eggs dotted with
pitch and soiled to blackness by contact with the sitting bird."
Clarence F. Smith writes to me that he found this woodpecker
very common around a camp where he was located from June 25 to
July 10, 1935, in Tuolumne County, Calif., in the Transition Zone
at an elevation of about 4,000 feet. The camp was at one time a limi-
bering mill, and there was much dead standing timber nearby. Most
of the trees were Pinus yoiiderosa and P'mus lamhertiana.
Nesting. — The same observer says in his notes: "All the nests ob-
served, except one in a Querous kelloggi, were in dead standing stumps
of the pines. The stumps were mostly some 12 to 15 feet in height,
and the nests averaged about 8 feet above ground, with an approxi-
mate minimum of 6 feet. These nests may not represent a typical
situation, as they were undoubtedly the ones that were most obvious
to casual observation. Nests in higher locations would more easily
escape notice. We had at least 8 nests within a half-mile radius of
camp headquarters, and the birds were one of the commonest species
in the vicinity. None of the nests opened contained any lining but
chips of wood, and the cavities were about 14 inches in depth. None
of the nest trees were less than 2 feet in diameter at the point where
the nest was located. Many of the stumps had several holes in them.
98 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
some of which had been nests in previous years, and some of which
had been merely abortive attempts at drilling. The one nest in the
oak, referred to above, was in a live tree with a decayed heart."
Major Bendire (1895) writes:
Nidification usually begins about the micldle of May and continues through
June. The sexes relieve each other in the preparation of the nesting site,
which is usually located in a dead stub of a pine or fir; one that is partly
decayed seems to be preferred as it rarely excavates one in solid, hard wood.
The nesting sites are seldom situated over 15 feet from the ground, and some-
times as low as 2 feet. The entrance hole is about li/^ inches wide, perfectly
circular, and just large enough to admit the bird; the inner cavity gradually
widens towards the bottom, and is usually from 8 to 12 inches deep, the eggs
lying on a slight layer of fine chips, in which they become well embedded as
Incubation advances. Occasionally a rather peculiar site is selected. Mr.
Charles A. Allen found a nest of this species in a post in one of the snow sheds
on the Central Pacific Railroad, between Blue Canyon and Emigrant Gap,
about 40 feet from the entrance of the shed, and some thirty trains passed
daily within a few feet of the nest, which contained six eggs when found.
Milton P. Skinner sends me the following notes on nest building
by this woodpecker: "On May 10, 1933, I found one at work on a
hole in a stub of a tree, about 3 feet above ground. Although this
was in the Sequoia National Park beside one of the most used paths,
it was deepening the hole for a nest. Chips were scattered on the
ground below. After pecking a while, the woodpecker would get
into the hole and soon after back out again with a billful of chips.
It then opened its bill and let them scatter to the ground ; then back
to work again. Although this was as public a place as could be
found, and though the birds must frequently have been disturbed by
the crowds of people and were within reach of hundreds of children,
they succeeded in raising their brood of young. In spite of nesting
so low, most of these birds are usuall}^ seen from 20 to 50 feet, and
sometimes as high as 100 feet, above ground, working on the trees."
Of ten nests found by Grinnell and Storer (1924) in the Yosemite
region —
the lowest was located only 58 inches (measured) above ground and the highest,
15 feet (estimated). * * * No nest holes of this woodpecker vfeve found in
living conifers. Nor, on the other hand, do the birds seek what is commonly
known as rotten wood, that is, wood too soft for the nest cavity to be main-
tained against the incessant wear involved in the birds' passage back and forth,
incident to the rearing of a brood. The tree chosen must have been dead a
sufficient length of time for the pitch to have hardened or to have descended to
the base of the tree, and the outer shell of the tree must still be hard and firm,
whereas the interior must have been softened to a moderate degree by decay.
These conditions are not to be met with in every standing dead stub ; hence the
choice of a nest site becomes a matter of rather fine discrimination.
They found plenty of evidence of this discrimination in the many
unfinished nesting holes of varying depths that had been abandoned,
often several in the same stub. "Some stubs are literally riddled with
NOKTHEKN WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER 99
holes, these probably recording successive years of occupancy. One
stub had at least 6 fully excavated holes besides 11 or more pros-
pects * » * We were led to conclude from all this that the Wlute-
headed Woodpecker is either notional or else very particular, in the
selecHon of its homo. Evidence points strongly to the birds excavating
and occupying a new cavity each year, although one set of eggs was
found in a hole which had been dug in earlier years.
Thev made a number of careful measurements of four nests, at
heights varying from about 5 feet to about 10 feet above ground; the
S™1 dtaenfions varied somewhat, but the size of the entrance hole
was "surprisingly constant" ; in one case this hole was a perfect circle,
Tby 43 nillim^et'ers, and in another 37 by 37 millimeters; m the other
two cases the entrance hole measured 47 millimeters in he-f ^^ f
in width; translated into inches this shows a variation in the two di-
mensions of from 1.45 to 1.85 inches, which does not seem to be sui--
prisingly constant." The total depth of the cavity varied from 275 to
400 millimeters, or from about 10 to 15 inches.
Thev say further: "Two of the nest cavities we found were in such
unusual sites as lo call forth comment. One at Hazel Green was ni a
danting upright limb on a prostrate dead black oak runk lying in a
trn^sv meadow fully 150 feet from the margin of the forest. The
S warlva'ted on the lower side of the stub. The other nest was
at Tlarack Flat, in the butt end of an old log lifted above tlie
lund when the t^ee fell over a granite outcrop- This hoie was abou
n! feet above the ground, and as with the other there were piles of
'SSS -dWli (1930) mention a nest they found in
the Lassen Peak region that was "four meters up m the trunk o a
dead toDDed aspen." Bendire (1895 mentions a nest found near
Camp Harney Oreg., that was about 25 feet from the ground ma
deaTlimb of a pine ; this nest seems to be at about the limit as to heigh
aboveliound. A set in my collection was taken from a nest 10 feet
"T,;/-TtThite.headed woodpecker lays three to seven eggs, four
behig the commonest number, and five rather often. These vary n
sh"fe from ovate to short-ovate. They are pure white and moderately
fr quite glossy. Grinnell and Storer (1924) say : "The eggs m one set
had a wrinkled appearance at the smaller end as though that end had
Wn compressed before the shells had hardened. Eggs which are ad-
v'^ceZn nciltion are apt to be soiled by pitch; this is doubtkss
brouSt "n by the parent birds on their bills, feet, or plumage." Some-
times the el show tiny black dots, or are profusely smeared with
b S tom'rhe same caLe. The measurements «* 50 eggs averag
24.26 by 18.11 miUmieters; the eggs showing the four estiemes
100 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
measure 26.40 by 18.29, 25.40 by 19.50, 21.84 by 17.78, and 22.86 by
16.76 millimeters.
Yoimg. — Incubation is said to last for 14 aays and to be shared
by both sexes. Both parents also assist in the care and feeding of
the young. Clarence F. Smith tells me that "the female at one nest
made trips about twice as frequently as the male; her visits were
about two minutes apart, while the visits of the male were about five
minutes." Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale (1930) write:
On July 1, the young woodpeckers, by this time half-grown, were being fed
by the parents, mostly by the female. Food was brought at intervals averaging
fifteen minutes each. The birds foraged at distances up to a quarter of a
mile away from the nest. The female carried away the feces.
On July 11 the female seemed to be coaxing the young from this nest.
When the young woodpeckers stuck their heads out of the cavity, the parent
would move away from the entrance and call, although it remained on the
tree trunk. When a person shook the stub two of the young birds flew out
and went thirty meters before coming to the ground. When placed on a tree
trunk the birds could move freely upward or downward. Within a few min-
utes one of the young birds could fly so well that it successfully evaded capture
by the observer.
Plumages. — As with other woodpeckers, the young are hatched
naked and blind, but the juvenal plumage is acquired before the
young bird leaves the nest. The juvenal plumage is much like that
of the adult but duller, and the bill is shorter and weaker ; the con-
tour plumage is softer and looser; the lower parts are brownish
black instead of clear black, and the back is only a little darker ; the
white in the primaries is more restricted. In the young male, the
posterior half of the crown is largely "vermilion" or "salmon
orange" ; these reddish colors are much reduced or entirely absent in
the young female. Eidgway (1914) says that the feathers of the
hind neck and underparts are sometimes, perhaps on younger birds
than I have seen, "indistinctly and narrowly margined at tip with
grayish, and the hindneck sometimes indistinctly spotted with
whitish." By the middle of September this juvenal plumage, in-
cluding the wings and tail, has been replaced by the first winter
plumage, which is like that of the adult, except for somewhat less
white in the primaries. Adults have a complete annual molt, which
begins in July and is generally completed before the end of Sep-
tember.
Food. — The white-headed woodpecker forages for its food mainly,
if not entirely, on the trunks and branches of coniferous trees, living
or dead. Mr. Skinner writes to me that he has seen it feeding on
the trunks of sequoias, sugar pines, and Douglas firs, searching most
diligently and thoroughly in the crevices in the bark for insects and
their eggs; it generally begins low down on the tree and progresses
upward, working pretty well up to the top of the tree before flying
NORTHERN WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER 101
off; occasionally, one has worked horizontally around a tree trunk,
but not downward. Dr. J. C. Merrill (1888) describes its method
of feeding very well, as follows :
So far as T have observed, and during the winter I watched it carefully, its
principal supply of food is obtained in the bark, most of the pines having a
very rough bark, scaly and deeply fissured. The bird uses its bill as a crowbar
rather than as a hammer or chisel, prying off the successive scales and layers
of bark in a very characteristic way. This explains the fact of its being such
a quiet worker, and as would be expected it is most often seen near the base
of the tree where the bark is thickest and roughest.
It must destroy immense numbers of Scolytidae, whose larvae tunnel the
bark so extensively, and of other insects that crawl beneath the scales of bark
for shelter during winter. I have several times imitated the work of this
bird by prying off the successive layers of bark, and have been astonished at
the great numbers of insects, and especially of spiders, so exposed.
Prof. F. E. L. Beal (1911) examined only 14 stomachs, but says
that "half of the animal food of the white-headed woodpecker
{Xenopicus albolarvatus) is ants, but the most pronounced character-
istic of this bird is its fondness for the seeds of pines, which constitute
more than half of the food."
Grinnell and Storer (1924) say: "Stomachs of two adult birds, ob-
tained at Merced Grove Big Trees on June 10, 1915, and at East Fork
of Indian Cailon, June 24, 1915, both held ants, some of which were
large carpenter ants. The stomach of one of the young birds from
the nest mentioned above contained remains of 2 large spiders, a
large ant, 2 boring beetles, and a whole fly larva."
Major Bendire (1895) quotes Eollo H. Beck as saying: "I noticed
one of these birds on some fallen logs near the road, busily engaged
in catching spiders, searching for grubs, and frequently flying after
passing insects, catching them in mid-air in the manner of the
California Woodpecker."
Behavior. — Dr. Merrill (1888) writes: "Though not shy, and with
care generally approachable to within a short distance, it is w^atchf ul
and suspicious, and seems to know very well what is going on even
if it does not see fit to fly away, though it is more apt to do this
than to dodge around the trunk. The flight is direct, and rather slow
and heavy." Dr. Merrill noted that the skull of the vv-hite-headed
woodpecker is "noticeably less hard and dense" than the skulls of
other woodpeckers; this is probably due to the fact that its method
of feeding requires less heavy drilling into hard wood.
Mrs. Florence M. Bailey (1902) says: '"''Xenopicus works with ap-
parent indifference on trunks or branches. Like the Nuttall wood-
pecker he often lights upside down. In hunting over the bark he
easily backs down the trunk, or if he takes the notion will fly, or
perhaps drop backwards, a foot or so. He will also light sidewise on
a branch and grasp the limb with his tail as if afraid of falling off.
102 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
It is interesting to see him explore cracks in the bark. Standing on
the edge he pokes his head into the dark cavern, turning it from one
side to the other inquiringly."
Grinnell and Storer (1924) write:
At Tamarack Flat, on May 26, 1919, a female white-headed woodpecker was
seen to flush from her nest about ten feet above ground in a dead pine stub.
Tapping by one of us on a nearby bole had caused her to leave, but she returned
to the vicinity almost immediately. Then, for fully 25 minutes, while the
observer remained within watching distance the bird foraged, preened, and
flew about from one to another of the circle of 8 or 10 trees within a 50-foot
radius of the nest, but always kept the nest tree in her sight. About every 5
minutes she would fly to the nest. In approaching it, she would swoop below
its level and then glide up to the site with decreasing speed so as to end her
flight with little, or no momentum. Then, having gained claw-hold, she would
poke the fore part of her body into the hole, withdraw it at once and repeat
this performance four or five times before flying away again. Finally, after
fully half an hour had elapsed, and her suspicions had been allayed, she went in,
to remain. During this entire time the male kept out of sight and was heard
only twice.
Van Kossem and Pierce (1915) noted its manner of drinking, thus:
"White-headed woodpeckers were often observed to drink at a small
stream near our camp at Bear Lake, where a pine sapling grew from
the edge of a small pool. On this sapling the birds would alight,
usually about three feet from the base, 'hitch' quickly backwards down
the trunk to the water, and, leaning sharply to one side, drink by
quick, nervous dips."
Another method of drinking is described by Grinnell, Dixon, and
Linsdale (1930), as follows: "In mid-afternoon one flew down from a
yellow pine to some shallow, running water in an open roadside near
Mineral. It alighted in a horizontal position on the ground and
dipped its bill into the water six times. After each dip the bird
raised its bill skyward at an angle of fully eighty degrees from the
horizontal. After drinking, the bird flew to a prostrate log, and for-
aged horizontally along its lower curvature."
Some observers seem to think that the white-headed woodpecker
rarely, if ever, drums on tree trunks, but seeks its food more quietly ;
but Alexander Sprunt, Jr., tells me that the birds he saw in Oregon
"drummed and beat upon the tree trunks and telephone poles at the
roadside, exactly as any other woodpecker." Clarence F. Smith
writes to me that "one male bird was a regular overnight guest, hang-
ing to the ridgepole of our cabin, outside the wall, just beneath the
eaves. He never made any attempt to drill the wood there."
Voice.—Grumoll and Storer (1924) say that "the usual call note of
this woodpecker is a single tviek, but when excited, the female calls
cheep-eep-eep-eep, very fast, and repeats the call every few seconds.
The male, under similar circumstances calls yip, yip, yip, yip, in a
much shriller tone, but in slower time." Mr. Dawson (1923) once
NOKTHERN WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER 103
heard "a double or treble call-note, chick-wp or chick-it-up, which re-
minded me somewhat of the Cabanis's cry." Major Bendire (1895)
heard it utter "a sharp, clear witt-witt'''' as it passed from one tree
to another; he considered it a rather silent bird.
Field marks. — The white-headed woodpecker could hardly be mis-
taken for any other bird. It is the only woodpecker with a wholly
black body and a wholly white head ; while perched it shows a long
white stripe in the wing, and while flying a large white patch in the
wing is conspicuous; the narrow red band on the nape is not conspic-
uous and can be seen only at short range and only in the adult male ;
young birds show more or less red in the crown. One would think
that such a strikingly marked bird would be very conspicuous, but
such is not the case ; its coloration is, in fact, somewhat concealing in
its chosen environment; its quiet behavior helps to make it less ob-
vious. For example, Dr. Merrill (1888) writes : "On most of the pines
in this vicinity there are many short stubs of small broken branches
projecting an inch or two from the main trunk. When the sun is
shining these projections are lighted up in such a manner as to appear
quite white at a little distance, and they often cast a shadow exactly
resembling the black body of the bird. In winter when a little snow
has lodged on these stubs the resemblance is even greater, and almost
daily I was misled by this deceptive appearance, either mistaking
the stub for a bird or the reverse."
Furthermore, Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale (1930) state that "it
was further observed that in usual pose, either when foraging or when
in digging or inspecting a nest hole, the whole back of a bird (either
sex) appeared to a nearby observer solidly black, clear to the top of
the head. The white showed only as a very narrow rim or border
anteriorly around the black of the head. * * * At the same
time the concealing black of the bird's dorsal surface must cover all
of the area of the bird exposed to the view of the potentially inimical
observer at more or less distance."
And again, Mrs. Bailey (1902) says:
Impossible as it would seem at first sight, I have found that the snow-white
head often serves the bird as a disguise. It is the disguise of color pattern, for
the black body seen against a tree trunk becomes one of the black streaks or
shadows of the bark, and the white head is cut off as a detached white spot
without bird-like suggestions. On the other hand, when the bird is exploring
the light-barked young Shasta firs or gray, barkless tracts of old trees, the
white of the head tones in with the gray and is lost, the headless back again
becoming only a shadow or scar. But the most surprising thing of all is to see
the sun streaming full on the white head and find that the bird form is lost.
The white in this case is so glaring that it fills the eye and carries it over to the
light streaks on the bark, making the black sink away as insignificant.
The activities of this and other woodpeckers play an important role
in the welfare of the forests and the lives of the little furred and
104 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
feathered denizens of the woods. It is a well-known fact that wood-
peckers are most useful in guarding the living trees and destroying
the insect pests that injure them; but Grinnell and Storer (1924)
have called our attention to the fact that woodpeckers in general, and
the white-headed woodpecker in particular, contribute, by their ex-
cessive drilling of nest holes, "rather directly toward bringing down
the standing dead timber." They continue :
DrDIing by woodpeckers results in an increase in the number of entrances
through which insects may get at the heart wood of a tree and thus hasten its
ultimate disintegration. Water, also, is thus afforded an easier entrance and
this hastens decay. Eventually each and every tree must yield its place in
the forest to seedlings. The woodpeckers hasten this process of replacement,
once the tree is dead.
Many of the wood-inhabiting animals depend upon this woodpecker to furnish
them convenient nest holes or retreats. We have found mountain chickadees
and slender-billed nuthatches incubating their own eggs in holes drilled in
earlier years by the white-headed woodpecker ; a Sierra flying squirrel was
found occupying an old white-head's hole. Probably, tree-dwelling chipmunks
and perhaps California pigmy owls also occupy holes of this woodpecker.
DISTBIBUTION
Range. — Pacific coast of the United States; occurring rarely in
southern British Columbia; nonmigratory.
The range of the white-headed woodpecker extends north to Wash-
ington (Methow Eiver and probably Fort Colville) ; and northern
Idaho (Fort Sherman). East to western Idaho (Fort Sherman and
Grange ville) ; eastern Oregon (Hurricane Creek, Powder River
Mountains, Anthony, and Camp Harney) ; western Nevada (Carson) ;
and eastern California (Bijou, Yosemite Valley, Pyramid Peak, San
Bernardino Mountains, and Cuyaniaca Mountains). South to south-
ern California (Cuyaniaca Mountains and Mount Pinos). West to the
western slopes of the Sierra Nevadas, Calif. (Mount Pinos, Bear
Valley, Fyffe, Butte Lal^e, and Mount Shasta) ; western Oregon
(Pinehurst, Foley Creek, and The Dalles) ; and western Washington
(Kalama, Cle Ehim, and Methow River).
The species has been separated into two subspecies, the northern
white-headed woodpecker {Dryohates a. alholarvatus)^ occupying
most of the range south to the southern end of the Sierra Nevadas,
and the southern white-headed woodpecker {D. a. gravirostris) , found
in the mountain ranges of southern California.
Casual records. — A specimen collected near Point Bonita, Marin
County, Calif., on July 20, 1932, is the only coastal record in that State.
There is, however, an old record for Grays Harbor, Wash, (previous
to 1892) , which cannot now be confirmed.
In the Provincial Museum at Victoria, British Columbia, there is
an unlabeled specimen said to have been collected in the Similkameen
SOUTHERN WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER 105
Valley. Two have been collected at Okanagan, British Columbia,
one on December 20, 1911, and the other on January 24, 1914.
Egg dates. — California : 53 records, April 24 to June 16 ; 27 records,
May 22 to June 7, indicating the height of the season.
DRYOBATES ALBOLARVATUS GRAVIROSTRIS (Grinnell)
SOUTHERN WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER
HABITS
Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1902), in describing and naming the wliite-
headed woodpecker of the mountain ranges of southern California,
gave as its characters: "Similar to Xenopicus albolarvatus but bill
much heavier, and size in general slightly greater." He named it
as a distinct species, on the theory that "the material at hand does
not justify subspecific treatment of these two forms. Geographical
continuity of ranges possibly exists; but it seems quite as likely that
there is a broad hiatus in the vicinity of Tehachapi Pass, whence I
can find no record of the white-headed woodpecker."
The range of this form includes the San Gabriel, San Bernardino,
San Jacinto, Santa Rosa, and Cuyamaca Mountains in southern
California. Dr. Grinnell (1908) found this woodpecker rather scarce
in the San Bernardino Mountains, and says : "They were seen only in
the Transition zone, none being observed above the fir belt, and but
very few down into pure yellow pine tracts. In the vicinity of Fish
creek, 6,500 feet, a few pairs were breeding in June. On July 5,
1905, 1 found a nestmg hole seven feet up in a dead pine stub, which
contained four half -fledged young. We did not see the species any-
where higher than 8,000 feet, except on the south slope of Sugarloaf ,
where on July 11, 1906, one was seen among the silver firs at about
9,000 feet altitude. About Bluff lake they were more common than
anywhere else, and a few were seen on the northern slopes of Sugar-
loaf at about 8,000 feet, in August."
W. L. Dawson (1923) writes: "In the San Jacmto Mountains,
where these white-heads outnumber all other woodpeckers combined,
our attention was drawn, on the 6th day of June, by a male who
tittered anxiously as we stumbled along the rough trail. We camped
on the prospect immediately, but it took a full hour to trace the
'damage' to a hole fifty feet up in a yellow pine stub, which was tlu'ee
feet through at the base. * * *
"We found a clean-cut round hole, one and a half inches in diameter,
which gave admission to a cavity ten inches deep, and which had for
its outer wall only the thick bark of the tree."
Frank Stephens wrote to Major Bendire (1895) : '■'■Xenopicus albo-
larvatus is a resident of the pine regions of southern California, but
is not common excepting possibly in a few localities. I have never
90801—39 8
106 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
observed it below the pines. I have taken incubating birds in June
m the Cuyamaca Mountains at altitudes of about 7,000 feet. The
nesting sites here were in very large dead pine trees and inaccessible."
This woodpecker seems to show a tendency to nest, at least occasion-
ally, at greater heights above ground than its northern relative, but
otherwise its habits seem to be very similar.
The eggs are similar to those of the northern race. The measure-
ments of 20 eggs average 24.67 by 18.60 millimeters ; the eggs showing
the four extremes measure 26.70 by 19.50, 25.60 by 19.70, and 22.62
by 16.67 millimeters.
PICOIDES ARCTICUS (Swainson)
ARCTIC THREE-TOED WOODPECKER
Plates 15, 16
HABITS
Although not found in the strictly Arctic, treeless regions, this bird
is probably well named, for its range as a whole averages farther north
than that of any other woodpecker except P. tridactylus. It is a bird
of the boreal forests of spruces and firs, ranging as far north in
Alaska and northern Canada as these trees grow, and extending its
range southward throughout the Canadian Zone into the Northern
United States and farther southward in some of the higher mountain
ranges.
In the eastern portion of its range this woodpecker seems to prefer
the dense virgin forests of spruces and balsam fir, but it nests mainly
in the more open windfalls or burned-over clearings where there are
plenty of dead, standing trees in which to excavate its nest. In New
York State, near the southern limit of its breeding range, a typical
locality is thus described by Laurence Achilles (1906) : "At three
thousand feet or more above the sea, in the denser spruce and balsam
forests of the Adirondacks, the Arctic three-toed woodpecker is fairly
common. * * *
"The trees near the nest were chiefly spruces, with a few balsams and
birches scattered among them. The birds had selected a rather open
place for their nesting-site, as, within a radius of ten yards from
their nest, there were several windfalls and dead spruces. The ground
was carpeted with moss, while linnea, clintonia, wood-sorrel and
bunchberry were blossoming in profusion near the base of the tree."
In the Midwestern States and Provinces, the Arctic three-toed shows
a decided preference for tamarack swamps, especially where these
have been burned over, leaving a few dead or dying trees still stand-
ing; these trees not only furnish an abundant food supply but offer
many convenient nesting sites. Into such attractive habitats these birds
sometimes congregate to form small breeding colonies.
ARCTIC THREE-TOED WOODPECKER 107
The Weydemeyers (1928) say that in northwestern Montana this
woodpecker "is found most frequently in Transition zone woods that
have been logged or burned over. In virgin forests it occurs sparingly
in yellow pine woods at low elevations; more commonly in mixed
broad-leaf and conifer, and Douglas fir, associations; and rarely in
alpine fir and lodgepole pine woods of the higher mountains, in the
Canadian zone. Its favorite feeding trees are Douglas fir and western
larch."
Nesting. — Philipp and Bowdish (1919) found four or five nests of
the Arctic three-toed woodpecker in Northumberland County, New
Brunswick, in May and June 1917. Most of the nests were in living-
balsam firs with dead hearts, but one was "in a dead maple stub, near
the edge of a large burnt barren, and a short distance from the edge
of mixed woods." This was "at a height of about ten feet. The
cavity measured IOI/2 inches from the lower edge of entrance to
bottom. The entrance measured 1% inches in height and 1% inches
in width." They say that —
apparently nest sites are selected indiscriminately; in dead stubs in open cleared
ground or burnt barrens, and in the woods, where nests are often in dead-hearted
live trees. The birds have a remarkably strong attachment for their nests, as
evidenced by re-laying in nest holes from which eggs had been removed, and
their disregard of the immediate presence of intruders. The male evidently
performs his share of the work of incubation, as well as care of young. New
nest holes are apparently dug each year, and these may not be in the immediate
vicinity of nests of the previous year. The site selected tends to be low, only
one nest having been noted at a height of over ten feet, while one, as noted, was
as low as two feet. Entrances to nest holes are strongly beveled at the lower
edge, forming a sort of "door-step," and more or less at sides and even top.
While this is true in some cases with the Northern Hairy and some other wood-
pecker excavations which we have examined, it has not proved so frequent or
pronounced. With experience, one can usually identify the nest hole of this
species with comparative certainty, by this one feature.
Dr. Harrison F. Lewis watched a pair of these woodpeckers exca-
vating their nesting hole on May 27, 1936, in some second-gTowth
woods, chiefly spruce and fir, in Saguenay County, Quebec; he says
in his notes : "The Arctic three-toed woodpeckers had a partly exca-
vated nest cavity at a height of about 14 feet on the northwest side of a
dead birch stub in a clearing. The stub was about 20 feet high and 1
foot in diameter and stood about 10 feet from the border of the
clearing. The nest cavity was guarded almost continually by one
bird of the pair. The bird on guard clung to the lower edge of the
opening of this cavity. Nine other woodpecker-made openings, many
of them only partly completed, were to be seen in the same stub.
"I watched the three-toed woodpeckers, from partial concealment
near at hand, for an hour and 25 minutes. Each one of them would
spend a period of 15 to 20 minutes at their nest cavity, then be
relieved by the other. The periods spent at the cavity by the male
108 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
were somewhat longer than those spent there by the female. While
the male was at the cavity, he spent much of his time in excavating,
with only his tail and the region of his rump projecting from the
opening, but at intervals of a few seconds he would Avithdraw his
body and head from the cavity and look about him. When he was
excavating, very little noise could be heard. He spent some time in
throwing out chips and some time in resting. When the female was
at the cavity, she did very little excavating, so little that it seemed
to be a mere gesture. On one occasion, after she had been clinging
to the edge of the opening for 10 minutes, she drummed repeatedly,
but not loudly, on the outside of the stub beside the opening. I
wondered if she were signaling to the male to come to relieve her in
guarding the cavity. After 5 minutes of such intermittent drumming,
she was relieved at the opening by the male."
Mr. Achilles (1906) describes the nest he found in the Adirondacks
as follows:
The hole, which was in a spruce tree, faced north by northeast, and was
twenty-seven feet one inch from the ground. The spruce retained all its branches
and some twigs, although it had been dead for some time.
The following dimensions of the hole were taken after the young had left
their nest. The entrance to the hole was two inches wide and one and five-
eighths inches high. From the outside of the hole, straight through over the
top of the nest to the back of the hole, the measurement was five and three-fourths
inches. The outside shell, including the bark, was one and three-fourths inches
thick. The diameter of the nest opening was three and one-fourth inches, while
the diameter of the hole on the inside at the bottom of the shaft, was four and
five-eighths inches. The depth of the hole was nine and one-eighth inches.
Dr. C. Hart Merriam sent Major Bend ire (1895) some notes on two
nests that he f oiuid in the Adirondacks, as follows :
The water of Seventh Lake, Fulton Chain, had been raised by a dam at the foot
of Sixth Lake, flooding a considerable area along the inlet, and the trees killed
by the overflow stood in about 6 feet of water. In 1883 the place was first
visited by me, May 27. Both species of Three-toed Woodpeckers {Pico ides ameri-
canus and arcticus) were tolerably common, and one new nest of each was found.
That of P. arcticus contained one fresh egg. The nest was 10 inches deep, and
the opening within 5 feet of the surface of the water. It was in a dead spruce,
10 inches in diameter. * * * The place was next visited June 2, but the date
proved still too early. Several imfinished nests of P. americamis were found,
and one completed nest with four fresh eggs of P. arcticus. Like the one found
on my first visit, it was in a dead spruce and about 5 feet above the water. The
nest was 11 inches deep and the orifice 1% inches in diameter.
J. H. Fleming (1901) says that the Arctic three-toed woodpecker is
"a comjnon resident in Parry Sound, rarer in Muskoka. This Wood-
pecker has a habit of sometimes nesting in colonies. I saw the nests
of such a colony near Sand Lake in 1896; there were six or seven nests,
each cut into the trunk of a living cedar, just below the first branch,
and usually eight or ten feet from the ground. The cedars were in a
dense forest, overlooking a small stream that empties into Sand Lake."
ARCTIC THREE-TOED WOODPECKER 109
Macoun (1909) reports, on the authority of Spreadborough, that
"a pair nested in a telegraph pole quite near Cache lake station of
the Parry Sound railway." Major Bendire (1895) writes:
On May 10, 1883, while en route from Fort Klamath to Linkville, Oregon, and
only a few miles from the latter place, just where the pine timber ended and
the sagebrush commenced, I found a male busily at work on a pine stump, only
about 2% feet high and about 18 inches in diameter, standing within a few feet
of the road, and close to a charcoal burner's camp, in quite an open and exposed
situation, nearly all the timber in the vicinity having been cut down. The stump
was solid, full of pitch, and showed no signs of decay; the entrance hole was
about lYz inches in diameter and 8 inches from the top. The cavity, when first
examined, was only about 2 inches deep, and on my return, two days later, it
had reached a depth of 4 inches ; the female was then at work. To make sure
of a full set of eggs, I waited until the 2oth. The cavity then was found to be
18 inches deep, and was gradually enlarged toward the bottom. The four eggs
it contained had been incubated about four days. The female was on the nest,
and uttered a hissing sound as she left it, and might easily have been caught, as
she remained In the hole until the stump was struck with a hatchet. The sides
of the cavity were quite smooth, and the eggs were partly embedded in a slight
layer of pine chips. The locality where this nest was found was near the top of
a low divide, not over 4,100 feet in altitude.
Dr. Thomas S. Roberts (1932) calls attention to an interesting
feature in the nesting habits of this woodpecker, as observed in two
nestings that he saw in Minnesota; he says of the two nests:
The nesting-hole was in a live jack-pine on the edge of a tamarack and
spruce swamp, only twenty feet from a traveled road and close by a log
house used as a store. The entrance faced south and was twelve feet from
the ground, at which point the tree was seven inches in diameter. The outer
bark of the tree had been chipped off for a distance of twelve to fifteen inches
above and below the hole and half-way around the tree, thus leaving a large,
irregular, whitish area. * * *
Another nest, found the same season, was also in a live evergreen tree and
the outer bark had been similarly stripped from around the entrance, making
a conspicuous, white patch with the dark nesting-hole in the center. Can this
be a direction mark for the returning bird among the dark tree trunks around?
As to the height from the ground, P. B. Philipp writes to me that
of 26 nesting holes examined by him in New Brunswick two were
15 feet, two 12 feet, three 10 feet, one 8 feet, two 6 feet, two 5 feet,
four 4 feet, six 3 feet, and four only 2 feet above ground.
Although the Arctic three-toed woodpecker usually nests at no great
height above ground, there are a few exceptions to this rule, mainly
in the western portion of its range. Grinnell and Storer (1924) record
a nest seen in the Yosemite region that was 50 feet above ground in
a dead lodgepole pine. Harry S. Swarth (1924) found, in the Skeena
River region, the highest nest of which I can find any record; he says :
"A nest of the Arctic three-toed woodpecker was found in Kispiox
Valley. It was placed in a dead and charred Engelmann spruce, in a
strip of spruce woods bordering a muskeg otherwise surrounded by
110 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
poplar forest. The nest hole was eighty feet from the ground. It
was two and one-half inches in diameter and one foot deep, drilled
tlirough an outer sheath of sound, hard wood, and downward through
soft, rotten 'punk.' "
Eggs. — The number of eggs laid by the Arctic three-toed wood-
pecker varies from two to six, four being the commonest number.
These vary from ovate to elliptical-ovate, the former shape prevail-
ing. The shell is dull or only slightly glossy and is pure white. The
measurements of 39 eggs average 21.32 by 18.94 millimeters ; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure 25.9 by 18.7, 25.1 by 20.2, and
22.35 by 17.53 millimeters.
Young. — The period of incubation is about 14 days; both sexes
assist in this and in the care of the young. Only one brood is raised
in a season, but if the eggs are taken, a second set will be laid, often
in the same nest.
Mr. Achilles (1906) watched a nest containing young for 24 con-
secutive hours, he and a companion taking turns at the vigil and
sleeping alternately within ten yards of the tree ; he writes :
The parents, when feeding their young, usually alighted within a space of
three feet below the hole, and never directly at its entrance. They would pause
here for a moment as though fearing they were observed by someone. Then
they would hop up to the hole and look in, anywhere from two up to six times,
as if accustoming their eyes to the darkness. Once in a while grubs could be
seen in their bills, but, from the actions of the birds when feeding their young,
they appeared to be regurgitating. During twenty-four hours the female fed
the young thirty times, and the male twenty-nine times.
As it grew dusk, the young gradually grew quieter, and their little "'peep-
peep-peep" greatly resembled those of chicks when crawling beneath their
mother's wings. From two o'clock in the afternoon till seven o'clock that
evening, two minutes was the longest period during which the young did not
utter a single "peep." From seven P. M. until two minutes after four the
next morning, the young birds ceased this continuous chattering. The mother
was the last to feed them at night, the time being seventeen minutes after
seven ; but the male was up first in the morning. At four-fifteen in the morn-
ing, the young uttered a few sleepy "peeps," and the male alighted three feet
below the hole at four-sixteen. The young birds heard him alight and imme-
diately commenced to chatter. The male hopped up to the hole, looked in
twice, and then fed them. The young birds' bills were seen, indicating that
they were very hungry, and were hanging on to the inner wall of the nest
near the entrance. Soon after this their hunger was appeased, their bills were
seen no more, and the parents had to go almost into the hole to feed them.
Plumages. — The nestlings are naked and blind at first, but the
Juvenal plumage is acquired before the young leave the nest. In the
Juvenal plumage, the young male is similar to the adult male, but the
yellow crown patch is smaller and not so sharply defined ; the upper
parts are duller, browner black, lacking the glossy, bluish edgings;
the breast is tinged with dull buffy white; and the flanks are more
heavily and less distinctly barred or spotted with dull black. The
ARCTIC THREE-TOED WOODPECKER 111
young female is similar to the young male, but there is no distinct
yellow patch on the crown, only scattering yellow feathers in vary-
ing amounts, often few or none at all. This plumage is worn through
the summer and early fall; the first winter plumage, which is prac-
tically indistinguishable from that of the adult, is apparently not
fully acquired until November or December. Adults have one com-
plete annual molt, beginning in August.
Food. — More than three-quarters of the food of both species of
three-toed woodpeckers consists of the larvae of wood-boring beetles,
mainly Cerambycidae and Buprestidae. Referring to the former,
Prof. F. E. L. Beal (1911) says:
Stomachs containing 15 to 20 of these grubs are very common, and one held
34. Probably the stomach is filled several times each day, and it does not
seem unreasonable to assume that a bird will eat 50 of these insects every
24 hours for 6 months and at least 25 daily for the other half of the year.
At this rate one bird will annually destroy 13,675 of these destructive
grubs. * * *
Probably there are not many other agencies more destructive to timber
than this family of beetles. Nor is timber safe even after it has been cut.
Logs lying in the mill yard or forest may be ruined in a single season if
these creatures are not prevented from depositing their eggs. * * * A very
efficient check upon the undue increase of these insects is found in the wood-
peckers, especially the two species of Picoides.
Weevils and other beetles and some ants are eaten, as well as a
few other insects and spiders. Vegetable food, wild fruits, mast, and
cambium amount to less than 12 percent of the food.
While with us, in southern New England, in winter, this wood-
pecker shows a decided preference for dead white pine trees {Pinus
strobus), especially those that have been killed by fire or have been
dead long enough for the bark to have partially peeled off. An iso-
lated tree or a group of trees of this type may be visited day after day
by one of these woodpeckers, during its stay, with such regularity
that many an observer, who has never seen an Arctic three-toed
woodpecker, may feel reasonably sure of finding one in such a place,
if it has been previously seen there. Its persistent work on such a
tree is well described by E. H. Forbush (1927) as follows:
This species very often begins to work on the trunk near the foot of a
tree ; it sounds the bark with direct blows, and then, turning its head from
side to side, strikes its beak slantingly into and under the bark, and flakes
it off. It often works long on the same tree and barks the whole trunk
in time, only occasionally working on the branches. Thus it exposes channels
of bark-beetles and the holes made by borers. When the bird remains motion-
less, it is well concealed against the blackened bark of the burnt trees. It
seems deliberate in its movements and appears to do its work thoroughly, as
it often remains five to ten minutes on the same spot and then shifts only a
little distance. In early autumn, while the grubs are still at work on the
tree, it lays its head against the tree, at times, turning it first to one side and
then to the other as if listening.
112 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Griimell, Dixon, and Linsdale (1930) write of the feeding habits
of this woodpecker in the Lassen Peak region :
One of these woodpeckers was watched as it moved slowly up a tree trunk.
It stopped to knock off a piece of bark with a sidewise (glancing) blow of the
heavy bill. This was repeated several times. Then the bird began to drill in
earnest and the tapping could be heard by a person more than thirty meters
distant. The blows were deUvered rapidly, about two per second. Between
three and five minutes were required to bore through the bark, in this instance
twenty millimeters thick. Then after a few moments of probing the bill was
withdrawn and was seen to hold a white larva which was quickly eaten. * * *
On one tree thirty-five centimeters in diameter an area of bark thirty by sixty
centimeters was pvuictured completely through by twenty-two holes each lead-
ing to the tunnel of a wood-borer. * * * The holes were twelve by twelve
millimeters across by twenty deep. It appeared to the observer * * * that
many of the still living trees in that locality had been saved from complete
destruction by the insects, by the activity of this woodpecker.
Manly Hardy wrote to Major Bendire (1895) that, in Maine, "it
seems to feed entirely on such wood worms as attack spruce, pine, and
other soft-wood timber that has been fire-killed. Specimens are so
abundant in such places that I once shot the heads off of six in a few
minutes when short of material for a stew."
Some dead pine trees that had been regularly frequented by these
woodpeckers, on the Kennard estate, were cut down; and the birds,
seeing their favorite trees gone, continued to search for food on the
wood piles made from these trees.
Behavior. — Most observers agree that the Arctic three-toed wood-
pecker is very tame and unsuspicious, working very quietly on a tree
trunk for long periods, without moving about much, and allowing a
close approach ; perhaps, as it lives most of its life in remote northern
forests, where men are scarce, it has not learned to fear human beings.
Manly Hardy considered it the tamest and stupidest of the wood-
peckers found in Maine. Major Bendire (1895) says:
"Like the hairy woodpecker, they are persistent drummers, rattling
away for minutes at a time on some dead limb, and are especially
active during the mating season, in April. I have located more than
one specimen by traveling in the direction of the sound when it was
fully half a mile away. * * * Its flight is swift, greatly undu-
lating, and is often protracted for considerable distances."
Dr. Lewis says in his notes: "When one bird relieved the other in
guarding the cavity, the bird taking over guard duty flew low toward
the stub and swerved sharply upward, with widespread tail, to alight
near the opening."
Voice. — Dr. Lewis (MS.) records the common cry of this wood-
pecker as ''''tchuh^ often shortened and sharpened to hip.'''' He also
says: "A male mounted a stub, about 25 feet from me, and there, in
plain view, scolded me vigorously with a sharp note like kuk^ re-
ARCTIC THREE-TOED WOODPECKER 113
peated about once a second for some minutes. Each time the note was
uttered there was a flash of whitish at the bird's eye, as though it
winked with each utterance. It was also heard to utter a rattling
note, apparently another kind of scolding cry."
Francis H. Allen tells me that the "call-note resembles the cluch
used in New England to start a horse; it has a 'woodeny' quality."
Kalph Hoffmann (1927) says that "in the breeding season the Arctic
Three-toed Woodpecker makes a very loud rolling sound by drumming
on dry limbs and when concerned about the nest a shrill kich-er-uck-
a-kick. The ordinary call is tschick or tschucky A note of greeting,
possibly part of a love-making performance, is thus described by Mr.
Achilles (1906) : "Several times when the female was getting grubs
in the dead spruce near the hole, the male would fly from some dis-
tant tree and alight near her. She would see him coming and, just
about as he was about to alight, would spread her wings and utter a
'whe-e-e-e-ee.' This call, which was its loudest at its middle point,
rose and then fell to the same pitch at which it was begim."
Rev. C. W. G. Eifrig (1906) heard a queer sound that "was as if
produced by pulling out the end of a clock spring and suddenly
releasing it, producing a wiry, humming sound. The author of it
proved to be a male of this woodpecker. In the course of the half
hour that I watched him he showed himself master of quite a reper-
toire of notes and would-be songs. When flying he would say : chut
chut and then rattle like a Kingfisher. When hammering on a tree
and preening himself, he would intersperse those actions by chuck-
ling : diwk^ duck^ ducky
Field marks. — All the three-toed woodpeckers can be easily recog-
nized by the yellow patch on the crown of the adult male and by more
or less yellow in the crowns or young birds of both sexes. The crown
patch of the adult male arcticus is larger and extends farther forward
than that of tridactylus. But the best field mark for the Arctic three-
toed woodpecker is the solid-black back, without any white markings,
and in the female the solid-black crown as well ; the dorsal aspect, when
the bird is clinging to a tree trunk, often appears wholly black. The
white stripe on the side of the head, below the eye, is much wider in
arcticus than in tridactylus., and the latter has the back transversely
banded with white.
Enemies. — ^Mr. Achilles (1906) relates the following:
In the course of the morning, two red-breasted nuthatches tormented the wood-
peckers for fifteen minutes. * * * They hovered around the hole with droop-
ing wings, holding their tails up like wrens. One of them finally ventured into
the hole so far that just his tail was protruding. They would fly away when
the parents approached the hole, but would return as soon as the nest was un-
protected. After some time the male woodpecker went into the hole, evidently
intending to peck them in case they should look into it. During the three
minutes he remained in the hole, he managed to keep from looking out for one
114 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Straight minute. Nevertheless, he was greatly agitated, and would look out
every few seconds to see if the nuthatches were approaching, — his crown-patch
showing brightly. At last the male nuthatch came to the edge of the hole, whereat
the woodpecker made an unsuccessful attempt to peck his opponent, afterward
flying out with a rush, and chasing the nuthatch for some distance on the wing.
Soon after that four Canada jays approaclied, and one of them
ventured near the nest hole, but the woodpecker and a hermit thrush
succeeded in driving him and his companions away, and they did not
return.
Joseph Dixon (1927) tells of an attempt by a black bear to rob a
nest of young Arctic three-toed woodpeckers :
This nest was located only four feet above the ground in a large live lodge-
pole pine. My attention was first attracted to the locality by the unusually
vigorous scolding of the parent woodpeckers. A closer approach revealed the
cause of the excitement.
A bear had located the nest, probably through the noise of the young wood-
peckers, which were old enough to come to the nest entrance to receive food,
and which squealed with anticipation of a meal any time any bird, animal
or person came close to tlie nest tree. In an endeavor to get at the young in the
nest, the bear had bitten out slabs of green wood twelve inches long, two inches
wide, and one-quarter of an inch thick. The muddy stains around the inside of
the nest entrance showed that the bear had thrust his nose into the hole
repeatedly. But after gnawing over an area 10 by 10 inches on the tree trunk
to a depth of more than an inch, the bear gave it up as a bad job. Had the nest
been in an old stump, the outcome would probably have been different. This
offers a reasonable explanation of the tendency of certain woodpeckers to nest in
living trees.
Mr. Kennard tells in his notes of a female hummingbird that at-
tacked one of these woodpeckers: "Several times she swooped down
at the woodpecker, who, quick as a flash, would dodge around the
trunk and out of her way."
Winter. — The Arctic three-toed woodpecker is normally mainly
resident in winter throughout most of its breeding range; it is a
hardy bird and its food supply is available at all seasons, the grubs on
which it feeds remaining in the wood for more than one season. Prob-
ably a few wander southward nearly every winter, and there have been
several heavy flights of these birds into the Northeastern States, which
it is not easy to explain. Dr. Josselyn Van Tyne (1926) has given
a full account of one of these invasions, to which the reader is referred.
Mr. Forbush (1927) writes:
It is difllcult to determine exactly what causes these unusual migrations,
They are not forced by inclement weather, for one at least has occurred in a mild
winter. * * * It seems probable that the unusual invasions of the species
into New England follow summers when its food has been unusually abundant.
An excessive food supply tends to fecundity, and overbreeding naturally compels
expansion and induces migration, whether among the lower animals or human-
kind. Since the above was written, Mr. Josselyn Van Tyne has published a
paper regarding the unusual flight of this species in 1923 in which he advances
ARCTIC THREE-TOED WOODPECKER 115
a similar explanation. He says that between 1909 and 1914 there was an irrup-
tion of the spruce budwonn in eastern Canada and Maine which resulted in the
death of many trees and a consequent increase of bark-beetles and borers, followed
by an increase in the number of these woodpeckers. On the other hand a scarcity
of the usual food supply may cause migration. A wet season with few fires in
the woods or a scarcity of insects (such as the spruce bud-moth) that kill trees
might, later, cause a migration.
Illustrating the length of the sojourn of these woodpeckers during
the winter of 1923-24, Dr. Van Tyne (1926) says:
The greatest concentration of these woodpeckers i*ecorded at any one point
was on the estate of Mr. F. H. Keunard where scores of dead and dying white
pine afforded an abundance of their special food. The first one seen was a
male collected on October 17. Another individual appeared by October 20 and
during the winter at least three males and two females were accounted for,
while all indications point toward the actual presence of perhaps twice as
many. The most remarkable fact about this group of birds, however, was the
length of their stay, for both males and females were seen as late as the middle
of May and at least one male stayed through the early part of June and was
last seen on June 12.
Other invasions are recorded by Mr. Forbush (1927) as follows:
"A great irruption of these birds occurred in the autumn of 1860.
During the following winter Mr. George O. Welch often saw as many
as six or eight at once in a piece of fire-killed timber in Lynn.
* * * In the autumn of 1925, there was a lesser movement, and
many returned through New England in the spring of 1926. In the
autumn of 1926 another considerable southward migration occurred."
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — North America south to the Central United States; non-
migratory.
The range of the Arctic three-toed woodpecker extends north to
central Alaska (probably Tocatna Forks and Fairbanks) ; southern
Mackenzie (Fort Wrigley, Fort Providence, and Smith Portage) ;
northern Manitoba (Cochrane Eiver and probably York Factory) ;
Quebec (Kiclmiond Gulf, Godbout, and Madeline River) ; and New-
foundland (Nicholsville). East to Newfoundland (Nicholsville) ;
probably rarely Prince Edward Island (Baddeck) ; eastern New
Brunswick (Tabusintac) ; probably rarely Nova Scotia (Advocate) ;
Maine (Machias) ; and probably rarely Massachusetts (Winchen-
don and Concord). South to probably rarely Massachusetts (Con-
cord) ; central Vermont (Pico Peak) ; southern Ontario (Ottawa,
Algonquin Park, and Sand Lake) ; northern Michigan (Au Sable
Valley, Blaney, and Huron Mountain) ; probably northern Wiscon-
sin (Kelley Brook and Star Lake) ; northern Minnesota (North Pa-
cific Junction, Itasca Park, and White Earth) ; probably southwest-
ern South Dakota (Elk Mountains) ; northwestern Wyoming (Yel-
116 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
lowstone Park) ; northwestern Montana (Glacier National Park and
Fortine) ; northern Idaho (Fort Sherman) ; and central California
(Mona Lake and Bear Valley). West to California (Bear Valley,
Lassen Peak, and Mount Shasta) ; Oregon (Pinehurst and Fort Ivla-
math) ; Washington (Bumping Lake and probably Tiger) ; British
Columbia (Arrow Lakes, Fort St. James, Kispiox Valley, and Atlin) ;
south-central Yukon (Six-mile River) ; and Alaska (Chitina Moraine
and probably Tocatna Forks).
During the winter season this species has been recorded north to
Alaska (Copper River) ; Mackenzie (Fort Simpson, Fort Rae, and
Fort Reliance) ; Manitoba (Grand Rapids) ; Ontario (Arnprior and
Ottawa) ; New Brunswick (Scotch Lake) ; and Nova Scotia (Pictou).
While no regular movements have been detected, individuals have
been recorded at this season south to Long Island, N. Y, (East
Hampton and Southampton) ; northern New Jersey (Upper Mont-
clair and Englewood) ; southern New York (Ithaca) ; Ohio (Paines-
ville and Akron) ; Illinois (Rantoul and Peoria) ; Iowa (Big Cedar
River) ; and Nebraska (Omaha and Dakota) .
Egg dates. — Laborador : 3 records, May 27 to June 2.
Maine : 3 records, May 19 to June 12.
New Brunswick : 12 records. May 19 to June 30 ; 6 records, May 30
to June 15, indicating the height of the season.
New York : 5 records, May 18 to June 10.
PICOiDES TRIDACTYLUS BACATUS Bangs
AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER
Plate 17
HABITS
This North American race of the three-toed woodpecker occupies
an extensive range in the Hudsonian and Canadian Zones of ap-
proximately the eastern half of Canada, which extends into some
of the Northern States from Minnesota eastward. Two other races
occupy similar zones in western Canada, Alaska, and the Rocky
Mountains. The species is not particularly common anywhere, but
the eastern race seems to be the best known. For a full discussion
of the various races of the North American three-toed woodpeckers,
the reader is referred to an extensive paper on the subject by Outram
Bangs (1900). This woodpecker is not evenly distributed through-
out its range but seems to be confined to certain rather limited and
favorable localities. William Brewster (1898) found it breeding in
the eastern part of Coos County, N. H., on the eastern side of a
small pond ; "where an elevated ridge approaches the pond the banks
are above the reach of the highest floods and the land in the rear
slopes gently upward. At this point a dense, vigorous forest of
AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER 117
spruces, balsams and arbor vitaes, intermingled with a few deciduous
trees, comes quite to the water's edge and here, on June 2d, 1897,
I found my first nest of the Banded Three-toed Woodpecker."
In the same county, Charles L. Whittle (1920) found what he
called a colony of three-toed woodpeckers in "a single small area of
virgin forest containing abundant white spruces and balsams, the
former splendid, healthy trees of large size, and the latter also large
but having many trees diseased or decayed at the heart. * * *
In the area of diseased balsams, a pleasant surprise awaited me, for
here Three-toed Woodpeckers of both species, sexes, and all recog-
nizable ages, were distinctly common — a colony, so to speak, tem-
porarily concentrated owing to two factors: (1) The nearly complete
destruction in this region of the former virgin forest of large coni-
fers on which and in which they fed and nested ; and (2) the presence
of abundant food at this locality in the diseased balsam trees."
Elon H. Eaton (1914) says:
In New York it is evidently confined to the Adirondack forests. I liave heard
of no specimen taken farther from the spruce belt than Waterville, Oneida
county. It therefore shares with the Spruce grouse, the Canada jay and the
Hudsonian chickadee the distinction of being one of our perfectly nonmigratory
species. Within the spruce and balsam forests it is quite uniformly dis-
tributed, but is less common than the Black-backed woodpecker, evidently about
one-half as common as that species. It inhabits both the spruce swamps
and the mountain sides. While making the bird survey of the Mount Marcy
district we found this species breeding on the slopes of Marcy just above
Skylight camp, an altitude of 4,000 feet, and in the swamp at the Upper
Ausable lake at an altitude of 2,000 feet.
Nesting. — Mr. Brewster (1898) describes, in considerable detail,
the nest he found in a spruce tree in Coos County, N. H., as follows :
On measuring the spruce I found it to be thirty-nine inches in circumference
one foot above the ground, and twenty-nine inches at the nest. The hole was
on the west side at a height above the ground of exactly ten feet and eleven
inches. The entrance hole was somewhat irregular outwardly measuring about
one and three quarters inches in breadth by two inches in height — the greater
diameter vertically being due to the fact that the lower edges had been chiselled
away rather freely to afford a foothold for the bird ; half an inch in, the hole
was perfectly round, and measured one and one-half inches in diameter.
The interior or nest cavity was irregularly gourd-shaped and ten and one-
eighth inches in depth, its greatest diameter, about four and one-half inches,
being midway between the bottom and top. The walls were rough and seamy
but this was not, perhaps, the fault of the birds, for the wood, although soft
and easily worked, had evidently peeled off in long, stringy fibers.
The eggs lay on a deep mat of these shreds some of which were more than
one inch in length.
Dr. C. Hart Merriam informed Major Bendire (1895) that "numer-
ous nests were found in the Adirondacks in June, 1883. Most of
them were in the flooded timber bordering the inlet of Seventh Lake,
Fulton Chain. They varied from 5 to 12 feet in height above the
118 BULLETIN" 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
water, and were in spruce, tamarack, pine, balsam, and cedar trees."
The nests of this woodpecker are not always so low down as those
mentioned above ; Col. John E. Thayer took a set, near Upton, Maine,
on June 9, 1898, that was 20 feet from the ground in an old dead
spruce stub; and the nests that Mr. Eaton (1914) found in the
Adirondacks "were situated in tamaracks and spruces from 25 to
40 feet from the ground."
Eggs. — Four seems to be the usual number of eggs laid by this
woodpecker ; I can find no record of either more or fewer in complete
sets. The eggs are ovate, pure white, and only moderately glossy.
The measurements of 43 eggs average 23.32 by 18.01 millimeters ; the
eggs showing the four extremes measure 25.5 by 18.2, 23.8 by 19.6,
and 20.1 by 15.0 millimeters.
Young. — The period of incubation is said to be about 14 days,
and it is shared by both sexes. Both parents feed and care for the
young, even after the young leave the nest, as family parties are seen
traveling about together in summer.
Plmnages. — The nestlings are probably hatched naked and blind, as
with other woodpeckers, but the juvenal plumage is acquired before
the young leave the nest. In the juvenal plmnage, the young male is
similar to the adult male, but the yellow crown patch is smaller and
less sharply defined; the upper parts are duller, brownish black
instead of sooty black; the flanks are more heavily and more exten-
sively banded, or spotted, with sepia instead of clear black; the white
of the throat and breast is tinged with pale buffy. The juvenal
female is similar to the young male, but the yellow crown patch is
smaller, and the amount of yellow in it is very variable, sometimes
only a few scattered feathers and sometimes a well-defined, clear
patch. This plumage is worn at least through August and probably
well into fall. The only molting adults I have seen were taken in
August.
Food. — The feeding habits of the American three-toed woodpecker
are almost identical with that of the Arctic three-toed. Prof.
F. E. L. Beal (1911) says:
The largest item with both species is wood-boring coleopterous larvae. These
amount to 64.25 percent with arcticus and 60.66 with americanus. Caterpillars,
which in this case are mostly wood-boring species, amount to 12.88 and 14.45
percent for the two birds respectively. The total of wood-boring larvae, in-
cluding both caterpillars and beetles, is, 77.13 percent for arcticus and 75.11
percent for americanus, or more than three-fourths of the food of both
species. * * *
Fruit skins were found in only one stomach of americanus and mast in but
one stomach of arcticus. Cambium was found in 10 stomachs of arcticus and
8 of americanus. This indicates that these birds do some pecking at the bark
of living trees for other purposes than getting insects, but no complaints have
yet been made, from which we infer that little or no damage is done; in fact
the amount contained in the stomachs is not large a little less than 10 percent.
AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER 119
E. H. Forbush (1927) says that "Miss Caroline E. Hamilton of
Greenfield, Massachusetts, observed in late September an individual
that remained in a yard from daylight till dark, making the rounds of
the trees and remaining longest on the fruit trees at the tiny holes
attributed to Sapsuckers. She said that the bird seemed to find good
food in these pits, and it may have been eating some of the cambium."
He writes further :
Mr. E. O. Grant, a faithful correspondent of Patten, Maine, travels over con-
siderable region and north into Quebec, spending much time in the woods. On
March 6, 1922, he wrote that the spruce budworm had killed about thirty percent
of the spruce in that region and neai'ly all the fir, and that among the dead
trees he saw hundreds of both the three-toed species, together with nearly equal
numbers of Downy Woodpeckers and Hairy Woodpeckers. Food for the birds
was very plentiful, as dark-beetles and spruce-borers were numerous. When an
invasion of caterpillars strips coniferous trees and thus exposes their trunks and
branches to the hot summer sun, dark-beetles attack and virtually girdle them
with numerous tunnels beneath the bark ; borers get in and sometimes most of
the trees die. The woodpeckers, concentrating on these dead trees from all the
forest around about, help to keep down the undue increase of bark-beetles and
borers which, if they became too numerous, might attack some live trees.
Behavior. — Lucien M. Turner says in his unpublished notes: "The
manner of flight of this species is less vigorous than in Picoides
arctictis, yet differing in a manner that is difficult to describe; the
unfolding of the wings when preparing to make the upward swoop is
quicker, the stroke of the wing not so strong, and the plunge not so
deep."
Both species of three-toed woodpeckers are fearless birds, tame, and
unsuspicious, probably because of their unfamiliarity with man and
his hostile intentions; both are less active than most other wood-
peckers, this species being particularly quiet in its movements and
sedentary in its habits. Mr. Brewster (1898) writes:
My previous impression that Picoides americanus is a very much less active and
restless bird than P. arcticus, was fully confirmed by the behavior of this male
who was almost if not quite as slow and lethargic of movement as a sapsucker.
He would spend minutes at a time clinging to one spot and when he moved up
the tree trunks it was in a singularly slow, deliberate manner. Only when at or
near the nest did he show real animation. * * *
I have rarely seen a nesting bird so alert and keen of hearing as was this
Picoides. The sound of our voices or the slightest noise made by an oar or
paddle would bring him at once to the entrance of the hole, even when we were
forty or fifty yards away, and every few minutes when we were sitting perfectly
still he would look out turning his head in every direction. He would not leave
the hole, however, until we were within a few yards of the foot of the tree and
after he had drummed awhile he would return to the stub while we were
sitting near its base with the camera directed towards it. * * *
On returning to the stub the bird would usually strike against it about
two feet below the hole and reaching it by two or three quick, upward hops
would cling to its lower edge, alternately looking in and down at us. * * *
He did not once enter the nest while we were near the tree, nor did he again
120 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
attempt to mislead us by pecking at the bark, evidently realizing that this ruse
had failed. When he flew back into the woods he always took one of two
courses and along each he invariably alighted not only on the same trees
but on the same spot on each tree. He had one particular place on the trunk of a
large spruce where he would spend ten or fifteen minutes at a time pluming
himself and watching us, before returning to the nest.
Major Bendire (1895) quotes the following from Dr. C. Hart
Merriam :
We had just crossed the boundary line between Lewis and Herkimer counties,
when Mr. Bagg called my attention to a "fresh hole," about 8 feet from the
ground, in a spruce tree near by. On approaching the tree a yellow crown
appeared in the hole, showing that the male bird was "at home." To prevent his
escape I jumped toward the tree and introduced three fingers, which were im-
mediately punctured in a manner so distasteful to their proprietor as to neces-
sitate an immediate withdrawal and exchange for the muzzle of my friend's
gun. A handkerchief was next crowded into the hole, but was instantly riddled
and driven out by a few blows from his terrible bill. It was then held loosely
over the hole, and as the bird emerged I secured and killed him.
Wendell Taber had a good chance to observe one of these wood-
peckers at short range in Grafton County, N. H., on May 31, 1937,
about which he writes to me: "The bird was intent upon obtaining
its food and ignored our presence. Most of the time the bird would
fly to a tree and alight at a height of 20 to 25 feet, then work down-
ward, hopping backward. Particularly it seemed to enjoy prodding
around on the base of a tree at or within an inch or two of where tree
and earth met. Drilling was barely audible, even when the bird was
close-to. Both live and dead trees were attacked impartially. There
was no strip act — the bark was not peeled off. There was a row of
dead trees at the edge of the forest, which might well have been con-
centrated on, but which, actually, was attacked only in a haphazard
manner along with trees alive in the forest. If anything, more atten-
tion was given to live trees."
Voice. — ^The three-toed woodpecker is normally a rather silent bird.
Its w^eak notes have been likened to the squealing notes of the yellow-
bellied sapsucker, or the squeak of a small mammal; it also utters a
variety of short notes like queep or quip. Horace W. Wright (1911)
says : "The calls of the americanus male bird were not excited or loud.
The single calls were somewhat like the robin's call at dusk, and the
rattling calls resembled a Hairy Woodpecker's rattle, but were less
loud and sharp."
Mr. Brewster (1898) writes:
I had abundant opportunities for studying the drumming call today. It varied
in duration from one to two seconds (never running over or under these limits)
but was usually one and a half to one and three quarters seconds. The inter-
vals between the calls were too irregular to be worth recording. The first three
or four taps were slightly slower and more disconnected than the remaining
ones but the general effect was that of a uniform roll similar to that made by
AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER 121
the Downy and the Hairy Woodpecker, but less loud and penetrating. Still
it carried well and under favorable conditions could be heard fully one quar-
ter of a mile away. • * *
After drumming a dozen times or more he gave a long vocal call closely
similar to the Kingfisher-like rattle of the Hairy Woodpecker.
Field marks. — The American three-toed woodpecker is the only
woodpecker likely to be seen in the northern woods that has a black
back transversely barred with white, white under parts banded with
black on the flanks, and a black crown, with or without a yellow crown
patch; the yellow patch is very prominent in the adult male and less
so in the young birds of both sexes, but lacking in the adult female.
In flight the "ladderback" is more conspicuous than when the bird
is at rest, and the tail flashes white.
Winter. — Both species of three-toed woodpeckers are mainly resident
throughout the year within their breeding ranges, as their normal food
supply is as easily available in winter as in summer. Consequently
few species of birds are less inclined to migrate than these wood-
peckers. However, on rare occasions this woodpecker has been known
to appear in winter somewhat south of its summer range. Probably
these southward movements have been due to some shortage of food
in its summer home, or an unusual supply of it further south, or,
possibly, an unusually successful breeding season may have over-
crowded the home range and caused an exodus.
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — Northern Europe, Asia, and North America, south through
high mountainous regions to about latitude 35° N. ; nonmigratory.
In North America the range of the three-toed woodpecker extends
north to northern Alaska (Kowak River, Tanana, Beaver Creek,
Fort Yukon, Circle, and Charlie Creek) ; northern Yukon (Forty
Mile and probably Coal Creek) ; Mackenzie (Fort McPherson, Fort
Goodhope, Fort Anderson, Fort Rae, and Fort Smith) ; northern
Manitoba (Fort Du Brochet and Churchill) ; northern Ontario (Fort
Albany); northern Quebec (Fort Chimo) ; and Labrador (Okak).
East to Labrador (Okak and Nain) ; Newfoundland (South Exploit
River) ; northeastern Maine (Presque Isle) ; and New Hampshire
(Lake Umbagog and Mount Jefferson), South to northern New
Hampshire (Mount Jefferson) ; northern New York (Long Lake and
Moose River) ; probably northern Michigan (Isle Royal) ; northern
Minnesota (Lake Itasca) ; northern New Mexico (Pecos Baldy and
Chuska Mountains) ; Arizona (White Mountains, San Francisco
Mountain, and Kaibab Plateau) ; east-central Nevada (Snake Moun-
tains) ; and south-western Oregon (Four-mile Lake). West to west-
ern Oregon (Four-mile Lake) ; Washington (Blue Mountains, prob-
90S01 — 39 9
122 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
ably Mount Kainier, and Mount Baker) ; British Columbia (Chilli-
wack, Clinton, Willow River, and Hazel ton) ; and Alaska (Chicagof
Island, Glacier, Copper River, Lake Clark, Mount McKinley, Nulato,
and Kowak River).
Several races of this species have been recognized, three of which
are included in the range above outlined. The American three-toed
woodpecker {P. t. tacatus) ranges from Maine, Newfoundland, and
Labrador west to northern Manitoba and southern Mackenzie; the
Alpine three-toed woodpecker {P. t. dorsalis) is the Rocky Mountain
form and is found in that region from Montana and Idaho south to
the higher mountains of New Mexico and Arizona ; the Alaska three-
toed woodpecker {P. t. fasciatus) is found from Alaska, Yukon, and
western Mackenzie south to Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.
Wliile the three-toed woodpecker is not regularly migratory, it
appears likely that during severe winters it withdraws somewhat
from the northern parts of its range. At this season it is occasionally
collected or observed short distances south of its normal range (Massa-
chusetts, southern Wisconsin, southern Minnesota, and southern New
Mexico).
Egg dates. — Alberta : 8 records. May 23 to June 16.
Arctic America : 5 records, May 15 to June 9.
Labrador : 3 records, May 26 and 27.
New York : 3 records, May 14 to June 8.
PICOiDES TRIDACTYLUS FASCIATUS Baird
ALASKA THREE-TOED WOODPECKER
HABITS
The range of this race of the three-toed woodpecker extends
throughout the Hudsonian and Canadian Zones of western Canada
and Alaska, and a short distance southward into some of the Western
States, where it intergrades with the next form in the boreal forests
of the Rocky Mountains.
Ridgway (1914) describes it as similar to the eastern race, "but
with much more white on back, the white bars much larger and more
or less coalesced along median line, forming a more or less con-
tinuous longitudinal patch; whitish spots on forehead much larger,
sometimes coalesced into a nearly uniform dull white frontal area;
upper tail-coverts and lower rump barred or spotted with white;
sometimes even the wing-coverts and middle rectrices are spotted
with white; black malar stripe narrower and usually less distinct,
and black bars on sides and flanks narrower; averaging slightly
larger."
Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) says that this woodpecker occurs "on
the headwaters of the Mackenzie River, extending thence north along
ALASKA THREE-TOED WOODPECKER 123
the course of this stream and the Anderson Eiver, and westward,
covering all the wooded portions of Northern Alaska to the northern
tree-limit, * * * outnumbering by far the combined numbers of
all the other woodpeckers of that region. * * * On the Yukon
these birds are said to prefer the groves of poplar and willow to the
spruces."
Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1900) says: "This, the only species of wood-
pecker detected by me in the Kowak region, was resident through-
out the year. It could scarcely be called common, though its borings
were noticed in nearly every tract of spruces visited." J. A. Munro
(1919), referring to the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, says:
"This species is resident and fairly common in Murray pine, Western
larch, and spruce forests. I have never found them in yellow pine
or Douglas fir country. They prefer the burnt areas of timber, and
specimens collected are generally stained with charcoal on the under-
parts."
Niesting. — The nesting habits of this woodpecker do not differ
materially from those of its eastern relative. Bendire (1895) men-
tions two sets of eggs, collected by MacFarlane in the Anderson
Kiver region, of wdiich he says : "A single Qgg^ originally from a set
of three taken on May 30, 1863, accompanied by the female bird, was
taken from a cavity in a pine tree, 4 feet from the ground, and another
set of four, of which there are three eggs remaining, and likewise
accompanied by the male bird, was taken on June 5, 1864, from a
hole in a dry spruce, situated about 6 feet from the ground. The
eggs from the last set were said to have been lying on the decayed
dust of the tree, and were perfectly fresh when found."
Laing and Taverner (1929) found an abandoned nest in the Cliit-
ina Eiver region, Alaska, of which they say : "Tree, about 15 inches
in diameter at butt, had a dead top and nest in this dead portion,
about 40 feet aloft. Dimensions as follows : diameter of door barely
2 inches ; depth of nest 91/^ inches ; greatest diameter 3 inches. Barrel
of nest quite cylindrical."
There is a set of four eggs in my collection, taken by Kichard C.
Harlow near Belvedere, Alberta, on May 29, 1926. The nest was
about 20 feet above ground in a dead tamarack stub, among a scat-
tered growth of tamaracks, in a muskeg, near a lake; the eggs lay
on a bed of chips 10 inches below the entrance.
Mr. Munro (1919) writes: "On May 28, 1917, I found a nest that
had just been finished, thirty feet from the ground in a dead Murray
pine. The entrance was smaller than would be expected, slightly over
one and a half inches, and the hole about fourteen inches deep."
Eggs. — The eggs of the Alaska three-toed woodpecker are indis-
tinguishable from those of the eastern race. The measurements of 12
eggs average 22.08 by 17.09 millimeters; the eggs showing the four
124 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
extremes measure 23.6 by 18.1, 20.8 by 16.8, and 21.5 by 16.5 milli-
meters.
Behavior. — The plumages, feeding habits, and general behavior of
this race do not differ materially from those of the species elsewhere,
but Maj. Allan Brooks (Dawson and Bowles, 1909) has given a good
description of a habit that seems to be shared by both species of
Pico ides and that has been referred to by others; he writes :
When shot, even if instantly killed, three-toed woodpeckers of both species
have a marvelous faculty of remaining clinging to the tree in death. Where
the trunks are draped with Vsnea moss, it is impossible to bring one down, ex-
cept when winged — then they attempt to fly, and fall to earth ; but when killed
outright they remain securely fastened by their strong curved claws. * * *
The only chance Is to leave the bird and to visit the foot of the tree when the
relaxing muscles have at length permitted the body to drop — usually within two
days. Once I was fortunate enough to observe the exact position that enabled
the bird to maintain its grip. I had shot and killed an Arctic Three-toed Wood-
pecker on a low stump. On going up I found the bird's feet to be three inches
apart by measurement ; the tail was firmly braced, and the further the body was
tilted back the more firmly the claws held in the bark.
Dr. Grinnell (1900) says: "In the fall and mid- winter these birds
are silent and seldom seen. But after the first of March their drmn-
ming on some resonant dead tree was heard nearly every morning.
This sound could be heard a long distance through the quiet woods,
giving notice of the whereabouts of the woodpeckers."
PICOIDES TRIDACTYLUS DORSALIS Baird
ALPINE THREE-TOED WOODPECKER
HABITS
This race of the three-toed woodpeckers enjoys the most southern
distribution of any of the birds of this genus, ranging from northern
Montana to northern Arizona and New Mexico, in the boreal forests
of the Rocky Mountains. Ridgway (1914) characterizes it as "similar
to white-backed examples of P. a. fasciatus^ but larger; white mark-
ings on back usually all longitudinal (very rarely with any transverse
bars of black), white supra-auricular streak usually broader, forehead
usually with more black and less whitish spotting, white spots or
bars on inner web of innermost secondaries larger, and sides and
flanks usually less barred with black."
The Weydemeyers (1928) say that in northwestern Montana, "un-
like arcticics, this species prefers dense, virgin forests to cut-over
woods and open w^oodland pastures. * * * in the higher eleva-
tions, this woodpecker may be found in white pine, lodgepole pine,
alpine fir, and Engelmann spruce forests. In the Transition zone,
it shows a preference for spruce woods, with larch and yellow pine
forests as second choice. In the Canadian zone, this species is some-
ALPINE THREE-TOED WOODPECKER 125
what commoner than arcticus; in the Transition zone, it occurs only
about one-third as frequently as does the larger bird."
M, P. Skinner says, in his Yellowstone National Park notes : "This
woodpecker is rather uncommon, but I have seen it in coniferous
forests between 0,500 and 8,000 feet, in firs, lodgepole pine, and Engel-
mann spruce. I have also seen it on dead trees and on telephone poles.
I have seen this woodpecker in this Park only between May and
October."
Nesting. — At an altitude of about 9,000 feet in the mountains of
Colorado, in or near Estes Park, John H. Flanagan (1911) collected
a set of four eggs of the alpine three-toed woodpecker. "The hole
was in an aspen stub, nine feet from the ground and about a foot or
eighteen inches from the top, and just before the guide reached the
hole the bird flew out. * * *
"The entrance to the nesting cavity was about one and one-half
inches in diameter ; the cavity itself about nine or ten inches in depth
and quite large at the bottom. The eggs were laid on a few chips."
In north-central Colorado, Edv*-in R. Warren (1912) found a
nest of this woodpecker "in a dead Engelmann spruce, which was
twenty-five inches in diameter at the base, and twenty at the nest
hole, the latter being seven feet above ground. The nest was eight
inches deep, the entrance one and three-quarters inches in diameter;
the thickness of the wood on the front side of the hole was two and
three-quarters inches, and the cavity was five inches from front to
back, and three wide. There were a few chips in the bottom, as well
as a few of the birds' droppings. There were two young, about ready
to fly, though I had no difficulty in posing them on the tree for pic-
tures ; they showed little or no fear."
Eandolph Jenks (1934) discovered two nests of the alpine three-
toed woodpecker on the Kaibab Plateau, near the east rim of the
Grand Canyon, in northern Arizona. One was in "a hole in an aspen
tree, two and one-half inches in diameter, opening to the southeast,
twelve feet from the ground. The cavity was eight inches deep and
the nest was lined with a thick layer of maggot-infested sawdust.
In spite of the crawling competitors, the nestlings, a male and a
female, seemed quite contented." This was on June 30, 1931. Sev-
eral days later another nest was found, also on the Plateau, at an
elevation of 8,100 feet ; this nest was "in a hole about sixty feet above
the ground in a western yellow pine."
Dr. Edgar A. Mearns (1890b) writes:
The Alpine Three-toed Woodpecker ))reeds commonly throughout the pine belt,
seldom ascending far into the spruce woods of the highest peaks [in the moun-
tains of Arizona]. On tlie northwestern slope of San Francisco Mountain I dis-
covered a nest of this species on June 8, 1887. The female was seen alone peck-
ing at a large yellow pine, which, although dead, still retained its bark and was
126 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
quite solid. While feeding she uttered a peculiar, harsh, nasal cry. I shot
her, and then noticed a small, neatly bored hole in the south side of the pine
trunk, about 30 feet from the ground and away from branches. With the
aid of a rope, and taking a start from the saddle, I was scarcely able to climb
to the nest, which the male did not quit until I was well up; then he came out
and uttered a sudden, sharp "whip-whip-whip" in a menacing tone, remaining
hard by while I worked with saw and chisel. It took me nearly half an hour
to make an opening sufficiently large to admit the hand, as the burrow was
situated so extraordinarily deep. Two young, male and female, with feathers
just sprouting, were found on a bed of small chips at the bottom of the burrow,
not more than 8 inches lower than the entrance, but in the very heart of the
tree, the cavity being oblique and pear-shaped, and having the strong odor char-
acteristic of Woodpeckers' nests in general. Both parents and their progeny
were preserved, and are now in the American Museum collection. The irides of
the adults were dark cherry red; their feet, claws, and basal half of mandible
plumbeous, the rest of the biU being plumbeous black.
Eggs. — The alpine three-toed woodpecker is said to lay five eggs
to a set, but probably the set oftener consists of fewer eggs. I have
seen no eggs of this subspecies; and the only measurements I have
been able to get are those from a set of five eggs, collected by A.
Treganza in Salt Lake County, Utah, on June 3, 1916; these are in
the P. B. Philipp collection in the American Museum of Natural
History. The measurements average 24.52 by 17.52 millimeters,
rather large for the species; the eggs showing the four extremes
measure 25.3 by 17.7 and 24.1 by 17.4 millimeters.
Food. — Mrs. Bailey (1928) says that the food of this woodpecker
consists of "over 75 percent, destructive wood-boring larvae of cater-
pillars and beetles. The Three-toed Woodpeckers rank high as con-
servators of the forest, eliminating annually, as Professor Beal has
estimated, some 13,675 of the grubs most destructive to forests. The
scarcity of these useful woodpeckers makes their protection and en-
couragement especially important."
SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS VARIUS (Linnaeus)
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
Plates 18, 19
HABITS
CONTBIBUTEI) UY WiNSOB MaeEETT TyLBK
Spring. — It is spring in the Transition Zone when in April the
yellow-bellied sapsucker passes through on the way from its winter
quarters to its breeding ground in the Canadian Zone. If spring is
tardy most of the trees may be leafless, but many of them have
blossomed, and the sap is running.
At this season the sapsucker is light-hearted and jaunty compared
to the sober, quiet bird that visited us the autumn before. The breed-
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 127
ing season is near at hand, and if two birds meet they often engage
in a sort of game, a precursory courtship, wherein one bird flies at
the other in a playful attack; the other eludes the rush of the on-
coming bird by a sudden, last-minute retreat — winding around the
branch on which it rests, or sliding off into the air. In these pursuits
in and out among the branches we are impressed by the agility and
grace of the birds and by the easy way they direct their course
through the air. They do not appear to impel themselves by strength
of wing alone, but, especially in their slanting descents, they let the
force of gravity pull them swiftly along, and then, by the impetus
of the speed attained, glide upward to a perch. They seem to swing
from branch to branch with little effort, slowly opening and closing
their wings to guide them on their way. As we watch them we are
reminded of trapeze artists in the circus.
But the new sap is running, and the birds quickly tap the supply
by drilling into the bark of their favorite trees and drink of the sap
as it flows freely from the wounds.
Every spring the birds come to a sturdy yellow birch tree on the
Boston Public Garden, a species of tree with which they must be
familiar on their breeding grounds in the north. The sap flows plen-
teously in mid-April from the many punctures that the birds make;
it wets a large portion of the trunk of the tree and often drips to
the ground from the branches. The birds stand clear of the tree as
they feed at the sap wells with only the feet and the tip of the tail
touching the bark. The tail is braced against the trunk at an angle
of about 45°, and the feet reach far forward to grasp the bark oppo-
site the bend of the wing. I have never seen a sapsucker crouch
against this wet bark as a downy woodpecker commonly does when
digging out a grub — like a cat hunched up lapping a saucer of milk.
"When a bird wishes to move to a point below where it is perched, it
jumps from the tree and floats in the air, then turning, with its wings
held out somewhat, dives head-downward, drifting in an easy, lei-
surely manner as if moving under water; then, just before alighting,
it rights itself. If you come too near, the sapsucker scrambles around
to the rear of the lim.b, and if you step close up to the tree, the bird
starts away in free, sweeping curves, like a skater over the ice, the
white in the wing flashing out,
Eaton (1914) notes that "during the migration it is evident that
the male birds arrive first, for during 15 years of continuous records
which I have kept with this object in view I have found that male
birds are the first to be seen each year and no females are seen for
several days after the first males arrive."
Audubon (1842) records the following unique observation:
While travelling I observed that they performed their migration by day,
in loose parties or families of six or seven individuals, flying at a great height,
128 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
and at the intervals between their sailings and the flappings of their wings,
emitting their remarkable plaintive cries. When alighting towards sunset, they
descended with amazing speed in a tortuous manner, and first settled on the
tops of the highest trees, where they remained perfectly silent for awhile, after
which they betook themselves to the central parts of the thickest trees, and
searched along the trunks for abandoned holes of Squirrels or Woodpeckers,
in which they spent the night, several together in the same hole.
A. B. Kliigli (1909) reports a remarkably large gathering of sap-
suckers on their northward migration. He says :
On the morning of April 17th, 1909, the city of Kingston, Ontario, was alive
with yellow-bellied sapsuckers.
From my study window I saw some twenty of them on the trees at the
lodge of the park and on going out to investigate I found from one to four
on nearly every tree. As a conservative estimate I placed the number of birds
in the park at three hundred. * * *
The probable cause of this immense wave of yellow-bellied sapsuckers striking
Kingston lies in the strong gale from the north which was blowing on the
night of April 16th, the birds apparently dropping as soon as they had crossed
the lake.
Courtship. — ^Little has been recorded on the courtship of the yel-
low-bellied sapsucker, but we may get a hint of its early stages at
least as the birds pass northward — the increased interest in each
other shown by their lively pursuits and their rapid whirlings among
the branches, as noted under "Spring."
George Miksch Sutton (1928b) speaks thus of the birds on their
nesting ground in Pennsylvania : "In late Llay and June the mewing
cry was familiar and they occasionally indulged in strange court-
ship antics, flashing through the tops of the trees, calling excitedly
in tones resembling those of a flicker, and dancing about with wings
and tail spread in a manner utterly foreign to the usually stolid
bearing of migrant individuals."
Of the spring drumming, perhaps a part of courtship. Dr. Harry
C. Oberholser (1896b) says:
In spring the drumming of the yellow-bellied sapsucker may usually be easily
recognized by the following peculiarities. Four or five taps given in quick suc-
cession are followed by a short pause, this being soon succeeded by two short
quick taps; then another pause, and two more taps in somewhat less rapid
succession than the first; followed by yet another pause, and two additional
taps still a little slower. This is sometimes slightly varied with regard to
the number of taps; and occasionally also the latter part consists only of
single quick taps with an Increasing interval toward the last.
The difference between the tapping of the sapsucker and of the
hairy and the downy woodpecker is described in the life history of
the latter bird. Wendell Taber told Mr. Bent that he succeeded in
calling up three of these birds by imitating their drumming with a
fountain pen on a dead tree; one of them alighted on the tree on
which he was drumming.
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 129
Nesting. — ^William Brewster (1876a), writing of the nesting of
the sapsucker at Umbagog Lake, Maine, says :
They arrive from the South, where they spend the winter, from the middle
to the last of April, and, pairing being soon effected, commence at once the
excavation of their nests. The trees usually selected are large dead birches,
and a decided preference is manifested for the vicinity of water, though some
nests occur on high ground in the interior of the woods, but never so abundantly
there as along the margin of rivers and lakes. Both sexes work alternately,
relieving each other at frequent intervals, the bird not employed usually
clinging near the hole and encouraging its toiling mate by an occasional
low cry. With the deepening of the hole arises the necessity for increased
labor, as the rapidly accumulating debris must be removed, and the bird
now appears at frequent intervals at the entrance, and, dropping its mouth-
ful of chips, returns to its work. A week or more is occupied in the com-
pletion of the nest, the time varying considerably with the relative hardness
of the wood. A small quantity of the finer chips are left at the bottom to
serve as a bed for the eggs. * * * The labor of incubation, like all other
duties, is shared equally by the two sexes. * * *
All nests examined upon this occasion [an occasion when he found half a
dozen nests] were of uniform gourd-like shape, with the sides very smoothly
and evenly chiselled. They averaged about fourteen inches in depth by
five in diameter at the widest point, while the diameter of the exterior hole
varied from 1.25 to 1.60 inches. So small, indeed, was this entrance in pro-
portion to the size of the bird, that in many cases they were obliged to
struggle violently for several seconds in either going out or in. The nests in
most instances were very easily discovered, as the bird was almost always
in the immediate vicinity, and if the tree was approached would fly to the
hole and utter a few low calls, which would bring out its sitting mate, when
both would pass to and from the spot, emitting notes of anxiety and alarm.
The bird not employed in incubation has also a peculiar habit of clinging to
the trunk just below the hole, in a perfectly motionless and strikingly pensive
attitude, apparently looking in, though from the conformation of the interior
it would be impossible for it to see its mate or eggs. In this position it will
remain without moving for many minutes at a time,
Henry Mousley (1916) states that the bird "often nests year after
year in the same tree (but not necessarily in the same hole) the
favourite ones here [Hatley, Quebec] being elm, poplar, and butter-
nut. * * * Qf ^^Q i;iests examined the average dimensions are
as follows, viz. : entrance hole 1% inches in diameter, extreme depth
10% inches, and width 2% inches."
Philipp and Bowdish (1917) say of the nesting site in New
Brunswick: "The favorite situation was the dead heart of a live
poplar, most often on the bank of a stream, and facing same, but
some nests were in totally dead trees, of different kinds. They
ranged from eight to forty feet from ground."
Ben dire (1895) says that the birds "are devoted parents, and when
incubation is somewhat advanced, or the young have been recently
hatched, the bird oil) the nest is loath to have it, and will sometimes
allow itself to be captured rather than to desert its treasures."
130 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Eggs. — [Author's note: The yellow-bellied sapsucker lays four
to seven eggs to a set, though five or six eggs are more commonly
found. They vary from ovate to elliptical-ovate and sometimes to
elliptical-oval. The shell is smooth and either dull or moderately
glossy. They are pure white, like all woodpeckers' eggs. The
measurements of 52 eggs average 22.44 by 16.92 millimeters ; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure 24.9 by 17.0, 23.8 by 18.0, 20.57
by 16.26, and 22.1 by 15.5 millimeters.]
Young. — As in the case of most nestling birds reared in a hole
in a tree, little is known of the young sapsuckers while they are in
the nest.
Frank Bolles (1892) speaks of "a nest filled w^ith noisy fledglings
whose squealing sounded afar in the otherwise silent woods. * * *
The parent birds came frequently to the tree, and their arrival was
always greeted by more vigorous crying from the young."
William Brewster (1876a), in his study of the bird at Umbagog
Lake, Maine, says: "The young leave the nest in July, and for a
long time the brood remains together, being still fed by the parents.
They are very playful, sporting about the tree-trunks and chasing
one another continually."
Frank Bolles (1892) has given a very interesting, detailed account
of rearing three nestlings, about to be fledged, over a period of
three and a half months. The three birds were dissimilar enough
in coloring to be distinguished from one another; they proved to
be two males and one female; and they soon developed marked
differences in conduct and personality. Mr. Bolles at first kept
them in a large cage in which they had ample space to climb about
and later allowed them to fly around a room. They became very
tame, letting him handle them freely. They subsisted almost en-
tirely on maple syrup and water in equal parts, fed by hand at first,
but in a few days they drank readily from a basin. They caught
a few flies and ate some other insects that entered the cage, at-
tracted by the syrup. Mr. Bolles says, however, that "the number
of insects caught by them in this way was small, and I do not think
amounted at any time to ten percent of their food."
The birds were lively and apparently in perfect health from the
time they were captured, July 7, until October 11, when one of
them, the female, began to droop. Two days later she had a con-
vulsion in the morning and died in the afternoon. Autopsy showed
that her body was well nourished and that the organs were ap-
parently normal except the liver, which was "very large, deeply
bile-stained, and very soft."
A week later the other two birds died after exhibiting the same
symptoms as the first bird. The Department of Agriculture ex-
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 131
amined the body of one of these birds and reported enlargement and
fatty degeneration of the liver.
Mr. Bolles remarks that "the most probable cause of this enlarge-
ment of the liver, which seems to have been the reason for the death
of the three sapsiickers, was an undue proportion of' sugar in their
diet. In a wild state they would have eaten insects every day and
kept their stomachs well filled with the chitinous parts of acid in-
sects. Under restraint they secured fewer and fewer insects, until
during the last few weeks of their lives, they had practically no solid
food of any kind."
Summarizing his observations, he says:
From these experiments I draw the following conclusions: (1), that the
yellow-bellied woodpecker may be successfully kept in captivity for a period
corresponding to that during which as a resident bird he taps trees for their
sap, sustained during this time upon a diet of which from 90 to 100 per cent
is diluted maple syrup; (2), that this fact affords evidence of an extremely
strong character, in confirmation and support of the theory that when the
yellow-bellied woodpecker taps trees for their sap he uses the sap as his
principal article of food, and not primarily as a bait to attract insects.
Winton Weydemeyer (1926) in Montana "observed a pair of red-
naped sapsuckers * * * gathering sap to feed their young in
the nest. A regular tree-route, followed alternately by the male and
female, included a quaking aspen, a larger alder, and a large willow,
in which borings had been made. The birds flew directly from the
nest to the aspen, and gathered the sap that had accumulated since
the last visit; then flew to the alder and to the willow, repeating
the process; and finally flew back to the nest, without hunting for
insects. Occasionally the male would vary the process by catching
a few flies from the air, eating some and carrying some to the nest."
Forbush (1927) gives the incubation period of the yellow-bellied
sapsucker as "probably about 14 days."
A. Dawes DuBois furnishes the following note: "Yellow-bellied
sapsuckers were observed feeding young in a nest, in Hennepin
County, Miiin., on July 5, 1937. The nest was about 25 feet above
ground in a partially dead tree at edge of willow-and-alder thicket
adjoining w^oods. Both parents were bringing food. The squeaky
note of the young was repeated with such regularity (about four times
a second) as to indicate that only one nestling was uttering it. Wlien
the nestling was being fed at the entrance, by the poking method,
these notes went up to a higher pitch, and were sometimes choked oJff
almost to inaudibility.
"Two days later, the parents were still feeding very frequently.
The male, who on the first day had been seen to bring a bright red
berry about the size of a pea, again brought a bit of small red fruit.
On one occasion, when the parents were away, the nestling put its
head out of the hole ; but it did not do so when being fed. In gen-
132 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
eral, alarm calls of the parents had little if any effect upon the
squeaking of the nestling, though at one time, July 7, the squeaking
seemed to cease for a short interval when the parent gave the alarm
notes. For the most part the series of squeaky notes is continuous.
It was by hearing these sounds that this nest was discovered."
Plum,ages. — [Author's note: The young sapsucker is hatched
naked, as is the case with other woodpeckers, but the juvenal plumage
is acquired before the young bird leaves the nest. The sexes are
alike in the juvenal plumage. A young bird, not fully grown and
l)robably not long out of the nest, taken June 25, has the black crown
largely concealed by the long brownish tips of the feathers, "ochra-
ceous-tawny" to "buckthorn brown"; each of the black feathers of
the back has a large terminal spot of grayish white, or yellowish white,
producing a boldly spotted pattern; the nape and sides of the neck
have smaller spots of the same color; the wings and tail are as in
the adult fall plumage ; the chin and upper throat are dull white or
pale buffy brownish ; the lower throat and chest are pale brownish,
broken by crescentic bars of dusky ; and the center of the breast and
the abdomen are pale yellow or yellowish white. Changes soon begin
to take place, at irregular intervals, during which the sexes begin
to differentiate. Young males may begin to show traces of red in the
throat patch as early as July; and in August some may have the
crown largely crimson ; the black patch on the chest does not usually
appear until much of the red has been assumed, but some birds show
considerable of both red and black before the end of August. Other
young males may not acquire much red before the end of September.
Progress toward maturity continues all through fall, winter, and
early spring by protracted partial molts; probably most individuals
acquire the fully adult plumage by early spring, but I have seen
birds that had not fully completed this prenuptial molt by the end
of April.
Young females follow the same sequence of molts but are some-
what later in developing the red crown, which apparently is not
acquired until October or later. The adult body plumage of both
sexes is acquired during winter and early spring. Adults have a
partial prenuptial molt about the head and throat early in spring
and a complete molt late in summer and fall. In fresh fall plumage,
the lighter markings are more or less suffused with yellowish or
buffy tints, and the belly is deeper yellow.]
Food. — ^W. L. McAtee (1911) learned by stomach examinations
that the yellow-bellied sapsucker consumed cambium and bast
averaging 16.71 percent of its diet. He continues :
It must be noted also that cambium is a very delicate, perishable material,
at certain times no more than a jelly, and thus never receives a percentage
valuation in examinations of long-preserved stomachs corresponding to its bulk
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 133
when first swallowed. Neither do we get any record of the sap consumed by
these birds [the three species of sapsucker] and they are inordinate tipplers.
Hence the value of the percentages cited lies not so much in their accuracy
as to the quantity of cambium eaten as in the fact that they indicate a steady
consumption of this important substance. There is no doubt that cambium,
bast, and sap are depended upon by sapsuckers as stable diet.
We may get some idea of the amount of sap consumed by the bird
from Frank Bolles' (1892) record of his three young captive sap-
suckers. He says: "Ordinarily they disposed of eight teaspoonfuls
[of diluted syrup] each during the twenty-four hours. Part of this
evaporated, and part was probably secured by black ants which
visited the cage by night."
Bolles (1891), describing the method of feeding of birds in the
wild, says: "The dipping was done regularly and rather quickly,
often two or three times in each hole. The sap glistened on the bill
as it was withdrawn. I could sometimes see the tongue move. The
bill was directed towards the lower, inner part of the drill, which,
as I found by examination, was cut so as to hold the sap."
This is the common method of feeding, but sometimes, when two
or more holes have coalesced into a vertical groove, the bird will run
its bill upward along the edge of the wound, sipping the sap much
as we might, with our finger, wipe off a drop running down from a
pitcher's lip.
McAtee (1911) states that "about four-fifths of the insect food of
the three species of sapsuckers consists of ants, the eating of which
may be reckoned sliglitly in the birds' favor. The remainder of the
food is made up of beetles, wasps, and a great variety of other
insects, including, hov>-ever, practically no wood-boring larvae or
other special enemies of trees. The birds' vegetable food can not
be cited in their behalf, as it consists almost entirely of wild fruits,
which are of no importance, and of cambium, the securing of which
results in serious damage."
F. E. L. Beal (1895) mentions, as articles in the sapsucker's diet,
the berries of dogwood, black alder, Virginia creeper, and wild black
cherries. Winfrid A. Stearns (1883) says: "Nuts, berries, and other
fruits vary its fare ; and to procure these it may often be seen creep-
ing and hanging in the strangest attitudes among the terminal twigs
of trees, so slender that they bend with the weight of the bird." Au-
dubon (1842), in his plate of the sapsucker, gives an animated picture
of the bird thus engaged
Brewster (1876a) shows the bird as an expert flycatcher, "l^rom
an humble delver after worms and larvae, it rises to the proud inde-
pendence of a Flycatcher, taking its prey on wing as unerringly as
the best marksman of them all. From its perch on the spire of some
tall stub it makes a succession of rapid sorties after its abundant
134 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
victims and then flies off to its nest with bill and mouth crammed
full of insects, principally large Diptera.''''
Behavior. — The sapsucker, a bird of wide distribution and in some
parts of its range the commonest woodpecker, has come to be re-
garded with disfavor by man, who accuses it of harming the trees
it drills to obtain its food. Man accuses the bird of weakening trees
by drawing away their life-blood and of killing many by girdling
them with multiple punctures, and he blames the bird for marring
the beauty of trunk and limb by pitting and scarring them.
A study of the habits of the sapsucker shows that its work on
the trees varies with the season and, on the Atlantic coast, is spread
over a territory 3,000 miles long or more. During the migrations,
northward and southward, when the birds are scattered and on the
move, comparatively little harm is done. Here and there a limb
may be killed — either girdled or opened so that infection enters —
and rarely a tree may die, but the chief effect is an esthetic one, the
scarring of the bark with pits, notably in orchards where it is a
matter of common observation that most of the pitted trees are in
perfect health. On their breeding ground and in their winter quar-
ters, however, where the birds are concentrated and remain in on©
locality for a considerable time, the effect is more serious. In the
Southern States especially, the lumber industry suffers material
financial loss due to the fact that deep in the wood cut from trees
on which sapsuckers have worked extensively, when the trees were
small, the grain is distorted and made unsightly by the scars of the
wounds inflicted by the birds years before.
From an exhaustive study of the economic status of the wood-
peckers by W. L. McAtee (1911), the salient points in reference to
the yellow-bellied sapsucker are quoted below :
The results of sapsucker attacks on trees are so uniform and characteristic
as to be distinguished easily from the work of other woodpeckers. Sapsucker
holes are drilled clear through the bark and cambium and often into the wood.
They vary in outline from circular to squarish elliptical, in the latter case
usually having the longer diameter across the limb or trunk. Generally they
are arranged in rings or partial rings around the trunk, but they often fall
into vertical series. Deeply-cut holes arranged with such regularity are made
only by sapsuckers.
After the original pattern of holes is completed, the sapsuckers often con-
tinue their work, taking out the bark between holes until sometimes large
areas are cleanly removed. This often occurs on small limbs or trimks, where
long strips of bark up and down the tree are removed, leaving narrow strings
between. This effect is also produced by continually enlarging single punctures
by excavating at the upper end, * * * which is done to secure fresh inner
bark and a constant supply of sap. Occasionally, after a tree has been check-
ered or grooved after the above-described systematic methods, it may be barked
indiscriminately, leaving only ragged patches of bark. * * * Even in such
cases, however, traces of the regularly arranged punctures are likely to remain,
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 135
and there is no difficulty in recognizing the work as that of sapsuckers, for
no other woodpecker makes anything like it on sound, living trees.
All holes, grooves, or irregular openings made by sapsuckers penetrate at
least to the outermost layer of sapwood or nongrowing part of the tree. This
results in the removal of the exterior rough bark, the delicate inner bark
or bast, and the cambium. Since the elaborated sap (upon which the growth
of trees depends) is conveyed and stored in these layers, it is evident that
sapsuckers attack the trees in a vital part. Each ring of punctures severs
at its particular level part of the sap-carrying vessels, another ring made
above destroys others, and so the process continues until in extreme cases
circulation of elaborated sap stops and the tree dies. When the injury to the
vital tissues is not carried so far, only a limb here and there may die, or the
tree may only have its vitality lowered for a few years. If the attacks cease,
it may completely recover. * * *
Recovery, however, does not mean that the tree has escaped permanent
injury. Patches of cambium of varying size may be killed. Growth ceases at
these points and the dead and discolored areas are finally covered by wood and
bark. Until this process is completed, the tree is disfigured by pits with dead
bark and wood at the bottom, and even when completely healed, the spot
remains a source of weakness. In fact, all sapsucker pecking is followed by
more or less rotting and consequent weakening of the wood, and renders trees
more liable to be broken by the wind or other causes.
Sapsucker injuries usually stimulate growth of the wood layers at the points
attacked, so that they become much thicker than usual. This results in a
slight swelling of the bark, and when the birds reopen the old wounds year
after year, as they habitually do, succeeding wood layers make excess growth
and in time shelflUce girdles develop.
McAtee (1911) gives a long list of trees attacked by the bird. Sum-
marizing, he says: "Condensing the information contained in the
foregoing lists, we find that the yellow-bellied sapsucker attacks no
fewer than 246 species of native trees and 6 vines, besides 31 kinds of
introduced trees. Twenty-nine of these trees and 1 vine are known to
be sometimes killed and 28 others are much disfigured or seriously
reduced in vitality."
Of "the effects of sapsucker work on lumber and finished wood
products" he says:
Those relations of sapsuckers to trees which are detrimental to man's in-
terest are by no means confined to the external disfiguration, the weakening, or
killing of trees. Indeed in the aggregate sapsuckers iufiict much greater finan-
cial loss by rendering defective the wood of the far larger number of trees
which they work upon moderately but do not kill. Blemishes, reducing the
value, appear in the lumber from such trees and in the various articles into
which it is manufactured.
These defects consist of distortion of the grain, formation of knotty growths
and cavities in the wood, extensive staining, fat streaks, resin deposits, and
other blemishes. All of them result from injuries to the cambium, their variety
being due to the differences in the healing. Besides blemishes, ornamental
effects are sometimes produced during the healing of sapsucker wounds, such
as small sound stains, curly grain, and a form of bird's-eye.
McAtee (1911) estimates that "the annual loss for the whole United
States [from the impairment of lumber] is more than a million and
136 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
a quarter dollars." He continues : "Sapsuckers do not prey upon any
especially destructive insects and do comparatively little to offset the
damage they inflict. Hence the yellow-bellied sapsucker * * *
must be included in the class of injurious species."
The situation is quite different on the breeding ground. Here the
birds resort to a group of trees, and confine their feeding activities
almost exclusively to them. Frank Bolles (1891), in his study of the
bird in the region about Mount Chocorua, N. H., terms these stations
"orchards." He describes one of them as consisting "of about a
dozen canoe birches and red mai^les, most of which were dead, some
decayed and fallen. The tree most recently tapped was a red maple
about forty feet high and two feet through at the butt " Of another
"orchard," half a mile away, he says : "The tree in use last year vv-as
nearly dead. Two neighboring birches showing scars of earlier
years were quite dead. All stood on the crest of a kame. About three
rods along the ridge to the eastward a red oak and two or three canoe
birches were in use by the birds." This report shows that sapsuckers
undoubtedly cause the death of many trees as they return to their
"orchards" year after year, but most of these trees are of small value,
especially in the heavily forested regions where the birds commonly
breed.
Bolles (1891) also notes the association of the sapsuckers with the
ruby-throated hummingbirds, which were attracted to the pits by the
running sap. In the main, hosts and guests got along well enough
together, although attacks occurred on both sides from time to time.
He says: "My notes refer again and again to the spiteful treatment
of the Hummers at Orchard No. 1. On the other hand at Orchard
No. 2 they say 'Male and young one dipping. Hummer comes in and
dips several times hetween them and they offer no objection.' "
Major Bendire (1895), half in jest, we may presume, brings an
accusation of inebriety against the sapsucker in these words :
That it should be foud of the sweet sap of trees does not surprise me, as this
contains considerable nourishment, and likewise attracts a good many insects,
which the birds eat ; but it is not so easy to account for its especial predilection
for the sap of the mountain ash, which has a decidedly bitter taste, and I
believe possesses intoxicating properties, unless it be taken for the latter
purpose ; and the fact that after drinking freely of the sap of this tree it may
often be seen clinging to the trunk for hours at a time, as if stupefied, seems
to confirm this view. It is well known that some of our birds indulge in such
disreputable practices, and possibly this species must be included in the number,
as there are sots among birds as well as among the genus Homo.
Voice. — Just as the sapsucker in its behavior is conspicuous, almost
boisterous, at one season of the year and retiring and unobtrusive at
another, in the same way it is very noisy in spring and the early part
of the nesting period and comparatively silent afterward.
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 137
Dr. C. Hart Merriam (1879) speaks of the bird thus: "In few
species can the date of arrival, in spring, be ascertained with such
precision as in the bird now under consideration ; for, no sooner are
they here, and recovered from the fatigue of their northward journey,
than the country fairly resounds with their cries and drumming.
* * * Noisy, rollicking fellows, they are always chasing one
another among the trees, screaming meanwhile at the top of their
voices, and when three or four vociferous males alight on the same
tree, as often happens, their boisterous cries are truly astonishing."
William Brevv'ster (1876a) mentions a "peculiar snarling cry" used
as an alarm note, and of a pair at the nest he says :
Watcliiug once a nest for an hour or two, I remarked that the birds relieved
each other in the labors of incubation at intervals averaging about half an
hour each. The one that had been absent would alight just below the hole,
and, uttering a low ycw-ick, yew-ick, its mate would appear from within, when,
after the interchange of a few notes of endearment, the sitting bird would fly off
and the other instantly enter the hole. * * *
Both young and old utter most frequently a low snarling cry that bears no
very distant resemblance to the meio of the Catbird. The adults have also two
other notes — one, already spoken of, when the opposite sexes meet ; the other a
clear, ringing clear, repeated five or six times in succession, and heard, I think,
only in the spring.
Of the voice of the sapsucker, Bendire (1895) says: "Its ordinary
call note is a whining 'wliiiee,' and it utters a number of other sounds,
some of these resembling the calls of the Blue Jay, and others those
of the Red-shouldered Hawk. During the mating season, when the
sexes are chasing each other, a series of notes like 'hoih-hoih,' a num-
ber of times repeated, are frequently heard. Although generally
disposed to be more or less noisy, while clinging to their food trees
they are always silent as far as my observations go."
The note mentioned above does resemble the cry of the blue jay
somewhat in form, but the notes of the two birds need never be con-
fused. The sapsucker's may be as long as the blue jay's, or the caw
of a crow ; again it may be given as a very short syllable. The note
commonly is not nearly so loud as the blue jay's and the tone of voice
is different ; it is a complaining whine rather than a boisterous shout.
Another note, a minor note heard only when one is near the bird,
is very like the explosive hit of the red-breasted nuthatch — the little
conversational note that the nuthatches use as they scramble over the
bark, not the nasal toot.
The most remarkable of the sapsucker's utterances, in that it does
not resemble a bird note at all, is a single syllable sounded regularly
over and over again — a low-toned tuck, like slow, sharp strokes on
a nonresonant branch. This note might sometimes be mistaken for a
chipmunk's pluck, except that it lacks completely any ringing quality
of tone.
90S01— 39 10
138 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Field marks. — The colored plates in the illustrated books on
ornithology lead one to expect to find the yellow-bellied sapsucker
rather a brilliantly colored, conspicuous bird. However, when we
meet it in the field, the colors, so bright and sharply outlined in the
picture of the bird, are often dimmed by the shadows of limbs and
leaves, and as the chief color is of a neutral tint, not unlike the bark
of many trees, we may sometimes pass the bird by, unnoticed. Our
first impression of the bird, when we catch a glimpse of it,
is of a medium-sized woodpecker, dull old-gold in color, and almost
without markings. A glass, however, brings out a thin line of white
along the length of the closed wing, a red or reddish forehead and
fore part of the crown, a black mark across the upper breast, and,
if we look very carefully, a yellowish belly.
W. L. McAtee (1911) points out the black mark is characteristic
of nearly all sapsuckers, and he links it up pretty successfully with
a red forehead. For example, The red-breasted sapsucker lacks the
black mark, but has a red head; the flicker, not a sapsucker, has a
"black spot on breast, but top of head from bill is not red"; the
pileated woodpecker "not a sapsucker. Entire lower parts black."
He continues: "All sapsuckers have yellow bellies, few other wood-
peckers have; all sapsuckers have a conspicuous white patch on the
upper part of the wing, as seen from the side when clinging to a
tree; white wing patches in other woodpeckers are on the middle or
lower part of the wings. The yellow-bellied sapsucker of trans-
continental range is the only woodpecker having the front of the
head (i. e., from bill to crown) red in combination with a black
patch on the breast."
Fall. — Generally when we see the yellow-bellied sapsucker in au-
tumn, during its slow journey toward the Southern States, it is alone.
A single bird may settle for two or three days in our dooryard, if
there be a tree there to its liking, perching well up in it and rarely
moving away. Here it is inconspicuous : its brownish color matches
the bark closely ; it moves deliberately, as if to avoid notice ; by hop-
ping behind a branch it keeps out of sight most of the time; and
commonly it is perfectly silent. On occasion it makes use of its
whining cry, and if two birds meet they may utter the red-breasted-
nuthatch note, but as a rule this woodpecker is one of the quietest
of migrants.
If we watch a bird for a time, we see that it is picking at the
bark, dislodging bits of it in searching for concealed food. It hops
forward, backward, and around the limbs, moving easily, taking
rather long, rapid hops, seeming careless of a fall. When investi-
gating crevices and peering under flakes of bark it cranes its neck,
turning its head from side to side. The neck then appears con-
stricted, like a pileated woodpecker in miniature.
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 139
At other times it may drill holes — even the young birds of the
year, which can have had little experience in this kind of work.
They drill with a sideways stroke, to one side, then the other, then,
perhaps, a stroke straight at the branch. In this manner, before
very long, a small area is denuded of bark, the sideways strokes
giving it an oval shape with the long axis parallel to the ground.
However, at this season, mid-October, in the latitude of Boston, little
sap rewards their efforts.
Winter. — Sapsuckers spend the winter mainly in the Southern
States, Central America, and on the islands south of North America,
but there are a few records indicating that a bird rarely may remain
nearly or quite as far north as the southern limit of the breeding
range. For example, Fred. H. Kennard (1895) reports finding one
in Brookline, Mass., on February 6, 1895. Collected, "he proved to
be in fine, fat condition"; and Harriet A. Nye (1918) watched, in
Fairfield Center, Maine, a bird throughout the winter of 1911, in
which the temperature fell to 32° below zero. Apples formed a
considerable part of this bird's diet, although he often hunted over
the branches and trunks of trees. He was last seen April 5 "as
sprightly as ever."
DISTEIBUTION
Range. — North and Central America and the West Indies, casual
in Bermuda and Greenland.
Breeding range. — This species breeds north to southeastern Alaska;
(probably Skagway) ; southern Mackenzie (Nahanni Mountain, Fort
Providence, and Fort Eesolution) ; northern Manitoba (Cochrane
River and probably Fort Churchill) ; Ontario (Lac Seul and prob-
ably Moose Factory) ; Quebec (Montreal, Quebec City, Godbout,
Ellis Bay, and probably Eskimo Point) ; and Newfoundland (Fox
Island and Nicholsville) . East to Newfoundland ( Nicholsville, Deer
Lake, and Harrys Eiver) ; Nova Scotia (Sydney and Halifax) ;
Maine (Bucksport and Livermore Falls) ; southeastern New Hamp-
shire (Ossipee and Monadnock Mountain) ; western Massachusetts
(Chesterfield) ; New Jersey (Midvale) ; and western Virginia
(Sounding Knob, Cold Mountain, and White Top Mountain).
South to southwestern Virginia (A^Hiite Top Mountain) ; northwest-
ern Indiana (Kouts) ; central Illinois (Peoria) ; eastern Missouri (St.
Louis) ; Iowa (Keokuk, Grinnell, and Ogden) ; southeastern South
Dakota (Sioux Falls and probably Vermillion) ; New Mexico (Pot
Creek and Diamond Peak) ; Arizona (Buffalo Creek and Kaibab
Plateau) ; and southern California (San Bernardino Mountains, San
Jacinto Mountains, and Mount Pinos). West to California (Mount
Pinos, Big Creek, Cisco, Carlotta, and Mount Shasta) ; western
Oregon (Prospect, Elkton, Salem, and Tillamook) ; Washington
140 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
(Tacoma and Seattle) ; British Columbia (Beaver Creeir, Alta Lake,
and Masset) ; and southeastern Alaska (Craig, Wrangell, and prob-
ably Skagway),
Winter range. — The winter range extends north to southwestern
British Columbia (Comox) ; northeastern Oregon (Haines) ; central
Arizona (Oak Creek) ; southern New Mexico (Silver City) ; Kansas
(Wichita, Topeka, and Bendena) ; Missouri (Lexington and Nelson) ;
Illinois (Bernadotte and Mount Carmel) ; southern Indiana (Vin-
cennes and probably Bloomington) ; southern Ohio (Hamilton and
Hillsboro) ; northern Maryland (Hagerstown) ; southeastern Penn-
sylvania (Edge Hill) ; and southern New Jersey (Newfield). From
this point the species is found in winter south along the Atlantic
coast to southern Florida (Miami, Royal Palm Hammock, and Key
West) ; the Bahama Islands (Nassau, Watling Island, and Great
Inagua) ; and the northern Lesser Antilles (St. Croix). South to
the Lesser Antilles (St. Croix) ; rarely Haiti (Gonave Island) ; and
rarely Costa Rica (Coli Blanco and Punta Arenas). From this
southwestern point the winter range extends northward along the
western coast of Central America (including Baja California) to
California; Oregon; rarely Washington; and southwestern British
Columbia (probably Barkley Sound and Comox). In the eastern
part of the country the species is found irregularly north to southern
Wisconsin (Madison) ; southern Michigan (Ann Arbor and Detroit) ;
southern Ontario (London and Lindsay) ; southern Vermont (Ben-
nington) ; and central Maine (Fairfield and Dover).
The range as above outlined covers the entire species, which has
been separated into four subspecies or geographic races. The typical
form, known as the yellow-bellied sapsucker {S. v. varius), is found
during the breeding season over all the northern parts of the range
east of Alaska and south to Missouri and the mountains of western
Virginia. In winter it is found south to Central America and the
West Indies. The red-naped sapsucker {S. v. nuchalis) is found
chiefly in the Rocky Mountain region from central British Columbia
south (in winter) to Baja California and central Mexico. The north-
ern red-breasted sapsucker {S. v. ruber) breeds from southeastern
Alaska south through the mountains to western Oregon and in winter
to central California. The southern red-breasted sapsucker {S. v.
daggetti) is confined to the mountains of California and northern
Baja California.
Sfring migration. — Early dates of spring arrival are: Quebec —
Montreal, March 25 ; Westmount, March 30. New Brunswick — Scotch
Lake, April 12; St. John, April 22. Nova Scotia — Wolfville, April
30. Northern Michigan — Blaney, April 2; Sault Ste. Marie, April
10; Houghton, April 24. Minnesota — Elk River, March 26; Minne-
apolis, March 29. Nebraska — Omaha, April 14. South Dakota —
RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER 141
Faulkton, April 15. North Dakota — Fargo, April 15. Manitoba —
Aweme, March 31; Margaret, April 17. Saskatchewan — Indian
Head, April 4. Colorado — Estes Park, April 27. Wyoming — Yel-
lowstone Park, May 12. Montana — Columbia Falls, April 13. Al-
berta — Stony Plain, April 1; Edmonton, May 2. Mackenzie — Fort
Simpson, May 11. Alaska — Chilkat River, April 12; Admiralty Is-
land, April 17 ; Forrester Island, May 6.
Fall migration. — Late dates of fall departure are : Alberta — Glen-
evis, September 24. Montana — Fortine, September 20; Kalispell,
October 1. Wyoming — Yellowstone Park, October 2. Colorado —
De Beque, October 1; Denver, October 8; Walden, October 16. Sas-
katchewan — Indian Head, September 25. Manitoba — Shoal Lake,
September 30; Treesbank, October 14; Margaret, October 24. North
Dakota — Rice Lake, October 1; Fargo, October 2. South Dakota —
Yankton, October 5 ; Faulkton, October 20. Nebraska — Monroe Can-
yon, Sioux County, October 4. Minnesota — Elk River, October 15;
Lanesboro, October 19. Northern Michigan — Blaney, October 1;
Houghton, October 2; Sault Ste. Marie, October 22. Nova Scotia —
Sable Island, October 9. New Brunswick — Scotch Lake, November
4. Quebec — Montreal, October 1; Quebec City, October 2.
Casual records. — According to Reid (1884) several specimens of
this species were taken in Bermuda during the period 1847-1850 when
it bred in that area. He also noted it in 1875. A specimen was
found dead at Julianshaab, Greenland, in July 1845; another was
obtained in that general region about 1858 ; and an adult female was
collected at Loup Bay, Labrador, on May 5, 1899.
Egg dates. — Alberta: 19 records. May 20 to June 18; 10 records,
May 30 to June 11, indicating the height of the season.
California: 13 records. May 12 to June 21; 7 records, May 30 to
June 9.
Colorado : 19 records. May 27 to June 15 ; 10 records, June 4 to 12.
Illinois : 5 records, April 20 to June 3.
Nova Scotia : 14 records. May 28 to June 15 ; 7 records, June 5 to 10.
Oregon: 24 records, May 12 to June 12; 12 records, May 25 to
June 2.
SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS NUCHALIS Baird
RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER
HABITS
The western race of the eastern yellow-bellied sapsucker occupies an
extensive range in the general region of the Rocky Mountains, chiefly
east of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges, from central British
Columbia and Alberta to western Texas and Arizona.
142 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Ridgway (1914) gives a full description of tliis form, which is worth
quoting in view of his remarks as to its status ; he describes it as —
Similar to /S. v. varius, but with much less white on back, this forming two defi-
nite but broken stripes, converging posteriorly ; nape always with more or less
of red, under parts less strongly tinged with yellow, and wing and tail averaging
decidedly longer; adult male with red of throat more extended, both laterally
and posteriorly, covering malar region (except anterior portion), where meeting
white sub-auricular stripe ; adult female with at least lower half of throat red
(sometimes whole throat red, only the chin being white) ; young much darker
above than corresponding stage of Sf. v. varius, the pileum dark sooty slate, white
markings on back less brownish, and under parts much less yellowish, the chest
and foreneck brownish gray or grayish brown (instead of huffy brown), and
usually less distinctly barred or lunulated with dusky.
On account of the conspicuous difference in coloration of the yoiuig, definite
difference in color pattern of back, head, and neck in adults, and comparative
rarity of intermediate specimens (which are far less common, relatively, than in
the case of Colaptes), I believe that it would be better to consider this form as
specifically distinct from S. varius. It is true that specimens do occur that are
intermediate between 8. nuchalis and 8. varius, as well as between the former
and 8. ruier; but they may be (and I believe they are) hybrids ; certainly there is
no more reason for not considering them as such than in the case of Colaptes;
and if 8. nuchalis is to be considered as merely a subspecies of 8. varius then,
most certainly, must 8. ruler also.
Mr. Ridgway (1877) says of its haunts:
Throughout the country between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains,
the red-naped woodpecker is a common species in suitable localities. Its favorite
summer-haunts are the groves of large aspens near the head of the upper caiions,
high up in the mountains, and for this reason we found it more abundant in the
Wahsatch and Uintah region than elsewhere ; indeed, but a single individual was
observed on the Sierra Nevada, and this one was obtained on the eastern slope of
the range, near Carson City. It was very rare throughout western Nevada, but
became abundant as we approached the higher mountains in the eastern portion
of the State. Among the aspen groves in Parley's Park, as well as in similar
places throughout that portion of the country, it was by far the most abundant
of the Woodpeckers; and it seemed to be as strictly confined to the aspens as
/S. thyroideus was to the pines.
The Weydemeyers (1928) say that, in northwestern Montana, "it
occurs most abundantly and typically in mixed broad-leaf and conifer
associations along streams, where it nests regularly. It ranges less
commonly into virgin forests of fir, larch, yellow pine, and hemlock
{Tsuffa heterophylla) in the valleys; and into arborvitae, lodgepole
pine, and spruce woods of the foothills. Occasional birds are seen in
alpine fir and spruce woods upward to the lower borders of the Hud-
sonian zone."
Courtship. — M, P, Skinner says in his notes: "On May 13, 1915, I
saw a red-naped sapsucker drumming on a hollow, dead lodgepole
pine ; soon he flew to the top of another pine, where his mate was, and
the two began bobbing and curtsying in true cake-walk fashion much
RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER 143
like flickers, except that these sapsuckers were on a vertical stub.
There Avas no movement of the feet, but the body was bent from side to
side, and there was a constant 'juggling' motion. The head was tilted
back and the bill pointed up at an angle of sixty degrees, with neck
outstretched. The neck, head, and bill were in constant motion.
That of the bill reminded me of a musical director's baton."
Nesting. — The Weydemeyers (1928) say of its nesting habits: "As
elsewhere in the state, this bird in Lincoln County nests most com-
monly in live aspens. Our records for this area include four nests
in live aspens, one in a live larch, and one in a dead Engelmann
spruce. These nests were all in the Transition zone, near streams,
Three of the nests in aspens were in a single tree, in successive
years. Nest -hole preparation usually commences immediately upon
the arrival of the birds in the spring, about April 20."
Major Bendire (1895) gives an attractive account of finding a nest
of this woodpecker in a live aspen, in a small grove of these trees,
near Camp Harney, Oregon, on June 12, 1877: "Their nesting site
was directly over my head, about 20 feet from the ground. * * *
The entrance to the excavation was exceedingly small, not over li/^
inches in diameter, about 8 inches deep, and about 4 inches wide at
the bottom. It contained three nearly fresh eggs, lying partly em-
bedded in a layer of fine chips."
He quotes tlie following observations of Denis Gale:
My observations have been that this subspecies invariably selects for its
nesting site a living aspen tree. I have never met with it in any other. This
tree favors the mountain gulches and low, sheltered hillsides, at an altitude of
from 7,000 to 10,000 feet. Above this point they do not attain sufficient size,
and are mostly dwarfed and scrubby. Here in Colorado Sphyrapicus varius
nuchalis is seldom found above 9,000 feet or much below 8,000 feet. The aspen
tree is short lived, and ere much of a growth is attained, a cross section, in
the majority of instances, will show a discolored center of incipient decay, in-
volving half or two-thirds of its entire diameter, with a sound, white sap zone
on the outer circumference, next to the bark. This sound, healthy zone
nourishes the tree until the decayed core discovers itself in some withered
limbs, and frequently the top of the tree manifests the canker.
Such trees the Red-naped Sapsucker selects for its nesting site, and with
great perseverance chisels through this tough, sound zone, from 1 to l^^ inches
in thickness, commencing with a very small hole and gradually extending its
circumference with each stage of the deepening process, working from the
lowest center out, till the exact circumference of the intended aperture of
entrance is attained. In thus radiating in circles from the central point the
minute chips are chiseled out with considerable ease. This mode of working
is observed until the tough zone is worked through; what remains then is
comparatively easy work; the soft, soggy, lifeless inside is worked into and
downward with greater facility, and a roomy, gourd-shaped excavation quickly
follows, the female doing the excavating from beginning to end, and, accord-
ing to exigencies, completes it in from six to ten days. * * *
144 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Sphyrapicus varius nuchalis usually insists upon a new excavation each
year. The height of the nesting sites from the ground varies from 5 to 30
feet ; the full set of eggs is four or five in number ; sometimes a smaller num-
ber of eggs mark a full set, presumably the nest of one of last year's birds.
Fresh eggs may be looked for in Colorado from June 1 to 15, and should the
first set be taken, a second one may generally be found from ten to fifteen
days later; and, as a rule, the second nesting site vpill not be greatly distant
from the first one. Several nests of this species may be found within a short
distance of each other in the same aspen grove.
Eggs. — Major Bendire (1895) says of the eggs: "The number of
eggs to a set varies from three to six, usually four or five ; these are
mostly ovate in shape, a few are more elliptical ovate; they are
pure white in color ; the shell is fine grained and moderately glossy."
The measurements of 40 eggs average 22.89 by 17.28 millimeters; the
eggs showing the four extremes measure 24.38 by 1G.76, 23.60 by
18.50, 20.83 by 16.76, and 21.34 by 16.26 millimeters.
Young. — Major Bendire (1895) says: "I believe that both sexes
assist in the labor of excavating the nesting site, the female appearing
to do the greater part of the work, however, which is frequently very
laborious, and that the male also shares the duties of incubation,
which lasts about fourteen days."
Food. — Again, he writes: "Its general habits are similar to those
of the preceding species [yellow-bellied sapsucker] , and in the fruit-
growing sections within its range, in southern Utah, for instance, it
is said to do considerable damage to the orchards in the early spring
and again in the fall, tapping the peach and apple trees for sap in
the same manner as Sphyrapicus varius does in the East. Its prin-
cipal food consists of small beetles, spiders, grasshoppers, ants, and
such larvse as are to be found under the loose bark of trees, as well
as v/ild berries of different kinds."
W. L. McAtee (1911) gives a long list of trees that are attacked
by this species of sapsucker, among which this western race is charged
with doing considerable damage to many western trees, such as va-
rious pines, spruces, hemlocks, firs, redwood, cedars, cypresses, juni-
pers, cottonwoods, aspens, willows, bayberry, walnuts, hophornbeam,
white alder, oaks, laurels, sycamores, mahoganies, pears, apples,
cherries, mesquite, ironwood, maples, Ceanothus, Fremontia, western
dogwood, madrona, buckthorn, ashes, and probably others.
Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1914) says, referring to the Colorado Valley,
where this sapsucker was evidently wintering among the willow
thickets: "Willows were the trees attacked by this woodj)ecker; but
in one case a single large mesquite, and the only one of many in the
vicinity, had been selected for bleeding, and its main trunk
and larger branches were plentifully bored. I visited this tree
many times during the space of three days, March 2 to 4, opposite
The Needles, and invariably found a sapsucker w^orking about the
RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER 145
borings. I shot two of the birds at this mesquite, and there was still
one there the last time I visited the tree, although I had never seen
but one at a time there."
W. L. Dawson (1923) remarks: "In lieu of maple sap the west-
ern bird makes heavy requisition on the fresh-flowing pitch of pine
and fir trees. As for cambium, that of the aspen {Populiis tremu-
loides) has marked preference, and the summer range of the bird, so
far as it goes, is practically controlled by the occurrence of the tree.
Inasmuch as this tree is short-lived and of slight economic impor-
tance, the depredations of the bark-eaters are not seriously felt."
Mr. Skinner says, in his Yellowstone Park notes : "I have seen the
red-naped sapsucker pick and hammer on dead aspens and on the
trunks of lodgepole pine for insects. On June 28, 1917, I saw one
make frequent flycatcher-like sallies from an aspen out into the
open."
Behavior. — John H. Flanagan (1911) witnessed a rather remark-
able performance by a red-naped sapsucker, such as I had not seen
recorded elsewhere. He had chopped out a nest containing two fresh
eggs and was intending to leave them for a possible addition to the
set, as he had done successfully before, when one of the birds, "both
of which remained in sight, flew to the tree, perched a moment upon
the edge of the cut hole, then went in, and shortly reappeared with
one of the eggs in its beak. It flew to a nearby stub, not more than
forty feet from where" he "was sitting, calmly devoured the Qgg and
dropped the empty shell."
Winter. — Apparently the fall migration of this woodpecker con-
sists largely of a withdrawal from the high altitudes, in which it
breeds, to winter resorts in the lowlands. Major Bendire (1895) says:
"During the winter months, I have occasionally observed a red-naped
sapsucker in the Harney Valley, in Oregon, busily engaged in hunting
for food among the willow thickets found growing along the banks
of the small streams in that sagebrush-covered region, often long dis-
tances away from timber of any size."
Dr. Grinnell (1914) noted it, as a winter visitant, among the willows
and mesquites in the lower Colorado Valley. And M. French Oilman
(191.5), referring to the Arizona lowlands, says: "The red-naped sap-
sucker {Sphyrapicus varius nuchalis) is a winter visitant along the
Gila River, and while not to be called abundant, is frequently noticed.
I have seen individuals from October 6 to as late as April 17, and in
all the months between these two dates. Once I saw three in one mes-
quite tree. Signs of their work are frequently present on cottonwood
and willow trees and occasionally on an Arizona ash. If there are any
almond trees in the country they are sure to be attacked, as they are
favorites with these birds. Only once or twice have I seen mesquite
trees attacked."
146 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS DAGGETTI Grinnell
SOUTHERN RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER
HABITS
The above name was applied to this sapsucker by Dr. Joseph Grin-
nell (1901) and was characterized by him as smaller and paler than
the northern race and with a maximum extent of white markings.
It is evidently a well-marked race. But whether the red-breasted
sapsucker should be considered a subspecies of the yellow-bellied sap-
sucker seems to me to be a decidedly open question, on which authori-
ties seem to have differed, or to have changed their minds. In support
of his views, Dr. Grinnell (1901) says : "I have examined a number of
skins of the nuchalis type, and others approaching ruber in almost
every degree, and I am certain that there is a continuous intergrada-
tion geographically between the eastern S. varius and ruber of the
Pacific Coast. The intermediates do not appear to be the result of
'hybridization' and the case does not seem to be at all parallel to that
of Colaptes auratus and C. cafer. Therefore I see no reason why the
Red-breasted Sapsucker is of more than subspecific rank,"
It is interesting to note that Ridgway used the name Sphyrapicus
varius ruber in 1872 and again in 1874 (Ridgway, 1914, in synonymy),
but 40 years later (1914) he gave the red-breasted sapsucker full spe-
cific rank, apparently having changed his mind. And, in the same
work, in a footnote under the red-naped sapsucker, referring to the
intergrades mentioned by Dr. Grinnell, he says: "But they may be
(and I believe are) hybrids ; certainly there is no more reason for not
considering them as such than in the case of Colaptes.''^
Certainly the red-breasted sapsucker and the yellow-bellied sap-
sucker are as much unlike in appearance as the two flickers; and the
hybrid flickers certainly show "every degree" of intergradation. In
the large series of sapsuckers that I have examined, containing 87 typi-
cal ruber and 86 typical nuchalis^ I was able to find only 8 specimens
that could, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered as inter-
mediates; I believe that these intergrading sapsuckers will prove to
be relatively less common than are the hybrids between the two flickers.
It is interesting, too, to note that the first three editions of the
A. O. U. Check-List, 1886, 1895, and 1910, all gave the red-breasted
sapsucker full specific rank, in spite of the fact that Ridgway had
called it a subspecies of the yellow-bellied in 1872, and Grinnell had
done the same in 1901. But the fourth edition, 1931, adopts the sub-
species theory, in spite of Ridg way's latest decision.
The southern race of the red-breasted sapsucker breeds in the
Canadian and Transition Zones in the mountains of California, from
the Trinity and Warner Mountains southward to the San Jacinto
Mountains. Grinnell and Storer (1924) say that it "is found in the
SOUTHERN RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER 147
main forest belt during the spring, summer, and fall, but regularly
performs an altitudinal migration which carries it down into the
tree growths of the western foothills and valleys for the winter
months."
Nesting. — Very little seems to have been published on the nesting
habits of this sapsucker, which probably do not differ materially from
those of its northern relative, about which more seems to be known.
Wright M. Pierce (1916) located one of its nests in the San Bernardino
Mountains, on June 26, of which he says: "The cavity was in the
dead top of a large live silver fir about forty-five feet up. The cavity
had a small opening and was only 5 or 6 inches deep ; diameter, inside,
V/2 or 2 inches. The nest held two large young and one smaller
dead one. It was hard to see how more than one bird could survive
in such a small space, so it was not surprising that the probably
weaker bird had apparently been suffocated."
Eggs. — The red-breasted sapsucker lays usually four or five eggs,
sometimes as many as six. Like all woodpeckers' eggs, they are
pure white, usually with very little or no gloss, and they vary from
ovate to rounded-ovate. The measurements of 13 eggs average 23.79
by 17.25 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure
24.6 by 17.0, 23.81 by 17.86, 22.5 by 17.5, and 24.5 by 16.6 millimeters.
Young. — Incubation is said to last about 14 days; this duty and
the care of the young is shared by both parents. Mrs. Irene G.
Wheelock (1904) says of a nest that she watched: "Incubation began
May 30, and lasted fifteen days. The young were fed by regurgita-
tion for the first two weeks. * * *
"The young sapsuckers left the nest on the seventh of July, and
clung to the nest tree for three days. Here they were initiated by
both parents into the mysteries of sap-sucking. A hole having been
bored in front of each, with grotesque earnestness the mother
watched the attempt to drink the sweet syrup. During this time both
insects and berries were brought to them by the adults, in one hour
one youngster devouring twelve insects that looked like dragonflies."
Mrs. Florence M. Bailey (1902) writes:
The last week in July at Donner Lake we found a family of dull colored
young going about with their mother, a handsome old bird with dark red head
and breast. They flew around in a poplar grove for a while, and then gathered
in a clump of willows, where four young clung to the branches and devoted
themselves to eating sap. The old bird flew about among them and seemingly
cut and scraped off the bark for them, at the same time apparently trying to
teach them to eat the sap for themselves ; for though she would feed them at
other times she refused to feed them there, and apparently watched carefully
to see if they knew enough to drink the sap. When the meal was flnally over
and the birds had flown, we examined the branch and found that lengthwise
strips of bark had been cut off, leaving narrow strips like fiddle-strings between.
At the freshly cut places the sap exuded as sweet as sugar, ready for the birds
to suck.
148 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Plumages. — ^Like other young sapsuckers, the young of this species
are hatched naked, but the juvenal phunage is acquired before they
leave the nest. In the juvenal plumage, in which the sexes are alike,
the wings and tail are essentially as in the adult ; the head and neck,
except for the white stripe below the eye, are dark grayish sooty,
though the forehead and crown are usually more or less tinged with
dull red ; the sides and flanks are more or less barred with dull gray
and white ; and the abdomen is dull yellowish white.
By the last of July, or first of August, the molt into the first winter
plumage begins, with an increasing amount of red coming in on the
crown, throat, and breast ; at the same time the yellow of the abdomen
becomes brighter. This molt continues through fall and is often not
complete until November or later. The young bird is now much like
the adult. In fall birds, both adult and young, the red of the head
and breast is much duller than in sprmg, "Brazil red" to "dragon's
blood red" in the fall, and "scarlet red" or bright "scarlet" in the
late winter and spring; this is due, of course, to the wearing away
of the tips of the feathers; in early summer, just before molting, the
red is decidedly brilliant.
Adults have a complete annual molt, beginning sometimes in July
and lasting through August or later.
Food. — The food of the red-breasted sapsucker is much like that
of its close relatives in the varius group. M. P. Skinner writes to
me : "I have found red-breasted sapsuckers drilling on cottonwoods,
willows, yellow pines, and lodgepole pines: but all the actual feed-
ing I have seen was on willows. Mr. Michael tells me that these
birds work largely on the apple trees that have been planted in
various parts of the Yosemite Valley. When a sapsucker is at its
wells, it takes a sip now and then, but considerable time is used in
watchful guarding, or in driving away intruders or would-be rob-
bers. In the case of such wells as I found on willow stems, I could
see no established regularity in arrangement. They looked as if the
bark had been irregularly scaled off. In fact, such work may be
necessary to secure the inner bark; yet the birds actually took sap
at such wells. One had a dozen willow stems on which it drilled
and sipped in succession; each one was only a few inches from the
next ; and the bark of each, both above and below the wells, was worni
smooth. This bird went from well to well in regular order, then
back to the first well to begin again. Although sap formed the bulk
of their food in August, I have seen them also searching the bark for
insects during that same month."
McAtee (1911) lists the following trees that are attacked by the
red-breasted sapsucker : Cottonwoods, willows, walnuts, birches, oaks,
barberry, sycamore, mountain-ash, pears, apples, peaches, plums,
apricot, orange, pepper, and blue gum (Eucalyptus). Emanuel
SOUTHERN RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER 149
Fritz (1937) has, on several occasions, found this sapsucker attack-
ing redwood trees. "In each instance the individual tree was 'pep-
pered' with holes in horizontal rows, from the base to the top. In
virgin timber, it is only an occasional tree that is attacked, and one
searches in vain for another victim in the general vicinity. * * *
"During the present year, the writer came upon his first example
of sapsucker work on so-called second-growth redwood. * * *
The sapsuckers attacked every tree in two groups, or families, of
sprouts."
W. L. Dawson (1923) writes:
The red-breasted sapsucker does puncture trees and drink sap both in summer
and winter. In summer it attacks in this fashion not only pine, fir, aspen,
alder, cottonwood and willow trees, but such orchard trees as apple, pear, prune
and the like, as may lie within Transition areas. In winter at lower levels it
gives attention to evergreen trees, white birch, mountain ash, peach, plum,
apricot, English walnut, elder, and pepper trees. * * * Instead of gleaning
at random, as we might expect, the Sapsucker makes careful selection, like
a prudent forester, of a single tree, and confines his attentions henceforth, even
though it be through succeeding seasons, to that one tree. Starting well
toward the top of an evergreen, or well up on the major branches of an orchard
tree, the bird works successively downward in perpendicular rows, whose
borings are sometimes confluent. In this way the bird secures an ever-fresh
how of sap, from below. If carried on too extensively, or persisted in for
successive seasons, these operations will sometimes cause 'a tree to bleed fatally,
or at least to fall easy victim to insect pests. I have myself seen limbs of
mountain ash trees, pear trees, and English walnut, done to death in this
fashion. Yet it is only fair to say that but one or two trees in an orchard may
be attacked, and there is scarcely more danger of the trouble spreading than
there would be from successive strokes of lightning. * * *
For the rest, Sphyrapicus rul)cr is a large consumer of ants, and does some
good in the destruction of leaf-eating beetles. Berries of the pepper trees
(Schinns molle) 'are eaten to some extent, in winter, as are also, regrettably,
seeds of the poison oak.
W. Otto Emerson (1893) says: "One I watched every morning
from my tent fly to the top of a tall burnt tree and rap its roll-call
as a kind of warning may be to the flying insects. It would then
sail out like a flycatcher, catch an insect, and return to the burnt
tree-top. Its movements were very graceful and regular. As it
dipped or circled around for this or that insect the sunlight catching
on the red breast lit it up like a patch of flame." He says else-
where (1899) : "One I found in a willow tree trying to get the best
of a yellow jacket's nest, dodging back and forth either to get a
mouthful of their stored sweets or the jackets themselves."
Junius Henderson (1927) gives, in his table, the percentages of
animal and vegetable food, exclusive of sap, taken by this sapsucker.
Based on a study of 34 stomachs the total animal food made up 69
percent and the total vegetable food 31 percent of the whole; 42
150 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
percent consisted of ants and 12 percent of fruits, mostly wild;
insects accounted for 11 percent and seeds for 5 percent.
Behavior. — Grinnell and Storer (1924) write:
The Sierra red-breasted sapsucker is iu our experience well-nigli voiceless
and its work is done in such a quiet manner that it does not ordinarily attract
attention, as do the woodpeckers that are wont to pound noisily. The most
vigorous drilling of the sapsucker will scarcely be heard more than a hundred
feet away. The bird moves its head through a short arc, an inch or two at
the most, giving but slight momentum to the blows. The chips cut away are
correspondingly small, mere sawdust as compared with the splinters or slabs
chiseled off by other woodpeckers. The strokes are delivered in intermittent
series, four or five within a second, then a pause of equal duration, then
another short series, and so on. From time to time a longer pause ensues,
when the sapsucker withdraws its bill and gazes monocularly at the work.
Mr. Skinner says, in liis notes: "Although methodical, these birds
seem quite nervous, moving from stem to stem. Generally they perch
lengthwise of a limb when working or feeding but are apt to perch
crosswise when hopping from limb to limb. After a sapsucker has its
wells established, it finds it necessary to stay near to guard them
from other birds attracted by the sap, or by the insects drawn there.
Preening is often done while guarding the wells. The hairy wood-
peckers chase these sapsuckers from tree to tree. The Audubon and
lutescent warblers literally swarm to the sap-wells in the willows
whenever the sapsuckers cease to guard them, but I do not know that
there is active antagonism between the species. On one occasion, I
saw a young sapsucker chase off a chipmunk that came too near."
Voice. — Ralph Hoffmann (1927) says that "the ordinary cry is a
nasal squeal, chee-ar)% somewhat suggesting the note of a red-bellied
hawk." But it is apparently not a noisy bird, as Grinnell and Storer
(1924) say that it is "well-nigh voiceless".
Field marks. — The red head and breast of the adult are unmis-
takable and very conspicuous. The young bird might be mistaken
for the young of the red-naped sapsucker, as they are much alike,
but the head of the red-breasted sapsucker is darker and often shows
dull red. The broad, white band in the wing is conspicuous while
the bird is perched or when flying; this is common to both adults
and young, but the red-naped sapsucker has a very similar white
band.
Winter. — Mr. Dawson (1923) writes: "Sapsuckers are more ex-
tensively migratory than any other woodpeckers, save Golaptes, but
ruber''s migTations are chiefly altitudinal. Retirement from the un-
tenable heights is quite irregular, and dependent upon weather con-
ditions. The winter distribution, also, appears somewhat irregular
and haphazard. The bird is very quiet and rather stolid in winter,
as becomes a bird of high feather. It is, however, quite as likely
to be seen in a city park or on a shaded avenue as in a foothill forest."
NORTHERN RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER 151
SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS RUBER (Gmelin)
NORTHERN RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER
HABITS
The northern race of the red-breasted sapsucker breeds from
Alaska southward to western Oregon, chiefly in the Canadian Zone.
Ridgway (1914) says that it is "similar to" the southern race, "but
slightly larger and with coloration darker and brighter; the red of
the head, neck, and chest averaging brighter, and whitish spots
on back usually smaller (sometimes obsolete)."
Bendire (1895) says of its haunts:
Throughout its range I think this species breeds frequently at lower alti-
tudes than SpJiyrapicus varius nuchalis. Fort Klamath, however, although
but 4,200 feet above sea level, has a very cool summer climate, frosts occurring
in almost every month in the year. The surrounding country is very beauti-
ful at that time. Heavy, open forests of stately pines and firs, among these
the graceful and beautiful sugar pine, are found on the mountain sides and
reaching well down into the green, park-like valleys. Interspersed here and
there are aspen groves of various extent, their silvery trunks and light-green
foliage blending artistically with the somber green of the pines. These aspen
groves are the summer home of the Red-breasted Sapsucker.
Spring. — In the vicinity of Fort Klamath, Oreg., Bendire (1895)
found this sapsucker to be "an abundant summer resident" and says :
They are among the earliest birds to arrive in the spring. The first bird of
this species shot by me, in the spring of 1883, was obtained on March 13, and
I have seen a few as late as November. On one of my collecting trips, the
morning of April 4, 1883, while riding through a patch of pine timber, near
Wood River, the principal stream running through the center of Klamath
Valley, I noticed a flock of these birds, at least twenty in number. They
were very noisy, apparently glad to get back to their summer homes, and
seemed to have an excellent time generally, flying from tree to tree and calling
to each other.
As I wanted a couple of specimens, I vpas compelled to disturb their jollifica-
tion ; those procured were both males, and presumably the entire flock belonged
to this sex. By April 20 they had become very common, and some pairs at
least were mated and had already selected their future domiciles, in every
case a good-sized live aspen tree. The males might at that time be heard in
almost all directions drumming on some dry limb, generally the dead top of
one of these trees. They scarcely seemed to do anything else.
Nesting. — He says of the nesting habits in the Klamath Valley:
As far as my own observations go, healthy, smooth-barked aspens are always
selected as suitable nesting sites by these birds. The trees used vary from 12
to 18 inches in diameter near the ground, and taper very gradually. The cavity
is usually excavated below the first limb of the tree, say from 15 to 25 feet
from the ground. The entrance hole seems to be ridiculously small for the
size of the bird — perfectly circular, from 1^ to ll^ inches in diameter only —
so small, indeed, that it seems as if it took considerable effort for the bird to
squeeze himself in and wriggle out of the hole.
152 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Tlie gourd-shaped excavation varies in depth from 6 to 10 inches, and it
is from 3 inches near the top to 4 or 5 inches wide at the bottom. The finer
chips are allowed to remain in the bottom, forming the nest proper, on which
the eggs are deposited. Frequently they are more than half covered by these
chips. The interior of the entire excavation is most carefully smoothed off,
which must consume considerable time, considering the tough, stringy, and
elastic nature of the wood when filled with sap, making it even more difficult
to work when partly decayed, which seems to be the case with nearly all the
aspens of any size. Probably eight or ten days are consumed in excavating a
satisfactory nesting site. All the larger and coarser chips are dropped out of
the hole and scattered about the base of the tree.
Johnson A. Neff (1928) says: "The nests of these birds are placed
in whatever trees are abundant in their vicinity. In KLamath
County, in the foothills and in the lower valleys, alders, cottonwoods
and aspens were utilized; in the higher altitudes, firs were the com-
mon site, with the alder and w^illow along the small streams. In
the Willamette Valley the firs, cottonwoods, willows, alders, and
others, are used indiscriminately."
Near Blaine, Wash., Mr. Dawson (Dawson and Bowles, 1909) found
an almost inaccessible nest of this sapsucker 50 feet from the ground
in a big fir stub, "sixteen feet around at the base, above the root
bulge, and perfectly desolate of limbs." He managed to reach the
nest with the help of a rope and cleats nailed on the barkless trunk.
He says :
"By the time I had a hole large enough to thrust in the hand, the
eggs were quite buried in chips and rotten wood. But when they were
uncovered, they were seen to lie, seven of them, in two regular lines,
four in the front rank with sides touching evenly, and three in the
rear with points dove-tailed between."
Harry S. Swarth (1924) also found some lofty nests in the Skeena
River region of northern British Columbia ; he writes : "During May
and June a number of nests were found, mostly through seeing the
old birds carrying food to the young. One was drilled in a live pop-
lar, the tree a straight column with no branching limb save at the
very top, the nest some seventy feet from the ground. Another was
in a dead birch, sixty feet up. Many others were noted, all in birch
or poplar, mostly dead trees, and no nest was less than fifty feet above
the ground. One male bird collected had the abdomen bare of
feathers. It obviously had been incubating eggs."
Eggs. — The red-breasted sapsucker lays four to seven eggs, usually
five or six. Bendire (1895) describes them, as follows: "The eggs,
when fresh and before blowing, like those of all Woodpeckers, show
the yolk through the translucent shell, giving them a beautiful pink-
ish appearance, as well as a series of straight lines or streaks, of a
more pronounced white than the rest of the shell, running toward and
converging at the smaller axis of the egg. After blowing, the pink
NORTflERN RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER 153
tint will be found to have disappeared and the egg changed to a pure,
delicate white, the shell showing a moderate amount of luster. There
is considerable variation in their shape, running as they do through
all the different ovates to an elongated ovate."
The measurements of 54 eggs average 23.61 by 17.51 millimeters;
the eggs showing the four extremes measure 25.40 by 17.78, 24.13 by
18.54, 21.84 by 17.27, and 23.11 by 16.26 millimeters.
Food. — Mr. Neff (1928) lists 67 species of fruit, forest, and orna-
mental trees and shrubs that are known to have been tapped by the
red-breasted sapsucker, sliowing that this species is not at all particu-
lar as to what kind of sap it drinks. A total of 64 stomachs were
examined, representing every month in the year. "The stomach anal-
yses revealed 40.7 percent of vegetable food, and 52.53 percent insect
food." Ants formed the bulk of the insect food, running as high
as 80 percent in July ; other items were boring beetles and their larvae,
other beetles, weevils, caddiceflies, aphids, various flies, mites, and
spiders. Fruit averaged less than 4 percent of the food and included
elderberries, wild cherries, haw and dogwood berries. "No cultivated
fruits were taken and seeds were almost a minus quantity. True
cambium or soft inner bark averaged 31.35 percent ; most of this was
taken between October and April. Other bark, fibre, and miscellane-
ous vegetable matter averaged 5.14 percent."
Bendire (1895) says: "Their food consists principally of grubs,
larvae of insects, ants, various species of lepidoptera, which they catch
on the wing, like Flycatchers, and berries. * * * They seem to
be especially fond of wild strawberries."
Behavior. — Charles A. Allen, of Nicasio, Calif., wrote to Major
Bendire (1895) : "These Woodpeckers are very fond of hanging to
telegraph poles, and may be found drumming along the line of the
Central Pacific Railroad through the Sierra Nevadas, where you can
hear them beating a tattoo for hours at a time. If you try to ap-,
proach one, as soon as a certain distance is reached the bird will sidle
to the opposite side of the pole, and then keep peeping around the
corner at whatever has excited his suspicions, and as soon as it thinks
it has a good opportunity to escape it will fly away with a shrill cry,
and keep the pole in line between it and yourself for protection. Here
they are very shy, and remain very quiet if discovered."
According to Bendire's own experience —
These birds are not at all shy during the breeding season, allowing yon to
approach them closely; but they have an extraordinarily keen sense of hearing.
T frequently tried to sneak up to a tree close to my house which I knew had
been selected by a pair of these birds, to watch them at work, but I was invari-
ably detected by the bird, no matter how carefully I tried to creep up, before
I was able to get within 30 yards, even when she was at work on the inside
of tlie cavity and could not possibly see me. The bii'd would cease working
at once, her head would pop out of the hole for an instant, and the surroundings
90801—39 11
154 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
would be surveyed carefully. If I kept out of sight and perfectly still, she
would probably begin working again a few minutes afterward, but if I moved
ever so little, without even making the least noise, in my own estimation, she
would notice it and stop working again at once. If the tree were approached
too closely, she would fly off, uttering at the same time a note resembling the
word 'jay,' or 'chae,' several times repeated, which would invariably bring the
male around also, who had in the meantime kept himself busy in some other
tree, either drumming or hunting for food. While the female was at work
on the inside of the excavation the male would fly to the entrance, from time
to time, and look in ; * * * and at other times he would hang, for five or
ten minutes even, just below the entrance to the burrow, in a dreamy sort of
study, perfectly motionless and seemingly dazed."
Mr. Neff (1928) writes:
They have not been found to be particularly quiet excepting during the
hotter summer months. At other times they have been neither noticeably noisy
nor silent. The outstanding features of their behavior have proven to be pug-
nacity and noise during the mating season and while incubating and feeding the
young, and an extreme curiosity at other times. In many instances the writer
has located them by utilizing this curiosity ; sitting motionless on a log or rock
after failing to find them, any sapsucker in the community would soon make
its presence known by a characteristic interrogative call, at first from a dis-
tance, gradually drawing nearer.
In winter they seem to be quite belligerent, for on several occasions one has
been located by the angry noise as if of a pitched battle ; on closer investigation
it would be found that the sapsucker was attempting to drive some other wood-
pecker, generally the Gairdner, from some favorite tree.
Voice. — Bendire (1895) says: "While the nest was being rifled of
its contents both parents flew about the upper limbs of the tree,
uttering a number of different sounding, plaintive sounds, like
'peeye,' 'pinck,' and 'peurr,' some of these resembling somewhat the
purring of a cat when pleased and rubbing against your leg. I used
to note the different sounds in a small notebook at the very time, but
scarcely ever put them down alike; each time they appeared a trifle
different to the ear, and it is a hard matter to express them exactly
on paper."
Mr. Dawson (Dawson and Bowles, 1909) says that while he was
chopping out the nest the birds "made frequent approaches from a
neighboring tree, crying kee-a, kee-aa, in helpless bewilderment.
* * * Wlien all w^as over, they raised a high, strong qiw-oo, —
qiiS-oo, never before heard, and reminding one generically of the
Red-headed Woodpecker of boyhood days."
SPHYRAPICUS THYROIDEUS THYROIDEUS (Cassin)
WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER
HABITS
Williamson's sapsucker is not only one of our most unique wood-
peckers in its striking coloration, but it has an interesting history.
Owing to the radical difference in appearance between the two sexes,
WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER 155
they were for some time regarded as two distinct species. The fe-
male was the first to be described by John Cassin (1852, p. 349), based
on a specimen collected by John G. Bell in Eldorado County, Calif.
Under the name black-breasted woodpecker {Melanerpes thyroideus)^
Cassin describes and figures (1854) the adult female as the male o£
the species and says of the female : "Similar to the male, but with the
colors more obscure, and the black of the breast of less extent and
not so deep in shade," which is a very fair description of the imma-
ture female. The male was discovered and described and figured by
Dr. Newberry (1857, p. 89, pi. 34) under the name Picus wiUiam-
sonii, based on a specimen collected by him on August 23, 1855, on
the shores of KHamath Lake, Oreg. Baird, Cassin, and Lawrence
(1860) give a very good description of an adult male, as the male
of the species, but say "female with the chin white instead of red,"
which, of course, is the immature male. Thus we have the adidt
of each sex regarded as the male of a species, and the young bird
of each sex regarded as the female of a species. With careless, or
improper, sexing of specimens, such an error might easily occur,
but it is remarkable that it remained so long undiscovered. Baird,
Cassin, and Lawrence (1860) describe the male as Sphyrapicus
wilUamsonii Baird, Williamson's woodpecker, and the female as
Sphyrapicua thyroideus Baird, brown-headed woodpecker. J. G.
Cooper (1870), in the Geological Survey of California, edited by
Baird, follows the same error but calls the female the round-headed
woodpecker. Even Baird, Brewer, and Kidgway, in their history of
North American Birds, had not discovered the error, for they use
substantially the same nomenclature.
It remained for Henry W. Henshaw (1875) to discover the true re-
lationship of the two supposed species and clear up the previous mis-
understanding. He writes: "Wliile near Fort Garland, I obtained
abundant proof of the specific identity of the two birds in question;
loilliamsonii being the male of thyroideus. Though led to suspect
this, from finding the two birds in suspicious proximity, it was some
time before I could procure a pair actually mated. A nest was at
length discovered, excavated in the trunk of a live aspen, and both
the parent birds were secured as they flew from the hole, having just
entered with food for the newly hatched young."
Mr. Ridgway (1877) comments on the discovery as follows:
A suspicion that the two might eventually prove to be different plumages of
one species several times arose in our mind during the course of our field-work,
the chief occasion for which was the very suggestive circumstance that both were
invariably found in the same woods, and had identical manners and notes, while
they also agreed strictly in all the details of form and proportions, as well as
in the bright gamboge-yellow color of the belly. Our theory that thyroideus was
perhaps the young, and wilUamsonl the adult, proved erroneous, however; and
it never occurred to us that the differences might be sexual, an oversight caused
156 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
chiefly by the circumstance of our having seen in collections many specimens of
thyroideus with a red streak on the throat and marked as males, while the
type specimen of williamsunl had a white streak on the throat and was said to
be a female. We were thus entirely misled by the erroneous identification of
the sex in these specimens. We gave the matter up, however, only after shooting
a very young specimen of what was undoubtedly tvilUamsoni, and another of
thyroideus, both of which very closely resembled the adults of the same
forms, a circumstance which at once convinced us that the differences could not
depend on age ; so we finally concluded that the two must be distinct.
All observers seem to agree that this woodpecker is confined to the
liigher elevations in the mountains among the pines, in sharp con-
trast to the haunts of the red-breasted sapsucker at lower levels among
the deciduous trees.
Joseph Grinnell (1908) , referring to the San Bernardino Mountains,
in southern California, says: "This Williamson sapsucker appeared
to be restricted to the Canadian zone and upper edge of Transition.
We found it only among the tamarack pines on the slopes and ridges of
San Gorgonio peak, and among the silver firs, tamarack and yellow
pines around Bluff lake. In the former locality the species was com-
mon for a Avoodpecker, especially around Dry Lake, 9,000 feet altitude,
where several nests were found."
CouHship. — Charles W. Michael (1935) noted the mating behavior
of a male Williamson's sapsucker, which had just left a fresh nest-hole,
as follows :
He sounded his harsh call several times. Seemingly in answer to his call
the female appeared. This was the first we had seen of the female. The female
examined the nest hole, flew up on a branch and uttered a series of low notes.
The male joined her, alighting a foot away and uttering a series of low chuckling
notes. While giving these notes he strutted along the limb with wing-tips and
tail jerking rapidly. As he approached his mate she crouched low on the limb
and the mating act was accomplished. The act lasted several seconds before
the birds separated to perch side by side on a limb. After a minute or so the
female flew off through the woods and the male went into the nest hole. In
about five minutes the female came to the nest hole and again uttered her soft
coaxing notes. The male came out of the hole and both birds flew to a limb
where again the mating act was consummated. The male returned to the nest.
In our two-hour watch the female only went to the nest hole to call the mate out.
Nesting. — Dr. Grinnell (1908) says of its nesting in the San Ber-
nardino Mountains :
Tamarack pines were selected as nest trees, usually old ones with the core
dead and rotten but with a live shell on the outside. In one found June 22,
1905, there were four holes drilled one above the other about eighteen inches
apart, and one of these holes contained three small young and two infertile
eggs. * * * Later on in the same day another nest was found similarly
located containing four half-fledged young. A nest with half-grown young was
found in the same locality, June 14, 1906; and on June 26 of the same year
a nest twenty feet up in a half-dead tamarack held five two-thirds-grown
young and one rotten egg. So that a full set of eggs probably varies from
WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER 157
four to six in number. On June 18', 1907, a nest with small young was located
ten feet up in an exceptionally large nearly dead tamarack pine. This was
one of the lowest of a series of forty-seven well-formed holes of similar external
appearance, which penetrated this one tree trunk on all sides up to an estimated
height of thirty-five feet.
W. L. Dawson (1923) writes: "One soon comes to recognize the
rigid requirements of the Williamson Sapsucker in the matter of
nesting sites. Given a pine wliich is beginning to die at the top,
usually in a fairly sheltered situation, and a pair of birds will adopt
it for a permanent home. They will occupy it from year to year,
or perhaps the year around, nesting twice in a season; and a long
occupation is evinced by a trunk riddled with holes at all levels.
One such 'family tree,' closely examined, had 38 holes, apparently
complete and fit for habitation or incubation. At the time of our
visit, on June 19th, the male was industriously drilling a new excava-
tion at a height of 45 feet."
Major Bendire (1895) says:
I obtained my first set of eggs of this species on June 3, 1883, about 9 miles
north of Fort Klamath, in the open pine forest on the road to Crater Lake.
It consisted of five eggs, slightly incubated. The nesting site was excavated
in a partly decayed pine whose entire top for some 20 feet was dead ; the
height of the excavation from the ground was about 50 feet. The man climbing
the tree reported it to be about 8 inches deep and about 5 inches wide at the
bottom, and freshly made. A second set, of sis fresh eggs, was taken June 12
of the same year, about 12 miles north of the Post, at a still higher altitude
than the first one. It came also out of a pine about 40 feet from the ground.
A third nest, found a week later, near the same place, contained five young,
just hatched. This nest was in a dead aspen, about 20 feet from the ground.
Only one brood is raised, and, like the other two species, it is only a summer
resident in the vicinity of Fort Klamath.
Other observers have found nests in lodgepole pines, red firs, and
larches at various heights from 5 to 60 feet above ground but always
in conifer associations.
Eggs. — Bendire (1895) says: "The number of eggs laid to a set
varies from three to seven, sets of five or six being most often found.
These, like all woodpecker's eggs, are pure china-white in color;
the shell is close grained, rather thin, and only slightly glossy. In
shape they vary from ovate to elongate ovate, and a few approach
an ovate pyriform, a shape apparently not found in the eggs of
other species of this genus." The measurements of 30 eggs average
23.54 by 17.23 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes
measure 25.91 by 17.27, 24.1 by 18.3, and 20.1 by 15.4 millimeters.
Young. — Both parents assist in the duties of incubation, but the
length of time required for this function does not seem to be definitely
known ; both sexes also help in feeding the young. Dr. J. C. Merrill
(1888) says, of two nests that he watched for some time: "The males
158 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
brought food about twice as often as did the females, and frequently
removed the excrement of the young on leaving the nest, alighting on
the nearest tree for a moment to drop it and to clean their bills ; I did
not see either of the females remove any excreta. About four feet
above one of the holes was another occupied by a pair of pigmy nut-
hatches, but neither species paid any attention to the other when they
happened to arrive with food at the same time."
Dr. Grinnell (1908) writes: "We usually located the nests by watch-
ing the movements of the parent birds, which flew from their forag-
ing places, often far distant, direct to the nest tree. The young
uttered a whinnying chorus of cries when fed, and the adults, though
generally very quiet, had a not loud explosive cry, more like the dis-
tant squall of a red-tailed hawk. The bill and throat of an adult male,
shot as it was approaching a nest, was crammed with large wood ants,
not the kind, however, that are common at lower altitudes and smell
so foully."
Charles W. Michael (1935) watched a nest containing young, in the
Yosemite region, of which he says :
When we arrived, about ten o'clock, both parent birds were bringing food.
We watched the birds for an hour and a half and in this period of time the
male made nine trips to the nest hole and the female made seven trips. The
young were small, as the parent birds went completely into the nest hole. The
birds, male and female, always came onto the tree trunk above the nest hole
and hitched jerkily downward until on a level with the hole. They landed
anywhere between five and fifteen feet above the hole ; the female was likely
to land nearest to the hole. * * * About every other trip excrement was
carried from the nest. When the male cleaned nest he carried the feces away
and dropi)ed them some distance from the nest. When the female cleaned nest
she came to the entrance from within, looked about and then dropped the
refuse before leaving the nest hole.
Plumages. — The most remarkable characteristic of this woodpecker
is the striking difference in the plumages of the two sexes at all ages,
from the first plumage of the young bird to its maturity ; in most birds
the sexes are much alike in the juvenal plumage; but the young male
Williamson's sapsucker is much like the adult male, and the young
female is much like the adult female ; the principal character common
to both sexes at all ages is the white rump.
These young sapsuckers are fully fledged before they leave the nest.
The young male, in juvenal plumage in summer, differs from the
adult male in having a smaller and weaker bill and softer, more
blended plumage ; the black areas, except the wings and tail, which are
like those of the adult, are dull brownish black, instead of clear glossy
black; there are usually numerous elongated white spots or streaks,
more or less concealed, on the scapulars and upper back, and often a
few small whitish spots on the crown ; the chin and upper throat are
WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER 159
white, instead of scarlet ; the center of the breast and abdomen is dull
yellowish white, instead of bright "lemon-chrome"; the sides and
flanks are barred, instead of striped or spotted, with dusky.
The young female differs from the adult female in having a smaller
and weaker bill and softer plumage ; the black breast patch is entirely
lacking ; the breast, sides, and flanks are barred with dusky, but less
distinctly than in the adult; and the yellow of the central breast and
abdomen is much paler.
These two juvenal plumages are worn for only a short time in sum-
mer. I have seen young males molting into their first winter plumage,
which is practically adult, as early as August 9; and young females
begin to show the increasing black breast patch as early as August
6 ; but this molt is slow, or variable, and is sometimes not completed
until November or December.
Adults apparently have their complete annual molt mainly in
August and September.
Food. — Mrs. Florence M. Bailey (1928) says: "In 17 stomachs ex-
amined, 87 percent was animal matter and 13 percent vegetable. Of
the animal contents, 86 percent was ants, and cambium made up 12.55
percent of the total food."
Grinnell and Storer (1924) write:
In the Yosemite region the Williamson Sapsucker is closely associated with
the lodgepole pine. While this tree seems to furnish the bird's preferred source
of forage, practically all other species of trees within its local range are also
utilized. We saw workings attributable to this sapsucker on the alpine hemlock,
red and white firs, Jeffrey pine, and quaking aspen.
The amount of work which this sapsucker will do upon a single tree was
impressed upon us while we were at Porcupine Flat in early July, 1915. In that
locality there was a lodgepole pine (Finns miirrayana) about 60 feet high, which
showed no marks of sapsucker work previous to the current year. The tree was
in full leafy vigor and measured 8 feet 3^/4 inches in girth at 3 feet above the
ground. There were numerous live branches down to within 6 feet of the
ground. Twenty-six irregularly horizontal rows of fresh punctures were counted
on one side of the trunk, the lowest being only 18% inches above the ground,
and the highest about 40 feet. * * *
During the winter months when sap is practically at a standstill in the
coniferous trees at high altitudes, the Williamson Sapsucker must needs seek
other fare. A few of our own observations added to those of other naturalists
suggest that during the winter season the birds may forage in a large part on
dormant insects or on Insect larvae hidden in crevices in the bark. If such is the
case, whatever the damage done by these birds to the forest as a whole
during the summer months, it is partially offset by their wintertime activity.
In any event, the attacks of the Williamson Sapsucker on the lodgepole pines
of the central Sierra Nevada cannot be considered as of great economic im-
portance, for these trees are there used little if at all for lumber or for any
other commercial purpose.
Behavior.— Dv. J. C. Merrill (1888), at Fort Klamath, Oreg., found
this sapsucker "shy and very suspicious. A noticeable habit here is
160 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
the frequency with \\hich it works down as well as up a trunk, and
when one dodges around a tree, in which, by the way, it is unpleas-
antly expert, it is as apt to reappear twenty feet below where it was
last seen, as above. In searching for food it will often work up and
down a favorite tree repeatedly. In all its movements it is quick and
active, and gives one the impression of being thoroughly wide awake,
which impression the would-be collector is speedily convinced is
correct."
Voice. — Mr. Michael (1935) says: "When the sapsuckers met at
the nest site they exchanged greetings in a 'rubber doll' tone of
voice. The nasal quaver of notes was remindful of a call often
sounded by the red-breasted sapsucker. Another call that was oc-
casionally shouted from the tree-tops was shrill and like that of a
red-tailed hawk."
Dr. Elliott Coues (1874) says: "It has an abrupt, explosive out-
cry, much like that of other species of Woodpeckers, and also an
entirely different call note. This sounds to me like a number of
rolling r's, beginning with a gutteral k — k'-r-r-r — each set of rV
making a long syllable. This note is leisurely given, and indefinitely
repeated, in a very low key."
Grinnell and Storer (1924) describe the voice as "a weak wheezy
whang or vjhethery
Field marhs. — Such a conspicuously and uniquely colored wood-
pecker as the male Williamson's sapsucker should be easily recog-
nized; its general appearance is largely black, with a large white
patch in the fore part of the wing, and another on the rump and
upper tail coverts; the yellow on the under parts is not so easily
seen; neither is the red throat. The female appears mainly pale
brown, with a white rump, brown head, and barred back and wings.
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — Mountainous regions of the Western United States and
southwestern Canada south to west-central Mexico.
Breeding range.- — -Williamson's sapsucker breeds north to central
Washington (Bumping Lake and probably Dayton) ; and south-
western Montana (Missoula, Pipestone Creek, Bridger Creek, and
Eed Lodge) . East to Montana (Eed Lodge) ; Wyoming (Yellowstone
National Park and Laramie Peak) ; Colorado (Estes Park, Idaho
Springs, Breckenridge, El Paso County, and Fort Garland) ; and
New Mexico (Carson Forest, Santa Fe Canyon, Las Vegas, and Her-
mcsa). South to southern New Mexico (Hermosa) ; Arizona (Tuc-
son, Mogollon Mountains, and Fort "V^liipple) ; and southern Cali-
fornia (San Jacinto). West to eastern California (San Jacinto, San
Bernardino Mountains, Pyramid Peak, Tuolumne County, Echo
WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER 161
Lake, Lake Talioe, Lassen Peak, and Eagle Peak) ; western Oregon
(Eogue River Valley and Foley Springs) ; and west-central Washing-
ton (Bumping Lake).
Winter range. — In winter the species is regularly found north to
central California (Yosemite Valley) ; central Arizona (Pine
Springs, Oak Creek, and Mogollon Mountains) ; southwestern New
Mexico (Black Range); and central Texas (San Angelo). East
to Texas (San Angelo and probably Kerrville) ; eastern Chihuahua
(Apache) ; and Jalisco (Bolanos and Guadalajara). South to south-
ern Jalisco (Guadalajara). West to Jalisco (Guadalajara); north-
western Durango ; western Chihuahua (Refugio, Casa Colorado, Ba-
vispee River, and Colonia Garcia) ; northern Baja California (San
Pedro Martir, Ville de la Trinidad, and Hanson Lagoon) ; and
California (Pasadena and Yosemite Valley).
As outlined, the range applies to the entire species, which has been
separated into two subspecies. True Williamson's sapsucker {/S. t.
ihyroideus) is found in the Pacific coast region from British Co-
lumbia south to Baja California, while Natalie's sapsucker {S. t.
nataliae) inhabits the Rocky Mountain region from Montana south
to Jalisco.
Spring migration. — Although the species appears to be resident
throughout considerable portions of its range, and but little is known
of its migratory movements, the following early dates of arrival
have been noted: Colorado — Boulder County, April 5; Colorado
Springs, April 5; Evergreen, April 8; Denver, April 15. Wyo-
ming — Yellowstone Park, April 29. Montana — Charcoal Gulch,
April 23. Nevada — Carson City, March 10. Washington— Pullman,
April 26. A late date of departure from the southern part of the
winter range is Chihuahua, Palomas Lakes, April 7.
Fall migration. — Available late dates of fall departure are : Wash-
ington — Copper River, September 3. Oregon — Rustler Peak, No-
vember 6. Nevada — Lee Canyon, October 7 ; Carson City, November
27. Montana — Fort Custer, September 9. Wyoming — Yellowstone
Park, September 22; Wheatland, October 4. Colorado — Del Norte,
September 5; Rio Blanco, September 9; Boulder County, November
6. It has been noted to reach Hanson Lagoon, Baja California, on
October 11.
Carnal records. — There are a few records in extreme southern
British Columbia, where it may breed occasionally. A pair were
collected on April 22, 1913, on Schoonover Mountain, near Okanagan
Falls; one was taken at Similkameen in June 1882, while Swarth
(1917) records three from Midway.
Egg <i^«?^e.<f.-— California : 14 records. May 27 to June 26.
Colorado: 29 records. May 24 to June 24; 15 records, June 1 to 8,
nidicating the height of the season.
162 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
SPHYRAPICUS THYROIDEUS NATALIAE (Malherbe)
NATALIE'S SAPSUCKER
Plate 29
HABITS
Harry S. Swarth (1917) is responsible for the recognition of this
race, which seems to differ from the Williamson's sapsucker of the
Pacific coast in the same way that the northern white-headed wood-
pecker differs from the southern race of that species; he says:
The differences are as worthy of recognitiou in one case as in the other.
It is my suggestion here that the Rocky Mountain race of the Williamson
Sapsucker be separately recognized on the basis of its lesser bill measure-
ments as compared with those of Sphyrapicus thyroideus tJiyroideus of the
Pacific Coast.
As regards a name for this form, there is already one that seems to be
clearly available for use. A specimen from Mexico was designated by Malherbe
(Journ. fiir Orn., 1854, p. 171) as Plcus nataliae, and an example from any
part of Mexico (save possibly from the mountains of northern Lower Cali-
fornia) would assuredly be of the Rocky Mountain subspecies. Also in the
measurements given by Malherbe, length of bill ("du bee, du front 20 milli-
meters") places his bird unequivocally with this race.
It is reasonably certain that in the Rocky Mountain region the species does
not breed south of the Mogollon Divide, though it does occur as a common
winter visitant in southern Arizona and over a large part of the Mexican
plateau. These winter visitants, as shown by numerous specimens at hand, are
migrants from the Rocky Mountain region to the northward, and not from
the Pacific Coast region. So the name nataliae, as given by Malherbe to a
Mexican specimen, can safely be used for the Rocky Mountain subspecies, which
may therefore stand as Sphyrapicus thyroideus nataliae (Malherbe).
Mrs. Florence M. Bailey (1928), referring to the striking difference
in plumage between the male and the female in this species, remarks :
The cause of this strongly contrasted sexual coloration unique among the
woodpeckers of the United States is one of the unsolved problems of ornithology
that stimulates speculation and so adds zest to the study. Is it, as Mr. Swarth
suggests, that the female is still in a primitive stage of development? Correlating
the brown coloration of the pasture-frequenting flickers with the ant-eating
habits so marked in the Rocky Mountain sapsucker, it would seem that the
color of the female might have been ancestrally adapted to a more open habitat
than that in which the pair are found today ; or has the ant-eating habit been
diverted from ants that live on the ground in the open to those that live on tree
trunks? The feeding habits of the anomalous pair should be carefully studied in
the field.
Dr. Edgar A. Mearns (1890b) says that in Arizona it "breeds very
commonly at the highest altitudes, frequenting the spruce and fir
woods. It seldom descends far into the pine belt during the breeding
season, although it is found in the pines in winter, occasionally de-
scending even to the cedars in severe weather; and after the nesting
season it frequently roves down to the pine woods with its young.
When shot, it usually fastened its claws into the balsam bark and
remained hanging there after life was extinct."
NATALIE'S SAPSUCKER 163
Milton p. Skinner says in his Yellowstone Park notes: "In this
Park, the Williamson sapsucker lives below 7,000 feet and prefers
mixed forests of aspen and fir, but it is not particular whether in dense
forest or in the borderland between forest and open."
Spring. — Mr. Swarth (1904) witnessed a well-marked spring migra-
tion in the Huachuca Mountains, Ariz., of which he says :
Ou April 6, 1902, I saw about a dozen Williamsou Sapsuckers near the summit
of the mountains at an altitude of about 9,000 feet. Though not at all in a
compact flock they seemed to keep rather close together, and when one flew any
distance away, the others soon followed. The bulk of them were females, and
but one or two males were seen, one of which was, with great difficulty secured,
for they were very wild. On April 9 several more were seen and a female
secured at this same place ; and a male was taken a mile or two from this place,
at an altitude of nearly 10,000 feet. These were the last I saw in the spring,
though they do occur later as I have a female that was taken in the Huachucas
by H. Kimball on April 20, 1895.
Nesting. — The nesting habits of this woodpecker do not seem to
differ materially from those of the species elsewhere. Bendire (1895)
quotes W. G. Smith, as follows : "Williamson's Sapsucker is a common
summer resident in Estes Park, Colorado, Avliere it nests mostly in
dead pines, often within a few feet of the ground, and again as high as
70 feet up. Full sets of fresh eggs are usually found here during the
first week in June. The male appears to me to do most of the incubat-
ing, and hereabouts it is most often found at altitudes between 7,000
and 8,000 feet, but I have also taken it at much higher ones, where it
nests somewhat later."
Mr. Skinner says in his notes : "On June 14, 1914, I discovered the
nest of a pair of Williamson sapsuckers in the gulch beside the trail
to Snow Pass at the beginning of the last ascent. The nest was in
an aspen trunk about 6 inches in diameter. The opening to the nest
was IV2 inches in diameter and located 5 feet above ground. On
June 30, 1915, the nest was in the same tree, but 2 feet above the 1914
nest and in a fresh opening."
Eggs. — ^The eggs of Natalie's sapsucker do not differ materially
from those of the other race of the species. The measurements of 51
eggs average 23.60 by 17.41 millimeters; the eggs showing the four
extremes measure 26.2 by 17.9, 24.2 by 19.4, 21.5 by 17.0, and 22.0 by
16.0 millimeters.
Young. — Mr. Skinner says in his notes that the young "seem to
arrive irregularly between June 10 and July 1. I have seen young
Williamson's sapsuckers hunting by themselves before August 10.
In the nest recorded above there were five young on June 14, 1914,
and both parents were kept constantly busy bringing food, and fre-
quently came so fast that one parent had to wait for the other to
leave the nest. In feeding the young the adults disappeared com-
pletely into the nest cavity and came out head first. In 1915 there
164 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
were five more young on June 30 and they were still there on July
10. When I visited them on June 30, the male was in the nest, and
it required about five raps on the tree trunk to dislodge him, although
he came to the opening and looked out at each rap."
Food. — The feeding habits of Natalie's sapsucker are apparently
similar to those of the species elsewhere, but Mr. Skinner tells me he
has "seen it drumming on firs for insects, picking insects from a
crotch of a lodgepole pine and catching spruce-budworm moths from
fir foliage."
Behavior. — The feeding and other habits of Natalie's sapsucker
seems to be similar to those of the other subspecies, but Bendire
(1895) quotes the following notes from Denis Gale, about its behav-
ior around the nest, wdiich are worth repeating here :
A marked peculiarity I have noted with Spliyrapicus thyroideiis is that tlie
male tal^es a lookout station upon some suitable tree, where, at the approach
of any possible danger, he gives the alarm by striking a short dry limb with
his bill, by which a peculiar vibrating sound is given out, which the female, not
very distant, fully understands, and is at once on the alert. If either exca-
vating, guarding, or covering her eggs, she will immediately look out of her
burrow, and, should the intruder's path lie in the direction of her nest, she
will silently slip away and alight in a tree some distance off, but in view of
both her nest and the intruder. The first or second blow of a hatchet upon
the tree trunk in which the nest is excavated will mark her movement again
by a short flight, so managed as not to increase the distance — in fact oftener
coming nearer. When satisfied that her treasures have been discovered, she
utters a peculiar, low, grating sound, not imlike the purring of a cat. The
male then comes to the fore and braving the danger, is very courageous, and,
should the eggs be far advanced in incubation, he will even enter the nest
when you are almost within reach of it. When the latter are rifled, he is
always the flrst to go in and discover the fact, often passing in and out several
times in a surprised sort of manner.
CEOPHLOEUS PILEATUS PILEATUS (Linnaeus)
SOUTHERN PILEATED WOODPECKER
HABITS
The above name is now restricted to the pileated woodpeckers of
the Lower Austral forests of the Southern United States, except
southern Florida, east of the Koclvy Mountains. IVlien Outram Bangs
(1898) applied the name ahieticola, to the northern race, he said:
"Linnaeus based his Picus piUatus on Catesby and Kalm. Taking
Catesby as the best authority, southern South Carolina must be con-
sidered the type locality of the species, and birds from this region
are as extreme of the southern race as those from Florida."
The southern pileated woodpecker is decidedly smaller than the
northern bird and somewhat darker in coloration. Ridgway (1914)
says of this race, in a footnote : "Some of the more northern examples
are quite as slaty as the extreme northern form {P. p. abieticola) but
SOUTHEKN PILEATED WOODPECKER 165
they are distinctly smaller. In otlier words, I have restricted the name
pileatus to an intermediate form, characterized by the small size of
P. p. -floTidanus combined with an appreciably lighter (more slaty or
sooty) coloration, often approaching closely the lightness of hue of
P. f. ahieticola!'''
Arthur T. Wayne (1910) says that in South Carolina "this fine
species is abundant wherever the forest is of a primeval nature, but
where the heavy growth has been cut away it is seldom met with."
Wright and Harper (1913), writing of its haunts in southern Georgia,
say : "With the exception of the red-bellied woodpecker, this is the most
abundant member of its family in the Okefinokee. In fact, we saw as
many as four Pileated Woodpeckers in a single tree. In every part
of the swamp — especially the cypress bays, but also the hammocks
and the piny woods on the islands, and even the 'heads' on the prairies —
these magnificent birds are at home."
George Finlay Simmons (1925) says that in the Austin region of
Texas this woodpecker lives in the "wilder country only; cypress
swamps, and the most heavily timbered bottomlands, generally in
very thinly settled sections ; post oak woods on gravelly river terraces ;
edges of woodland meadows ; along margins of both large and small
streams; Austroriparian forests; in or near edges of timber, ventur-
ing out onto fields to feed."
Charles R. Stockard (1904) says of his experience with this species
in Mississippi :
During three seasons seventeen nests were watched in Adams County. In
the vicinity where observations were made every small woods had its pair of
these large woodpeckers. The individuals of this species seemed to occupy
very small feeding areas. Of the seven nests that were found in 1902 five
pairs of the birds were located in their respective woods during the previous
December and January. Whenever a pair was once seen feeding in a wood
during the winter the same pair could always be found very close to that place.
At the beginning of the nesting season they would invariably make their bur-
row in some dead but sound tree near the edge of the brake. From continued
observation it appeared certain that whenever a pair were found in a small
wood during the winter they were sure to nest there the following
spring. * * *
In four instances, all of which had lost their eggs the year before, the birds
built their new burrows in their several woods within a distance of about one
quarter of a mile from the previous nest site. These four are the only cases
which were watched with special care.
Nesting. — The only nests of this race that I have seen were shown
to me by A. T. Wayne, on May 19, 1915, near Mount Pleasant, S. C.
They were in tall, dead pine trees {P'lnus taeda) in a heavily forested
region of open, mixed woods. One was 43 feet from the ground ; he
had taken three fresh eggs from this nest on April 24, 1915. The
other I estimated as over 60 feet up, but he said it was 80 feet from
the ground ; it probably held young at that time, as both birds were
166 BULLETIIsr 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
much in evidence and very noisy. Mr. Wayne told me that these two
pairs of birds had nested in this tract of timber for many years.
He writes (1910) regarding their nesting habits:
If the season is a forward one the birds mate early in February and towards
the latter part of the month begin to excavate their hole, which requires exactly
a month for completion. During the month of March, 1904, I made observa-
tions on a pair which excavated their hole in a dead pine. On March 21,
the opening was commenced by the female, who drilled a small hole, and by
degrees enlarged it to the size of a silver dollar. The male assisted in the
excavation, but the female did by far the larger part of the work. The size
of the aperture was not increased until necessary to admit the shoulders of the
bird. I visited these birds every day in order to note the progress of their
work, and, being so accustomed to seeing me, they were utterly fearless and I
could, at any time, approach within twenty feet without hindering the work,
although the hole was only about thirty feet from the ground. This hole was
completed on April 21, and the first egg was laid the following morning. * * *
In this case the excavation was made under a dead limb, and was about eighteen
inches deep, being hollowed out more on one side than the other. This wood-
pecker is so attached to the tree in which it has first made its nest that it
continues to cling to it as long as it can find a suitable spot at which to exca-
vate a new hole. It never uses the same hole a second time. I know of a
pair of these birds which resorted to the same tree for four consecutive years,
and each year they excavated a new hole. * * *
If this bird is deprived of its first set of eggs, it at once excavates a new
hole, and the length of time consumed in its construction is about twenty-five
days. A curious habit is that even when it is incubating or brooding its young,
this bird frequently taps in its hole as if excavating.
Vernon Sharpe, Jr. (1932), says that in Tennessee "for a nesting
site a dead tree is invariably selected and preferably one of large size,
from which the branches have fallen. The cavity is situated from
20 to 85 feet above the ground, with a depth ranging from 20 to 26
inches. Generally the four-inch opening is broader at the base and
angular at the top, forming somewhat of a triangular shape. While
incubating, this species will continue to enlarge the nest cavity, aa
was proved by personal experience."
M. G. Vaiden writes to me that the pileated woodpecker is fairly
common in certain localities near Rosedale, Miss. He has located
seven nests in cypress, sycamore, hackberry, or sweetgum trees, at
estimated heights ranging from 60 to 75 feet. His nesting dates range
from April 14 to April 29.
Of the nest location, in Texas, Mr. Simmons (1925) says: "Cavity
in upper part, usually 30 to 60 feet from ground, in solid trunk of
live, sound tree, less commonly in dead or partly dead limbs or trunks,
generally tall cottonwood, cypress, elm, or oak, on the edge of woods
or in marginal timber skirting stream, and usuallj'^ easily located by
the half-bushel of big fresh chips scattered about on the ground
below ; tree 10 or more inches in diameter at cavity."
SOUTHERN PILEATED WOODPECKER 167
Mr. Stockard (1904) says, of the 17 pairs that he watched in Missis-
sippi, that the birds do not lay a second set after the nest has been
robbed, but they remain in the same woods during the remainder of
the season. He says of the nests :
The burrow is very large and requires in most cases about one month for
construction, being commenced in this locality about the latter part of February.
But it was very diflScult to note the exact length of time consumed in burrowing,
as the birds try so many parts of the same tree before striking one to suit their
taste. The nest tree and other dead trees close at hand were ofteu scarred
from top to bottom. In two cases they began a nest, then seemed to start
one in another place, and then returned to the former and completed it. * * *
The first nest, a burrow twenty-five feet from the ground in an old sycamore
stump, contained one egg on March 22 ; March 2G it contained three, and on
April 1, when the set was removed, it consisted of four slightly incubated
eggs. • * *
Only one pair was observed that had their nest in a dead tree which stood
in an open field at least sixty or seventy yards from the wood. The female in
this case flew about the nest tree and lit once on the upper part and again
just over the nest hole while a person was in the act of climbing the tree.
This was by far the most daring bird seen and, as mentioned above, because of
the isolation of the tree, her burrow was unusually exposed for this species.
Eggs. — ^The pileated woodpecker lays ordinarily from three to five
eggs; Audubon (1842) claims to have found six. The eggs vary
from ovate, the commonest shape, to elliptical-ovate; some are even
quite pointed. They are a brilliant china- white and usually decidedly
glossy. The measurements of 52 eggs average 32.90 by 24.72 milli-
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 35.70 by 27.00,
30.22 by 22.35, and 29.30 by 22.00 millimeters.
Young. — Bendire (1895) says that "an ^^'g is deposited daily, and
incubation begins occasionally before the set is completed, and lasts
about eighteen days, both sexes assisting in this duty, as well as in
caring for the young. Like all Woodpeckers, the Pileated are very
devoted parents, and the young follow them for some weeks after
leaving the nest, until fully capable of caring for themselves. Only
one brood is raised in a season."
Plumages. — I have seen no small nestlings of this species, but they
are probably hatched naked and blind, like all other woodpeckers ; the
Juvenal plumage is evidently acquired before the young bird leaves
the nest.
The young male, in juvenal plumage, is much like the adult male
in general appearance, but the body plumage is softer, less firm, and
rather lighter and more sooty in color ; the tips of the primaries have
dull-white narrow margins, which soon w^ear away; the red of the
head is duller, paler, and more restricted; on the fore half of the
crown and the malar region, the feathers are basally grayish brown,
the red showing only on the tips of most of the feathers, producing
a mixed color effect. The young female is similar to the young male
168 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
but with even less red in the head ; the forehead and most of the crown
are grayish brown, which invades the red posterior portion of the
crown; and there is no red in the mahir region. Audubon (1842)
says that the bill of tlie young bird is considerably longer than that
of the adult.
The Juvenal plumage is apparently worn for only a short time, dur-
ing the summer and early fall ; I have not been able to detect it beyond
August; this is followed by a prolonged molt into a first winter
plumage, which is scarcely distinguishable from that of the adult.
Adults have a complete molt between June and September.
Food. — The food of the southern pileated woodpecker is not essen-
tially different from that of the other races of the species, with due
allowance for the difference in environment. Prof. F. E. L. Beal
(1895) says: "Six stomachs, collected by Dr. B. H. Warren on the St.
Johns River in Florida, contained numerous palmetto ants {Canipo-
notus escuriens), and remains of other ants, several larvae of a Prionid
beetle {Orthosoma hrunnea), numerous builder ants {Cremastog aster
lineolata)^ one larva of Xylotrechus, and one pupa of the white
ant {T erines) y
George Finlay Simmons (1925) says that in Texas it "feeds on
ants, particularly about decayed stumps ; the eggs, larvae, and adults
of wood-boring insects, particularly beetles; and on berries, acorns,
nuts, and wild grapes. When digging for insects beneath the bark
or in the wood of dead limbs or trunks of trees, it pounds steadily
away, head swinging back in an impossible arc and driving straight
down with the force of a blacksmith's sledge, chips flying every stroke
or two ; by employing a wrenching stroke with its chisel -bill, it knocks
three-inch, four-inch, or even six-inch chips from the tree and causes
them to fly for some distance."
Arthur H. Howell (1924) says that in Alabama its food "consists
mainly of ants, beetles, and wild fruits and berries, including sour
gum, tupelo gum, dogwood, persimmon, frost grape, holly, poison
ivy, sumac, and hackberry."
Behavior. — The pileated woodpecker is ordinarily a wild, shy bird
of the wilderness forests, though in some places it is said to be quite
unsuspicious, where perhaps it has not yet learned to fear man, or
where familiarity has taught it to trust him. Its flight is rather slow,
but vigorous and usually direct, after the manner of a crow; at times,
however, in short swings, it adopts the bounding flight, so common
to many wood])eckers. It is an adept at keeping out of sight behind a
tree trunk and will lead a hunter a long chase by flying from tree
to tree well in advance of him. When shot dead, it may cling for
some time to the branch or trunk, until its muscles relax and allow it
to fall. If wounded, it keeps up a constant chatter while falling
and will not become quiet while life remains ; a wounded bird should
SOUTHERN PILEATED WOODPECKER 169
be handled carefully, for it can inflict a painful wound with its
powerful beak.
Audubon (1842) relates the following story, as told to him by the
Eev. John Bachman: "A pair of pileated woodpeckers had a nest
in an old elm tree, in a swamp, which they occupied that year; the
next spring early, two blue-birds took possession of it, and there
had young. Before these were half grown, the woodpeckers returned
to the place, and, despite of the cries and reiterated attacks of the
blue-birds, the others took the young, not very gently, as you may
imagine, and carried them away to some distance. Next the nest
itself was disposed of, the hole cleaned and enlarged, and there they
raised a brood. The nest, it is true, was originally their own."
Kobert P. Allen has sent me the following note : "When in one of
the Carolina river swamps with Herbert L. Stoddard, early in
December 1936, we were interested in the actions of pileated wood-
peckers that we called to us by tapping on the side of our cypress
dug-out in imitation of the birds. We paddled our canoe close agai]\st
the buttress of a large cypress tree, so that we were partially con-
cealed by the trunk itself and by a dense growth of intertwining
branches overhead. As many as four pileateds at one time responded
to our efforts, and all these appeared to be males. As they swooped
low, to get a look at this stranger in their midst, each bird made
what we took to be an inthnidating noise with its wings.
"From the immediate and pugnacious interest that these male (?)
pileateds showed in our presence, it would seem as if they had previ-
ously cataloged the pileated population of that area and had, there-
fore, rushed over to investigate the presence of a bird that could
not be accounted for, except as a stranger and a trespasser. Their
efforts at intimidation were evidently designed to drive us out of
the region."
Yoice. — The most familiar note of the pileated w^oodpecker is the
loud, ringing call, suggesting the "yucker" call of the flicker, but
louder and stronger, less rapid, more prolonged, and on a lower key.
Mr. Simmons (1925) has summed up the notes of this woodpecker
very well, as follows: "A loud cac^ cac, cac as it flies. A sonorous
cow-cow-coio, repeated many times ; a clear wichew, when two birds
are together. A loud cackle, like loud, ringing, derisive laughter,
chuch-chuck ; chuck^ chuck-ah, chuck^ chuck-ah^ chuck^ chuck^ cJiuck^
chuck,' or chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck, chuckP
Field inarks. — The pileated woodpecker has the appearance of a
large, black bird, nearly as large as a crow and somewhat like it in
flight, but the large, white patches in the wings are distinctive, as
well as the flaming red crest. As it bounds through the woods in
long swinging flights from tree to tree, it is unmistakable. ^Vllile
90801—39 12
170 BULLETIN" 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
hammering on a tree trunk, its long neck and heavy head and beak
are conspicuous and distinctive.
Winter. — Throughout most of its range the southern pileated wood-
pecker is a permanent resident; in fact, there is very little south-
ward movement for the species, even in the more northern portions
of its range, except for winter wanderings in search of a suitable
food supply.
Vernon Sharpe, Jr. (1932), writing from Tennessee, says: "The
winter roosting place of this bird is rather interesting. A live hollow
tree is selected, and there two or more holes are dug, presumably with
the thought of using one for escape should any attack by some night
marauder take place. These roosting places are used year after
year; in fact, there is one site in the Overton Hills, south of Nash-
ville, that has been used for so many seasons it has become essential
for the woodpecker to cut away a portion of the tree that is trying
to heal over the cavity."
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — North America ; chiefly timbered regions east of the Great
Plains and from southern Mackenzie to western Montana and
California.
The range of the pileated woodpecker extends north to northern
British Columbia (Buckley Lake and Thutade Lake) ; southern
Mackenzie (Fort Liard and Fort Smith) ; northern Saskatchewan
(Poplar Point) ; northeastern Ontario (Moose Factory) ; and south-
eastern Quebec (Godbout and Mont Louis Lake). East through
the wooded areas along the Atlantic coast to southeastern Florida
(Everglades, Royal Palm Hammock, and Key West). South along
the Gulf coasts of Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana, to southeastern
Texas (San Point). The species is not known through the southern
Rocky Mountain and Great Basin regions, appearing next in central
California (Yosemite Valley and Napa County). From the latter
point it occurs north along the Pacific coast through Oregon and
Washington, to northwestern British Columbia (Hazelton and Buckley
Lake).
The range above outlined is for the entire species, which has, how-
ever, been separated into four subspecies. The southern pileated
woodpecker {C. p. pileatus) is found in the Eastern United States
from central Texas and northern Florida north to Oklahoma, southern
Illinois, southern Indiana, southern Pennsylvania, and Maryland ; the
northern pileated w^oodpecker (C. p. abieticola), occupies the balance
of the range in Eastern North America, except for the peninsula of
Florida to which the Florida pileated woodpecker {C. p. foridanus)
is restricted. The western pileated woodpecker {C. p. picinus) is
found chiefly in the humid areas of the Northwest coast district but
NORTHERN PILEATED WOODPECKER 171
also south to central California and east to western Montana and
Idaho.
Casual records. — Two specimens have been taken in North Dakota,
one at Grafton on May 30, 1905, and the other at Fargo on October
16, 1915. It may occur rarely in Wyoming, although no specimen
is at present known. The Colorado and New Mexico records are not
considered satisfactory.
Egg dates. — Alberta: 18 records. May 10 to June 22; 9 records,
May 15 to 30, indicating the height of the season.
Arkansas : 18 records, April 5 to May 15 ; 9 records, April 15 to 30.
Florida : 32 records, March 22 to May 25 ; 16 records, April 10 to 23.
New Hampshire : 6 records. May 6 to 25.
Pennsylvania : 7 records, April 23 to May 21.
Texas : 8 records, March 4 to May 16.
CEOPHLOEUS PILEATUS ABIETICOLA Bangs
NORTHERN PILEATED WOODPECKER
Plates 20-24
HABITS
Contributed by Bayard Henderson Christy
This, the largest race of CeojMoeus fileatus., inhabits the forests
of the Transition and Canadian Zones, from the Atlantic coast to
the Rocky Mountains. In the South it is replaced by G. p. pileatus
and in the West by C. p. picinus. The southern limit of its range lies
across southern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, central Ohio, southern
Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri. The most northerly record
of its occurrence is that of John Reid, noted by Bendire (1895). He
took a specimen on Big Island, in Great Slave Lake (lat. 61° N.).
Bangs (1898), who described the northern form and named it C. p.
ahieticola, believed that in the mountains of Virginia and West
Virginia lay the line of transition from the southern to the northern
form; but later investigators have determined that the line lies, as
first noted above, somewhat northward of Bangs' location.
The characteristics that distinguish the northern from the southern
form are gi-eater size, longer bill, slatiness rather than sootiness of
the black of the plumage, and greater extent of the white areas.
Catesby (1731) depicted the bird (in its southern form) and called
it "the large red-crested woodpecker"; and Linnaeus (1758), citing
Catesby as his source, named it, for his purposes, piJeatus (= crested).
Following Linnaeus, the English naturalist Latham (1783) began in
1781 to publish his General Synopsis; and he, lacking knowledge of
the bird in its haunts, and finding Catesby's circumlocution unwieldy,
took from Linnaeus's Latin, as a name for common usage, "pileated
172 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
woodpecker." The indications are that Latham coined the name;
certainly he gave it currency.
The bird already possessed a common name ; and it is a pity that
Latham did not know it. In its native land it was, and still is,
commonly called, the log-cock. That is a good name— apt, pic-
turesque, and widely used. Wilson (1811) knew it well enough, and
so did Audubon (1842) ; and they would have done well, had they
given it place as the established vernacular name. But Wilson,
under Bartram's tutelage, followed Latham, and Audubon followed
Wilson. They, in their prestige, have settled the matter. Nuttall
(1832) tried to make a stand for log-cock, and others since have
tried, but in vain. And now upon this splendid creature a dull piece
of pedantry remains hopelessly fixed.
Another homespun name in extensive use is Coch-of-the-iuoods;
yet another is Wood-cock. This last is suitable enough, but it leads
obviously to confusion. Accordingly, within the range of the true
woodcock {Philohela minor), the woodpecker is commonly distin-
guished as the "black woodcock." Other appellatives that have been
picked up here and there and gathered in the books are "black
woodpecker," "Englisli woodpecker," "black log," "king-of-the-
woods," "stump breaker"; and, because of its cackling cry, "wood-
hen," "Indian-hen," "laughing woodpecker," "johnny-cock," "wood-
chuck," and "cluck-cock." (The last, given by Scoville, 1920, as
current in Juniata County, Pa., is, perhaps, an assimilation from the
Pennsylvania Dutch.)
The subspecific name ahieticola ( = dweller amid fir trees) is in
some degree misleading, for, in the Northeastern States at least, the
bird is commonly found in forests of mingled conifers and hard-
Avoods; it shows no partiality to firs, nor even to conifers generally;
and it cuts its nesting cavities, in the large majority of cases, in the
dead and standing trunks of deciduous trees. In the Eocky Moun-
tains, however, according to the Weydemeyers (1928), it prefers
growths of larch, yellow pine, and Douglas fir.
It is a denizen of extensive forests. It will adapt itself to second
growth — particularly where the young trees have sprung up about
some remnant of the old ; but in any case it requires wide areas. As
forests dwindle to woodlots, along with the wild turkey, the barred
owl, and the raven, it disappears. From regions once forested but
now devoted to agriculture it is gone; in the mountains, however,
in the marginal areas, where wooded ridges extend out to the plains,
and in forested swamp lands, it continues. In such territories, in-
deed, its numbers during the past 50 years have increased, and it
has reappeared in localities once deserted. Keports of such recrudes-
cence are many, and they come from widely scattered places, par-
ticularly in the States to eastward of the Mississippi Kiver.
NORTHERN PILEATED WOODPECKER 173
Roger T. Peterson (MS.) says: "The pileated woodpecker has
greatly increased in the Northeast during the past few years. At
one time it was nearly gone from many parts of New York State and
southern New England, where it had occurred in fair numbers.
The bird disappeared from northern New Jersey about 1880, and
from southern New Jersey in 1908. About 1920 W. DeWitt Miller
found it again at two or three points in northern New Jersey; and
now it is fairly common in many places in the northern part of the
State, and as far east as in Bergen County, within 15 miles of New
York City. Within the past 5 years it has reappeared in the lower
Hudson Valley. It is especially common in some portions of south-
western New York State. In one recent year I found four nests
near the city of Jamestown, N. Y. Similar increases have been noted
by bird students in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, and Mis-
souri" — and, he might have added, in Pennsylvania.
Ludlow Griscom (1929) wrote: "I incline to the view that the
increase in this Woodpecker is not so much due to conservation, as
to its adaptation to less primeval conditions. The generation that
regarded this species as a game-bird died off in this Region [the
Northeastern States] before it returned."
Granted that the species shows itself to be adaptable, it still is
pertinent to note other ameliorations of circumstance. Wlien lum-
bering operations have been carried through to completion, when the
camps are gone from the woods, and when new growth has begun
to spring up, it is generally true that animal life in its larger forms
tends to reappear and to increase. Again, the development of more
fertile lands in the West has had effect in the abandonment of poorer
lands in the East. Extensive areas, in New England particularly,
that a hundred years ago were farmed, have now long since returned
to wilderness. The forests of second growth, as they approach ma-
turity, may be supposed increasingly to afford the food resources
proper to this denizen of the great forests. And, finally, protective
laws have been more intelligently framed, more widely adopted, and
more generally respected.
The birds range over plain and mountain side. They prefer "the
edges of the balsam and cedar swamps, when surrounded with forests
of hardwood and hemlocks" (Blackwelder, 1909, Iron County, Mich.).
Their nesting places are ordinarily in lowlands, and near water. In
the region where I have known* them best— the Huron Mountains,
in Marquette County, Mich.— I have found the birds to occur in
pairs or families at intervals of two or three miles along the course
of a river that flows through primeval forest land. This I take to
be a fair indication of the saturation point in pileated woodpecker
population.
174 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Migration. — Generally speaking, the species is resident wherever
found. Some of the earlier naturalists supposed that it retired in
winter from the more northerly portions of its range; but none af-
fords any evidence. George Miksch Sutton (1930), when ornithol-
ogist for the Game Commission of Pennsylvania, having reviewed
the reports of the wardens, said that they tended to indicate a grad-
ual movement of the birds in winter around the eastern end of Lake
Erie and southward into Pennsylvania. Such may be the case. On
the other hand, it is true that, after the nesting season has passed,
and throughout fall and winter, the birds wander and appear in
areas where at other seasons they are unknown ; and it may be that
Dr. Sutton's wardens were basing their reports upon such seasonal
i-eappearances. More precise observations must be made before it
can be asserted with confidence that there is migration in any sense
other than that here recognized.
Courtship. — It is usual to find the birds associated in pairs, even
after the nesting season has passed; and from this the inference
has been drawn (Morrell, 1901; Knight, 1908) that they continue,
year after year, constantly mated. Lewis O. Shelley, writing from
East Westmoreland, N. H., says (MS.) : "It is my belief that the
pileated mates for life, for, seen almost daily, one pair is known to
have shown no active spring display for the past few years, nor was
a third bird (male) seen near." This inference may be sound; never-
theless, an element of conjecture here should not be overlooked, and
further data should be sought.
In some cases, certainly, the birds engage in mating antics, and
Edmund W. Arthur (1934) relates an example:
On April 14, 1933, while driving with a companion * * * from Slippery-
Rock [Pennsylvania] * * * j-q Grove City, I observed a Pileated Wood-
pecker * * * flying across the highway a short distance south of Bar more
Run. Stopping our car, we got out and followed the bird with our eyes, until
it alighted on a tall tree a thousand feet away in the swampy woodland.
Presently another, and then a third, were seen. They were quite restless,
though apparently fearless, as evidenced by their flying about, alighting in
plain view of us upon trees not fifty yards distant. After several minutes
one of them — a female we thought — alighted upon a grassy knoll in a pasture
to the left of the road, where it walked about for a brief interval, until a
second came to the knoll and approached within three or four feet of the
first. Then began a curious movement, much resembling the dance of Flickers,
wherein with bowing and scraping one bird, stepping sideways, made a circle
about the other, who slowly turned, facing the performer. When the dance
ceased there was a sudden jerky movement on the part of each, and thereupon
they flew away. There are two houses at the intersection, and the people
living in one of them told us that a pair of these birds had nested the year
before in a maple just in the rear of their house.
Francis H. Allen has written a description of a formal dance at
a season remote from mating time; and, since the description has
NORTHERN PILEATED WOODPECKER 175
not been published, and since it is pertinent to the question of per-
manence of mating, it is here given at length :
"On the side of Mount Monadnock, N. H., October 13, 1908, I
watched two birds executing a sort of dance. Wlien first seen they
were clinging to the bole of a spruce, near the ground. They hopped
up and down the trunk, frequently pecking at each other's bills
simultaneously, now on one side of the tree, now on the other. When
I got too near they flew a short distance to another tree, and I fol-
lowed them about from tree to tree for about half an hour, often
within 50 or 60 feet of them. They always lit at the base of the tree
and worked up a few feet, seldom going more than 5 feet up, I
think. They hopped backward and downward a great deal, and often
they lifted and partly spread their wings. Their motions were
limber and undulating, marked by a certain awkward grace, without
the stiffness of the smaller woodpeckers. The crests were elevated
occasionally. I noticed no difference in the markings, but I was
then unacquainted with the sexual differences of the species, and I
cannot say whether or not they were male and female. They occa-
sionally uttered a faint wahh^ wahk^ wahk^ in a soft, conversational
tone ; but it was for the most part a silent performance."
The bird drums a roll, as do other woodpeckers. The only other
drumming of comparable intensity is that of the yellow-bellied sap-
sucker, but commonly the pileated woodpecker's performance is so
heavy as to be unmistakable. Often the drumming consists not of
a roll but of slow heavy beats. Dr. Sutton (1930) writes: "On May
19, 1925, * * * J heard a male drumming for over an hour
* * * During the whole period there was a noticeable similarity
of the performances * * * At least fifty or sixty times there was
an introductory, rapidly given roll; then a pause, followed by three
distinct blows, * * * giving much the impression of a queer
rhythm beat upon an aboriginal drum." With this the description
of the drumming of the sapsucker given by Dr. Harry C. Ober-
liolser (1896b) may be compared.
Ernest Waters Vickers (1915) gives the following description of
"the masterly roll of the great log-cock" :
This roll is composed of twelve strokes or blows, formiug an ascending and
descending climax; increasing in rapidity and volume to the middle and dying
in force and rapidity just as it began. While the bird may not give the
complete roll, may break off anywhere, it is always, so far as I have heard,
a part of the above * * * ^ mellow yet powerful cellular jar to which
the whole wooded heart of the forest makes echoing response — a solemn and
ancient sound. * * *
Thus * * * I heard one drumming far away on a sounding board of
peculiar musical resonance and power to carry * * * i had often heard
this roll a full mile and a half away ; once or twice I had even heard it in
the house with doors and windows closed \ * * * This old sounding-board
was the hollow limb or arm of a big tulip tree or "white wood" flung out
176 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
at right angle from tlie trunk 60 or 70 feet from the ground, a mere shell
as appeared * * * sound and hard and barkless. The spot where he
hammered was white where the weathered gray fibers had been beaten off
by constant use. * * *
That April day * * * he sat upright upon the limb grasping it firmly,
* * * poising himself, making a motion or two as a neat penman about
to begin writing starts with a preliminary flourish, struck the limb some-
what lightly at first and deliberately, accelerating both speed and power,
diminishing to stop as he started. He then paused to listen to the effect,
attend to the echoes, or wait for the response of his mate perhaps, which
occasionally rolled back from somewhere away east in the woods. He would
hop about a trifle, cock his head examining his neighborhood a little, dress
his feathers or search for parasites; — but not for long did he forget what
he was there for; then gather himself up for another reverberation. With
such energy did he hammer that his whole body shook and his wings quivered.
He fairly hurled himself wildly at it. The great loose hair-like scarlet crest
flowed in the sun and his scarlet moustache added to his noble and savage
appearance."
Nesting. — The birds are very tenacious of their nesting places,
returning year after year to the same location and even to the same
tree trunk. It is usual to find several nesting holes (and, perhaps,
winter quarters too) within an area, say, 100 yards square. In
such preference, held to even when the forest has been partially cut
down, the reason probably lies why nests sometimes are found in
open places. Commonly, however, the nesting stub stands in heavy
forest and within the shadow of the leafy canopy. There are a few
records of nests on mountain sides and ridges, but, typically, the
nesting tree stands in valley or bottomland and near the margin of
lake or stream or in a swamp. The boles of trees riddled and fur-
rowed in the pursuit of food are in no case used for nesting. An
ant-infested trunk may be supposed to be definitely not suitable for
such use.
Data are at hand upon 33 nests, from points widely scattered
throughout the range. Of these, one cavity was sunk in a large
dead hemlock, one in a dead pitch pine, one in a telegraph pole (an
oddity — Roberts, 1932), and 30 in the boles of deciduous trees.
Three are reported as dug in living trees; four are more particu-
larly reported as in the dead tops of living trees; the remaining
20-odd were, certainly most of them, and (for all that appears) all of
them, in dead stubs. Of the 30, eight were in beech trees; six
in poplar, and a seventh in tulip poplar. Three were in birches,
three in oaks, three in hickories. Two were in sugar maples and
one in a red maple. One was in an ash, one in an elm, and one in
a basswood. One was as low as 15 feet from the ground; three as
high as 70 feet. The average height was about 45 feet.
The trunk at the point where the hole is drilled will ordinarily be
from 15 to 20 inches in diameter. The hole commonly, though not
NORTHERN PILEATED WOODPECKER 177
invariably, faces the east or the south. Such is the preferred position,
but, as may be supposed, the slope of the surface of the tree trunk
and the quality of the wood are factors in the choice ; and holes some-
times are found drilled in west and north faces of the trunks. The
hole may be drilled through bark; more frequently it is through the
bleached and bonelike surface of a stub from which the bark has long
been stripped away. Though sometimes quite circular, the hole tends
to be of triangular outline, peaked above and leveled below. The
lower margin of the hole is outwardly and downwardly beveled and
very nicely finished. The orifice varies from 31^4 to 4I/2 inches in
diameter, and typically may be 3i/4 inches in width and 3% in ver-
tical extent. The only other notable item in external appearance is
that, if the tree be bare of bark and smooth surfaced (as is usual),
an area of surface a few inches below the hole will be seen to have
become polished by the rubbing of the tail feathers of the parent birds.
And this spot, perhaps in consequence of difference in the absorption
of moisture and fungus growth, may persist and be still plainly dis-
cernible in later years.
A nesting tree that may be regarded as typical stood in a dense
forest, entirely of hardwood — maples, elms, and yellow birches — on
the plain of a high and ancient beach of Lake Superior, cut through
by a mountain stream, and about a hundred yards from the water. It
was the smooth and barkless stub of a dead elm, about 45 feet high
and having a girth, breast-high, of 76 inches. The bole was smooth
and white, and the wood was still firm. The stub stood well shaded
beneath the living trees. A few flecks of morning sunlight fell upon
its eastern face ; but throughout the greater part of the day it remained
in shadow. It had been the woodpeckers' nesting place certainly for
four years. The highest hole seemed to be the oldest — in the south
face and near the top. The uppermost 6 feet of the stub had since
become weathered and checked and manifestly unsuitable. Next, on
the north face, there was an old and black-looking hole about 36 feet
up. The third and lowest hole was in the east face and about 25 feet
up ; and, lastly, there was the hole of the year, 34 feet up and also in
the east face.
The chamber within is capacious and is ordinarily of conical form,
tapering slightly from a low domed roof downward to a bowllike
bottom. There may be a slight bulging of the walls below a nar-
rowed median portion. The depth may vary from 10 to 24 inches
(extreme figures of 6 and 26 have been recorded). The average of
15 measurements is 19 inches. The entrance hole leads to the upper
widest portion, and there the chamber is 7 or 8 inches across. The
distance from the outer surface of the bole of the tree to the remote
wall of the chamber is about 11 inches. The entrance passageway
about 2 inches inward is ridged across, and from this median ridge
178 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
the floor of the passageway slopes downward, both inwardly and
outwardly, and this outward slope forms the bevel already mentioned.
The bowl at the bottom is 6 or 6V2 inches across. In a specimen before
me as I write, the wall of the chamber below the entrance hole is 4
inches thick. The ridge across the floor of the entrance passageway
is rounded. Its crest is 2i^ inches inward from the outer surface of
the tree trunk, and the vertical depth of the outward bevel is 2 inches.
All the surfaces of the cavity are neatly and uniformly chiseled.
Along the sides of the entrance passageway extend in parallel curves
the tool marks of the bird's beak. No nesting materials are brought
in. A feather or two will be the only trace of occupancy remaining
after the young are flown. In some though not in all cases it is pos-
sible for a man to thrust in his arm and reach the bottom of the
chamber.
As a general rule, certainly, a new cavity is drilled for every brood.
Such exceptions as have been recorded have explanation in human
interference. Samuel Scoville, Jr. (1920), quotes Eichard C. Harlow
to the effect that but once in his experience had a second use of a nest-
ing cavity occurred. Afterward Mr. Harlow said to me in conversa-
tion that even in that instance the cavity had been deepened before it
was used for a second time. The only other instance that has come to
my attention is one recorded by Morrell (1901) in which a single cavity
was used three times — in 1895, in 1897, and in 1898. In preparation
for the third nesting the cavity had been deepened by three inches.
This nesting was in "a small patch of good sized trees * * *
separated [from] the main growth by cutting," and it may be sup-
posed that the woodpeckers had been unduly limited in the choice
of nesting sites. In both cases the birds were subject to the disturbance
of persistent egg-collecting. It stands to reason that, in avoidance
of parasites, the practice should have evolved of drilling a fresh cavity
for each brood.
Mr. Harlow (1914) found that in one instance the drilling of the
nesting cavity was in progress in March and was continued "all dur-
ing March and April." The female worked alone, and the male con-
tinued near by. This nest, an unusually early one, contained, on
April 30, three eggs. In the Northern States the eggs commonly are
laid early in May. Incubation continues, according to Burns (1915),
for 18 days. The young leave the nest about the middle of June.
The range of date in nesting is illustrated by two records that come
from Centre County, Pa. (Scoville, 1920; Burleigh, 1931). One is of
a set of eggs that hatched on May 11. These eggs must have been laid
before April 23. The other record is of a set collected May 11 and
found to be practically fresh. The interval at which these two cases
stand apart is about 25 days. Scoville (1920) quotes Harlow, a col-
NORTHERN PILEATED WOODPECIvER 179
lector whose experience was chiefly in Centre County, to the effect
that "May 10 is the standard date for a full clutch of eggs."
Records of nests are at hand from Maine, New Hampshire, New
York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Tlie total body of data,
however, is small; and it is not possible to discover what the difference
may be in mean nesting date from south to north within the region
covered. There is a record from Maine, for instance (Morrell, 1901),
of a set of eggs found to be heavily incubated as early as May 13.
Eggs. — The eggs are white, Avith a gleaming smoothness and trans-
lucence of shell. They rest at the bottom of the cavity, on the bare
bed of finely splintered wood. Three eggs often complete the set,
but more commonly four. Of 17 recorded sets, 4 are sets of three, and
13 are sets of four. Some of the earlier writers (Wilson, for instance,
1811) said the number of eggs might be five or even six; but no specific
record of so large a number has been found. The eggs are of ovate
outline.
The measurements of 51 eggs average 33.16 by 25.21 millimeters;
the eggs showing the four extremes measure 38.2 by 27.1, 30.2 by
25.2, and 33.05 by 23.75 millimeters.
There are cases on record in which a pair of these birds, robbed
of their eggs, have laid again (and in the same cavity) ; with this
qualification, there is but a single brood in a season.
Young. — In a particular instance, which I take to be typical, of
a nesting (in northern Fulton County, Pa.) I found the male to
be no less attentive than the female to the duties of incubation and
nurture. In one respect, indeed, the male seemed to be the more
attentive, for on both of the two occasions when I had opportunity
to observe — once shortly before, the other shortly after the hatch-
ing of the eggs — it was the male bird who at sunset retired within
the hole and who at sunrise the following morning . appeared from
within. And I mention this the more confidently since I find chance
confirmation in the narrative of another observer, Morrell (1901),
and since like observations have been made upon other species of
woodpeckers — upon the flicker, for instance, and upon the ivory-
billed woodpecker (Allen, 1937).
Wlien incubation was in progress I found the parent birds to be
relieving one another at intervals of about two hours; and a week
later, when the young were still small, they were coming in with
food and replacing one another at intervals of approximately one
hour. It may have been accidental, and yet it seemed to me note-
worthy, that the routine of hourly visits was broken when the
female returned after an absence of 10 minutes to afford the male
freedom for 40 minutes before he returned to retire within the
cavity for the night.
180 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
At the time when hatching was near, and afterward when the
yonng were newly hatched, one or the other of the parent birds
was constantly present in the nesting chamber and, the weather
being warm, was much of the time perched immediately within the
hole. And I then realized the value of the larger dimensions of
the upper portion of the chamber. The waiting bird was con-
stantly moving about, thrusting its head out and withdrawing it
again, turning about within the chamber so that it had free view
outward, jjreening, reaching upward with its foot and scratching
its head. And all this movement was free because the space was
wide.
Each of the parents seemed to have its OAvn path of approach to
the nest. One of them came almost invariably to a particular posi-
tion on the trunk, about 6 feet below and to the right, and hopped
up thence to the entrance, but the other bird followed a different
course.
I was impressed, too, with the comparative silence of the birds at
their nesting tree. Such small converse as took place there (a
flicker-like wuck-a-wuck — and it occurred irregularly) v/as so soft
as to be scarcely audible to human ears at a distance of fifty yards.
The feeding of the young is by regurgitation; and, while the
young are still small and remain at the bottom of the nesting cavity,
the parents may be seen to follow an interesting routine. The in-
coming bird hops to the hole, perches on the ridge of the entrance
passageway, and then swings inward and downward, at the same
time elevating the posterior part of its body until the tail presses
upon the outer upper rim of the hole. In this position, evidently,
the parent's bill meets those of the nestlings. This attitude is
maintained often for as much as a minute, and while it is main-
tained the body of the bird may be seen to shake convulsively —
plainly indicating that regurgitation is in progress.
When the young are small, the parent, after feeding, does not im-
mediately leave the nest but awaits the incoming of its mate. It
then glides away on wide-spread wings; and, while I suspected that
the excrement of the young is carried in the bill and dropped, I
was unable to detect this. Quite possibly, in this early stage at
least, the excrement is swallowed by the parent.
Charles W. Townsend (1925) gave account of a family observed in
Worcester County, Mass., when the young were well developed and
nearly ready to leave the nest :
On June 11, 1924, I spent five hours within twenty-five feet of the base of
the stub, unconcealed, and on June 14, six hours, but after the first hour I
took up a position about fifty yards away, partially concealed by bushes.
My observations may be summarized as follows: the young were fed eleven
times at the first visit, four times at the second when the adults acted in
NOETHERX PILEATED WOODPECKER 181
a very shy manner. As a rule the female fed the young, but on three occasions
the male was identified at tlie hole. * * *
As a rule the adult appeared suddenly at the hole, flying noiselessly through
the forest. Occasionally it alighted below the hole and rapidly ascended by
hops, or it alighted on some neighboring tree, and often calling like a Flicker,
glided on motionless outstretched wings in a graceful curve to its young. The
flight away from the hole was always direct after a preUminary downward
glide and lacked the usual woodpecker undulations. * * *
The three young crowded to the hole as soon as a parent appeared any-
where in the neighborhood and eagerly stretched forth their heads and necks.
* * * They were always hungrj' and screamed with rasping voices for food,
once or twice they uttered low whinnies. The adult inserted its bill to its full
length into the throats of the young and vigorously regurgitated and pumped in
the nourishment. * * * After feeding the young, the female on several
occasions, the male on one, entered the nest, to emerge after a minute or two
and glide away. Once I detected a white piece in the bill, once, something
dark, but the other times nothing at all.
Herbert L. Stoddard (1917) has noted the "hissing" noise of the
young within the nesting cavity when the trunk is jarred, "similar to
young flickers, but a great deal louder."
When the young have flown from the nest, the cavity is not
utterly abandoned. I once saw one of the parent birds reenter at
midday a cavity from which the young had recently flown and
remain within for 40 minutes. Why, I know not. The mate accom-
panied this returning bird and waited near by. Maurice Brooks
writes (MS.) : "Nest cavities are sometimes used as roosting places
after the nesting season. On the evening of August 2, 1937, at
Jacksons Mill [Lewis County, W. Va.], I saw six birds (two adults
and four young) enter a cavity that had held a nest earlier in the
season. This was probably the brood of the year, with the parents."
Food. — The pileated woodpecker lives upon insects that infest
standing and fallen timber and supplements this diet with wild berries
and acorns.
Ants are the chief item of food. It is in pursuit of ants that the
woodpecker cuts its great furrows in the boles of standing trees, liv-
ing and dead. On examination the heart wood exposed by the
woodpecker's operations will be found to have been penetrated by
the labyrinthine passageways of the great carpenter ants, Camponotus
herculeanus (Linnaeus).
All the observations of others that have come to my attention upon
the woodpecker when actually engaged in cutting these great trunk-
penetrating chasms have been made in winter and early in spring,
and with them my own are in agreement. It is a natural surmise
that only in winter is such heavy work done, since in summer proper
food is more easily available. Another surmise along the same lines
is that the disappearance of the bird from particular areas, followed
after an interval of years by reappearance, may perhaps have oc-
182 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
curred in correspondence with precisely sucli a fluctuation in its
essential, wintertime food supply : it must find, when the ground is
snow-covered, ant-infested trunks of large trees.
In September I once made leisurely observation upon a bird at
work upon a dead but standing hemlock tree. With swinging, ob-
liquely directed blows it was splitting off the outer leaves of the
scalelike bark and pausing intermittently with head turned to the
trunk, licking up, as I supposed, the insect life thus exposed. Again,
in September, I came upon a pair feeding together upon the ground.
They had been tearing up a carpet of moss that spread over damp
surfaces both of wood and of rock, and I thought that their prey
must be insect life that they were finding in the moss itself.
And yet again, on September 21, I watched for many minutes an
adult female feeding on a charred and decayed stump that remained
in a young forest of jack pines. She w^as perched about a foot from
the ground. Her method was by deliberate and swinging blows to
break away platelike fragments of still firm wood, and then to intrude
her bill and search with her tongue (as was evident) the opened
cavity. This licking was always, or nearly always, upward, and
often the head was turned, crown inward, throat outward. A jay
might call or some other forest sound be heard, and the bird would
pause, listen for an instant, and then resume her work. A day or
two later I visited the stump and with my knife made an incision in
it, and I found it to be the home of a colony of ants — not of the
large Camponotus but of a smaller, wine-black species about a quarter
of an inch long. The body of the stum]) was honeycombed with their
galleries.
Of the major wintertime operations Vickers (1910) has written:
Like the flicker, the [pileated woodpecker] is a great lover of ants, which
accordingly occupy a large place in his bill-of-fare. So, to dine on the big
black timber ants, which are his special delight, he drives holes to the very
heart of growing forest trees, tapping the central chamber of the colony,
where, in winter, he finds the dormant swarm unable to move and feasts upon
them at leisure . . . And the Log-cock makes no mistakes, though man
might find no outward sign of an ant-tree. Doubtless that strong formic
smell, coupled with his experience in sounding tree trunks, — as a man tells
a ripe watermelon by the plunk of it, — enables him not only to find the tree,
but, what is more remarkable, to drive his hole with such precision that he
taps the heart of the community.
O. M. Bryens (1926) wrote from St. Joseph County, Mich.:
On February 16, 1925, I was able to approach within twelve feet of one of
these Woodpeckers busily engaged in digging in a maple stub, two feet in
diameter and about twelve feet high. He was after insects whose borings I
found later upon examining the wood. I watched him for about an hour.
He seldom gave more than three or four pecks at a time, and would then
swing his head round to one side or the other, sometimes raising his scarlet
crest. He seldom threw back his head without tossing a chip back of him.
NORTHERlsr PILEATED WOODPECKER 183
and when I examined his work after he had left, later in the day, I found
some chips near the stub, which were three inches long and one inch wide.
Others half this size had been thrown out on the snow a distance of four feet.
The hole was on the west side and measured six inches across and ten inches
long, and extended to a depth of six inches toward the heart of the stub.
There was another hole six inches square on the south side. The bird seemed
to chisel out a section three inches wide across the hole and then move down
and cut out another section. The two holes were dug in about two hours.
Of summertime feeding Ora W. Knight (1908) says: "Except the
Flicker this is the only species of Woodpecker I have observed feed-
ing on the ground, but this species likes to tear open the ant hills
found in open places in the woods and feed on the ants and their
larvpe." He also says that in the fall these birds eat "dogwood
berries, choke and black cherries and other wild fruits and berries,
also beechnuts and acorns for which it has a decided fondness."
Dr. Sutton (1930) says:
The food of this species in Pennsylvania, according to official examination
of four stomachs, is largely of ants. The stomach and crop of a male speci-
men weighing nine ounces, collected at Northumberland, Northumberland
County, on November 10, 1928, contained 469 carpenter ants {Camponotus
herculaneus) , most of them so recently swallowed as to permit of counting
them easily. The stomach of a female taken at Aitch, Huntingdon County,
on November 30, 1928, contained the remains of at least 153 carpenter ants,
one small carabid beetle, the legs of a small bug (apparently a squash-bug),
and 17 wild grapes, swallowed whole.
F. E. L. Beal (1911) gave the results of examination of the con-
tents of 80 stomachs collected far and wide throughout the range of
the species. Animal food amounted to 72.88 percent; vegetable,
27.12 percent. Beetles made up 22.01 percent of the total, and ants
39.91 percent. As many as 2,600 ants were counted in a single
stomach. The ants were "mostly of the larger species that live in
decaying timber." Ants and beetles together made up the bulk of
the animal food (61.92 percent).
The Biological Survey (A. L. Nelson) has kindly made reply to
my inquiry concerning stomach examinations of the subspecies
dbieticola alone. Data were available from 23 specimens, three col-
lected in January, two in June, two in July, six in October, eight
in November, and two in December. They were collected, two in
Canada, two in New Brunswick, four in New York, four in Pennsyl-
vania, six in Michigan, two in Illinois, two in Minnesota, and one in
Iowa.
Animal food amounted to 83 percent of the whole; vegetable, 17
percent, with but a trace of gravel (one stomach only). The chief
item was ants, principally large black ants, such as Camponotus
and Grematog aster; this item alone constituted 60 percent of the
whole. The animal food otherwise consisted of a variety of beetles
and of a very few (2 percent) caterpillars. The vegetable food
184 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
was made up of wild berries {Ilex^ Cassine, Vitis cordifolia^ Nyssa
sylvatica, and Viburnum nudum — in all, 11 percent of the whole),
mast (2 percent), and rotten wood (4 percent).
Catesby's (1731) assertion, repeated time and again by the earlier
writers, that the pileated woodpecker sometimes pierces the husks
of maize standing in the field, was almost certainly based on faulty
observation. No modern confirmation is to be found of this or of
any other predatory practice. To the contrary, the finding after
careful investigation (Beal, 1911) is: "The food of the pileated wood-
pecker does not interest the farmer or horticulturist, for it is ob-
tained entirely from the forest or the wild copses on its edge. This
bird does not visit either the orchard or .the grain field, and all
its work in the forest helps to conserve the timber * * *, its
killing should be strictly prohibited at all times."
Behavior. — The bird is but little known — surprisingly little, con-
sidering how large a bird it is. It is a forest dweller ; it lives almost
wholly within the canopy of the treetops; it is alert, furtive (almost)
as a bear, rather silent in midsummer (the season when city dwellers
ordinarily visit the northern forests) ; and it easily eludes observa-
tion. It is not strange then that, its gigantic operations remaining
in evidence, the bird itself should in common thought have become
a somewhat fabulous creature. Thoreau (1906) never saw it; and
this is what he wrote of it in the Moosehead Lake journal under
date of July 25, 1857: "Our path up the bank here led by a large
dead white pine, in whose trunk near the ground were great square-
cornered holes made by the woodpeckers. * * * They were seven
or eight inches long by four wide and reached to the heart of the
tree through an inch or more of sound wood, and looked like great
mortise-holes whose corners had been somewhat worn and rounded
by a loose tenon. The tree for some distance was quite honeycombed
by them. It suggested woodpeckers on a larger scale than ours, as
were the trees and the forest."
To one who visits its haunts the presence of the pileated wood-
pecker is immediately made manifest by operations such in magnitude
as to have astonished Thoreau. Dead Norway pines may be found,
gaunt and bare, their bark split away in plates and lying heaped
at the base, and living white pines — young trees, particularly —
pierced to the core with deep pyramidal incisions. The freshly cut
wood gleams clean, and turpentine in pellucid globules rims the
cut and drips downward. Great boles of maples and basswoods
stand, furrowed from broken top to base, the ground below littered
with splinters, often half a hand's breadth in extent. The cuts are
roughly rectangular in outline. They may be 4, 5, or even 6 or 8
inches wide and are sunk deep into the heart of the tree. They
may extend vertically for a few inches or for a foot or more. They
NORTHERN PILEATED WOODPECKER 185
may be aligned in vertical rows, and may run together in furrows
of several feet in length. Crumbling stumps and moss-covered
logs lying on the forest floor will often be found ripped and torn
by the woodpecker's beak.
It is, as has been said, a wary creature, and is not easily stalked.
On one occasion, when I had successfully approached a male that
was idling in the top of a gaunt chestnut near the nesting tree, I
paused, before shifting from an uncomfortable position, until the
bird should sidle around the limb. Even so, he was quicker than I ;
for, before I had completed my movement, he was peering from
the opposite side, and, detecting me, w^as off. Again I came upon
a bird — a male — suddenly, in open forest. He did not immediately
take wing, but, hitching downward upon the tree trunk, he reached
the ground, hopped off, and then flitted away through the under-
growth, so that I scarcely saw him go. And when I came upon him
again he repeated the maneuver.
With all their alertness, the birds have a large store of curiosity.
Dr. Sutton (1930) has remarked that some individuals will "fly
up hastily and boldly upon hearing a commotion in the woods."
They may sometimes be called up by imitating their cry, by clapping
together the cupped palms of one's hands, or by pounding with a
billet of wood upon a tree trunk. I was following one morning a
forest trail, where I knew a pair of the woodpeckers to be in resi-
dence, and had a glimpse, as I walked, of a large bird flying away.
There stood against the sky, in the direction of the retreat, the stub
of a great treetop. Pausing in my tracks, I waited until, after a
few minutes, the suspected woodpecker came leaping up the stub —
to have a look at me, as I supposed. In such case, the square
shoulders of the bird, the slender white-striped neck, and the hammer
head with its pointed scarlet crest are very conspicuous.
Maurice Brooks (1934) has remarked upon the playfulness of the
birds when at ease.
For all their alertness, it remains still to be said that on occasion,
when the birds are feeding, or when tending a nestful of young,
it is possible to approach quietly and to remain watching, while
they, unheeding, continue their activities.
It is common to find hairy and downy woodpeckers associated with
the pileated, both on nesting grounds and when feeding. There is
here, I believe, some measure of commensalism. I have in mind an
observation upon a downy on the same dead hemlock tree with a
pileated woodpecker. The larger bird was scaling off the bark and
feeding; the smaller seemed to be gleaning over areas the pileated
had left.
90801—39 13
186 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Tucked in the niche formed by a great furrowlike incision in
the bole of a basswood tree, and about 10 feet from the ground, I
once found a nest of the olive-backed thrush.
When I cut down the stub of which I have spoken, and which
contained four old nesting cavities of the pileated woodpecker, I
found the lowest, 25 feet from the ground, to be occupied by a
family of white-footed mice {Peromyscus maniculatus) ^ and I have
no doubt that these cavities, after their abandonment by the wood-
peckers, are commonly used by flying squirrels, by owls, and by
tree-nesting ducks.
Prof. Brooks (1934) has most engagingly described the entice-
ment of pileated woodpeckers to come to feeding trays, and, inci-
dentally, has adduced evidence of their traits of caution and of
curiosity. To this he adds (MS.) : "I have indicated, in an article
in Bird-Lore, that we have found Pileated Woodpeckers something of
clowns. The gourd experience described in the above-mentioned
article seemed to be in a spirit of play. The evident curiosity dis-
played by many birds observed is noteworthy; under its urge they
apparently lose much of their fear. Around our blinds the}^ have
used a slow and cautious approach, but once at the feeding shelves,
they have not been particularly nervous or excitable. At times I
have found them surprisingly tame in the open woods."
The pileated woodpecker lives, as has been said, almost entirely
within the forest cover. Its flight is commonly a matter of gliding
and of slow-measured flapping through the trees. Its appearance then
is unmistakable — ^large and black, with a flashing pattern of white be-
neath the wings, and a gleaming scarlet crest.
At times it rises above the treetops and moves over greater distances,
and then its manner of flight bears greater likeness to the typical
bounding or galloping flight of the generality of woodpeckers. Its
outline against the sky is not unlike a kingfisher's. Dr. Sutton (1930)
describes an encounter in the Pennsylvania mountains with a bird that
"cackled for about fifteen minutes, pounding intermittently on a tree
trunk. It then rose in air, mounted to a plane above the tree-tops,
and flew in direct course down the valley, uttering a single, loud,
even-toned puck about every two seconds, as far as we could hear
it. The bird was still flying high when it faded from view."
Cornelius Weygandt (1912) described from Monroe County, Pa.,
the appearance of "the Logcock that in late July and early August
made the sunset hour more memorable by its passing" :
It was on the evening of July 26 that we first saw him ♦ * * we noticed
a large bird flying heron-like toward us. He passed us and made his way
onward toward a tall broken-topped gum tree that stood out black against the
sunset. He "landed" on its side near the top, woodpecker fashion, and bobbed
downtrunk backwards for several yards. The sky was mauve and gold and
NORTHERN PILEATED WOODPECKER 187
crimson, and the great bird loomed blacker and bigger than he really was,
limned sharply against it. He had not dropped along like the smaller wood-
peckers, but had kept on more steadily, very like a heron, with only slight risings
and fallings. After a rest on the gum tree of some three minutes he flung
himself into the air and dove down into the Buck Hill Gorge.
Vickers (1915) characterizes the bird's flight as "powerful and
straight-forward, his head and neck carrying his powerful beak like
a spear * * * [the bird] large as a crow and with a certain
short, sturdy, kingfisherlike aspect."
In general conclusion it may be said that the pileated woodpecker
has the habit and manner of a giant, forest-loving flicker.
Voice. — Throughout the greater part of the year the pileated wood-
pecker is a relatively silent bird, but during the nesting season drum-
ming and calling are frequent. The usual call is a cackle, resembling
that of the flicker, though louder and of more sonorous quality.
The "song" of the white-breasted nuthatch so far resembles it in pitch
and tempo that a nuthatch near at hand may, for an instant, suggest
the woodpecker far away. The ka, ka, ka of the woodpecker's cackle
is variable in quality, in speed of iteration, and in continuity, and
seems to be expressive, sometimes of alarm, sometimes of companion-
sliip, sometimes of contentment. Aretas A. Saunders (1935) has
noted that often there is rise in pitch at the beginning of a rendition
and a slight fall at the end; and Samuel Scoville, Jr. (1920), dis-
tinguishing this from the flicker's similar call, has remarked on
"a queer little quirk at the end." When a pair of birds cackle in
alternation, as commonly they do, a difference in pitch will be noted;
but whether that be a constant sexual difference, or a matter of in-
dividuality merely, I cannot say.
In the nesting season the mated birds have another flickerlike
wuck-a-iouch call that seems to be peculiarly associated with their
conjugal relationship. They use it in courtship and when they relieve
one another in attendance at the nest.
Dr. Sutton (1930) mentions yet another call and describes it as
"whining notes, suggesting the mew of the yellow-bellied sapsucker."
But it is more than that. It is a loud cry, that resembles the scream
of a hawk. It is commonly reiterated slowly in five or six repetitions.
Unless one were to follow the sound and discover its source, he would
hardly impute it to this bird. It too, I believe, is a call peculiar
to the nesting season.
When the bird is in flight a slowly uttered piick^ puck may some-
times be heard, and sometimes what for lack of a better term may be
called a creaking of the moving wings.
Besides these there is a high-pitched scream — "a bugie call," says
Florence Merriam Bailey (1902), with which the bird greets the
rising sun. Horace W. Wright (1912) has noted that in June the
bird is first heard within a few minutes after sunrise and has de-
188 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
scribed the awakening thus: "There are eight records, when a bird
has been heard loudly rapping in the distance with slow and meas-
ured blows or has called lustily and long, sometimes answered by
another."
Enemies. — The number of eggs laid suggests that there must be
some wastage: that somewhere in the round of life the bird must
be peculiarly exposed to destruction; and to this point Dr. Sutton
(1930) speaks:
The Duck Hawk (Rhynchodon peregrinus anatum) appears to be the chief, in-
deed perhaps the only, natural enemy of this woodpecker in this State [Pennsyl-
vania]. At Spruce Creek, Huntingdon County, where these falcons have nested
for years, I found, on March 21, 1921, the head and plumage of a male wood-
pecker which had not been dead long. Near Palmerton, Carbon County, I saw
a Duck Hawk pursue and with ease strike down a pileated woodpecker that had
started to fly across the river. The hawk flew so fast that the woodpecker
seemed to have been unaware of the pursuit. A cloud of feathers burst from the
body of the victim as it collapsed. The duck hawk apparently winters regularly
along some of our streams, and takes whatever comes along, with a preference,
perhaps, for the somewhat larger birds; and to it the comparatively clumsy
log cock falls easy prey. So far as I know, neither the great horned owl nor
the Cooper's hawk ever captures the bird, and our stomach examinations of
several hundred Goshawks revealed none of its bones or plumage, though this
savage predator no doubt occasionally captures such birds as are to be found
throughout the winter.
K. B. Simpson (1910) wrote: "I once shot a Sharp-shinned Hawk
that was making a desperate attempt to catch a pileated * * *,
A year or two ago in summer along a trout stream in virgin forest
back in the mountains [of northern Pennsylvania], I came to a mossy
spot where a pileated had been wrecked and a close inspection showed
the tracks of a huge wildcat who had no doubt caught the big wood-
pecker on the ground or on a log." See also Bendire (1895).
In addition to man's disturbance of habitat with which this paper
has had largely to do, the following matters are noteworthy :
Pennant (1785) wrote that the Indians made a practice of decking
their calumets with the crests of these birds. And see Bendire (1895) .
Audubon (1842) said of the pileated woodpecker: "Its flesh is
tough, of a bluish tint, and smells so strongly of the worms and
insects on which it generally feeds, as to be extremely unpalatable."
Sutton (1930), however, was able to show, both by the testimony of
living witnesses and by written record as well, that these birds, along
with other smaller birds, were once commonly exposed for sale as food
in city markets.
Major Bendire (1895) wrote:
I have occasionally seen bunches of these birds, numbering from four to
twelve, exposed for sale in the markets of Washington, D. C. * * * I tried
to eat Oflie, when short of meat, while traveling through the Blue Mountains
of Oregon, but I certainly can not recommend it. It feeds to a great extent
FLORIDA PILEATED WOODPECKER 189
on the large black wood ants, which impart to it a very peculiar, and to me
an extremely nnpleasant flavor, a kind of sweet-sour taste, which any amount
of seasoning and cooking does not disguise, and I consider it as a very
unpalatable substitute for game of any kind.
Winter. — As is true of other members of the family, the pileated
woodpecker may in fall be found digging for himself a cavity for
winter occupancy. Few birds other than the woodpeckers make
what may be called habitations, except as part of or incident to the
activities of reproduction. And in the case of the woodpeckers, while
I know that in particular instances these winter retreats are not so
used, I am unable to say that they never are subsequently used as
nesting cavities.
Hoyes Lloyd (1932) wrote:
One of the most delightful bird adventures we have had at Rockcliffe Park
[near the City of Ottawa] was the visit to us of a pileated woodpecker. It
first came at 4 : 30 p. m., on October 12, 1928, and excavated a hole in a hollow
basswood for sleeping quarters * * *. The chips, from live wood, were up
to three inches by two inches in area, and an eighth of an inch thick. Each chip
had two or three gouge-like beak marks across its surface. At 4 : 50 p. m. on
the nest day the pileated came home, and although we were all outdoors, it went
directly to its own tree and after a brief survey of affairs in the vicinity,
retired. The approach was silent except, possibly for a single Flicker-like note
in the distance. About 9 a. m., on the 14th, our bird woke me up with a loud
kuk-kuk-kuk call and it looked very large as it climbed up the home basswood.
Promptly at quarter to five it came home, undoubtedly after a day among the
big hardwoods of the neighborhood. We were all impressed by its great length
of neck, as it swung its head with a curious bobbing motion, that was used,
without doubt, to give a view on each side of the home tree, before going
into the hole for the night. A pileated, thought to be the same bird, came back
on March 22, 1929, possibly, or certainly on the 23rd, and slept in its winter
home.
Prof. Brooks writes (MS.) : "At French Creek [Upshur County,
W. Va.], two birds used a nesting cavity as a roosting place during
the following winter."
CEOPHLOEUS PILEATUS FLORIDANUS (Ridgway)
FLORIDA PILEATED WOODPECKER
HABITS
This is the race that is supposed to inhabit central and southern
Florida, as far north as Orange County, but there seems to be some
doubt as to the desirability of naming it. Ridgway (1914) describes
it as "similar to P. p. pileafus, but decidedly blacker (that is, the
general black color less slaty or sooty), and average size less, with
bill usually relatively shorter and broader." But he admits his
doubt, in a footnote, saying:
I have found it very diflicult to decide as to the propriety of separating a form
of this species from central and southern Florida, but after having several
190 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
times laid out and carefully compared the entire series of specimens from more
southern localities, have come to the conclusion that to do so will, apparently,
best express the facts of the case. Going by size alone, there is little difference
between specimens from southern and central Florida and those from localities
as far northward as Maryland (lowlands), southern Illinois, and Missouri; in
fact some of these more northern specimens are quite as small as Florida ones.
But the series from central and southern Florida are uniformly decidedly blacker
than the rest. * * * i have restricted the name plleatus to an intermediate
form, characterized by the small size of P. p. fioridanus combined with an
appreciably lighter (more slaty or sooty) coloration, often approaching closely
the lightness of hue of P. p. abieticola.
Bangs (1898), in separating the northern race from the southern,
says that "southern South Carolina must be considered the type
locality of the species, and birds from this region are as extreme of
the southern race as those from Florida." Furthermore, Arthur H.
Howell (1932) observes that "careful study of a large series from
Florida in comparison with a series of typical pileatus from the
Middle States shows no constant difference in color, as claimed by
Eidgway for the subspecies ^fioridanus'' ; evidently specimens kept for
some years become more brownish (less sooty), which fact probably
explains Ridgway's mistake, he having compared fresh Florida skins
with older skins from the Middle States." Probably, also, if speci-
mens from the two regions in similar seasonal plmnage were com-
pared, there would not be so much difference in coloration as Ridg-
way claims. Even if Ridgway is correct in his diagnosis, it would
seem unwise, in the author's opinion, to recognize the Florida race
and thus establish an intermediate race, where the gradation in both
size and color warrants the naming of only the two extremes.
Mr. Howell (1932) says of its haunts: "The pileated woodpecker
in Florida inhabits several different types of country — pine woods,
cypress swamps, hardwood swamps, and hammocks of cabbage pal-
metto and other trees. The birds are perhaps most numerous in ham-
mocks or swamps, where there is an abundance of decaying trees."
Nesting. — Mr. Howell (1932) writes: "We found a number of pairs
breeding in cypress trees along the borders of Lake Istokpoga. The
nests are excavated either in living trees or in rotten stubs, from 12 to
75 feet from the ground. The trees commonly used for nesting sites
are cypress, pine, black gum, oak, and cabbage palmetto." Wliile col-
lecting in the Florida Keys in 1908, I found a pair of pileated wood-
peckers nesting on Murrays Key on April 3 and surprised one of the
birds working in its nesting hole; the excavation was about 12 feet
from the ground in the main trunk of a live black mangrove, which
stood in the inner frmge of mangroves around the borders of the
island. I climbed up to it and reached into the cavity but could not
touch the bottom of it ; we were unable to visit the island again.
WESTERN PILEATED WOODPECKEE 191
Major Bendire (1895) writes:
In southern Florida the mating season commences early in March, and farther
north correspondingly later. A suitable tree having been selected, generally a
dead one in large and extensive woods, both birds work alternately on the nest-
ing site. This is usually excavated in the main trunk, from 12 to 75 feet from
the gi-ound, and it takes from seven to twelve days to complete it The entrance
measures from 3 to 3% inches in diameter, and it often goes 5 inches straight
into the trunk before it is worked downward. The cavity varies from 7 to 30
inches in depth, and is gradually enlarged toward the bottom, where it is about
6 inches wide. A layer of chips is left at the bottom, on which the eggs are
deposited. Occasionally the entrance hole, instead of being circular, is oval in
shape, like that of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The inside of the cavity is
quite smooth, the edges of the entrance are nicely beveled, and, taken as a whole,
it is quite an artistic piece of work.
Dr. William L. Kalph told Bendire of a clever trick practiced by
this woodpecker ; he found a nest "in the second week in April, about
the time nidification is at its height there. On rapping on the trunk
of the tree the bird, which was at home, stuck his head out of the hole
and dropped some chips, naturally causing the Doctor to believe that
the nesting site was still unfinished. The same performance was re-
peated on several subsequent visits, and finally he concluded to exam-
ine the nest anyhow, when he found nearly full-grown young. This
pair of birds must have had eggs at the time he first discovered the
nest, and the chips were simply thrown out as a ruse to deceive him."
Eggs. — This woodpecker lays, ordinarily, three or four eggs, rarely
five. These are indistinguishable from those of the species from other
southern States. The measurements of 22 eggs average 33.61 by 24.75
millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 36.2 by
24.5, 35.70 by 26.19, 31.5 by 24.0, and 34.2 by 22.8 millimeters.
Food. — Mr. Howell (1932) states that "this large woodpecker is a
decidedly useful species. It never injures farm crops, but feeds en-
tirely in the forests, rendering good service there in the destruction
of wood-boring beetles. It eats, also, ants and wild fruits and berries,
including the fruit of the sour gum, tupelo gum, dogwood, persimmon,
frost grape, holly, poison ivy, sumac, and hackberry." C. J. Maynard
(1896) says that they "are partial to the berries of the palmetto, feed-
ing, in Florida, upon little else when these are in season."
CEOPHLOEUS PILEATUS PICINUS (Bangs)
WESTERN PILEATED WOODPECKER
HABITS
In describing and naming tliis large, dark-colored race from the
Northwest coast region, Outram Bangs (1910) says that it is "as large
as, or even larger than, P. pileatus ahieticola (Bangs), but color sooty
192 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
black as in P. pileatus pileatus (Linn.), the throat usually much
marked with sooty, and the sides and flanks but slightly marked with
grayish."
Major Bendire (1895) writes of its haunts: "In the mountains of
Oregon, and presumably in other localities, the pileated woodpecker is
most frequently met with in the extensive burnt tracts, the so-called
'deadenings,' where forest fires have swept through miles of fine
timber and killed everything in its path. Such localities afford this
species an abundant food supply in the slowly decaying trees, and
are sure to atract them."
Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale (1930) say that in the Lassen Peak
region in California "individuals of this AA^oodpecker were found in or
among white firs, red firs, incense cedars, and yellow pines. Foraging
birds were often working on rotting stumps or logs close to the
ground. Almost invariably, even when in the tops of tall trees, the
birds were on dead or softened wood."
Nesting. — J. A. Munro (1923) says: "In southern British Columbia
nesting begins early in May. The nest is a chiselled hole in a tree,
fourteen to eighteen inches deep, cut occasionally in a green cotton-
wood or poplar, more often in a dead pine or fir, and rarely in any
but the tallest trees and at a considerable distance above the ground.
On a cushion of fiuie chips three or four rose-white eggs are laid."
Carriger and Wells (1919) give an interesting account of the nesting
of the western pileated woodpecker in Placer County, Calif. The first
nest, containing young birds, was found early in June 1915, "The
tree stood about fifteen feet from the shore of the lake and in about
five feet of water. At its base the diameter was about eighteen inches,
at the nest entrance about ten. The tree was a live aspen. * * *
"The nest cavity was eighteen inches deep and six inches in diame-
ter, while the entrance was three inches in width. The entire excava-
tion had been made in live wood although there were plenty of large
dead trees near by."
On May 16, 1916, they returned to this locality and found the birds
nesting in the same tree in a new hole "located three feet higher up
and on the opposite side of the tree." The nest contained three newly
hatched young and one unhatched Qgg. Another visit was made the
following year, on May 5, but the woodpeckers "had abandoned the
lake and were making their home in a tree located in the channel of
a small stream which flowed into the lake and about three hundred
yards from their former site. The nest was found to be about half
completed. Visits were made to it on several occasions until May 26,
but the birds were not seen again."
In 1918 they were more successful. There was practically no water
in the lake; and, on May 2, a search was "made through the aspen
WESTERN" PILEATED WOODPECKER 193
grove which in former years had stood in its entirety in from two to
seven or eight feet of water, with the result that Mr. Flickinger dis-
covered a fresh hole forty feet up in a live aspen growing close to
the lake shore." The nest had been completed, but no eggs had been
laid. Returning on May 12, they collected a set of four fresh eggs.
They say :
Tlie nest cavity was eighteen inches deep by about six in diameter, while the
entrance was nearly four inches across.
The nest was visited again on June 1 by both of us, and to our surprise we
found that the birds had used tlie same cavity for a second set of eggs, four in
number, which were three-quarters incubated. The short time Intervening be-
tween the two sets shows that the birds did not lose any time after their
first set was lost to them. The locality was again visited on June 30 and we
found that the birds had finished another cavity about two hundred feet from
the first tree and apparently the female was brooding a third set. We did
not disturb the bird and hope that she successfully raised her brood.
Inasmuch as the lake contained no water at this point we made a careful
search of the upper end of the basin with the result that twenty cavities in all
were located in various trees in what is usually the lake or very close to its
shores. Most of these cavities were in live aspens. Apparently this pair of
birds has nested here for a great many years, for although we have carefully
worked the surrounding country for miles in every direction we have never
discovered other birds or their cavities.
Eggs. — The western pileated woodpecker apparently lays either
three or four eggs; I have no record of five. The eggs are indis-
tinguishable from those of the northern pileated woodpecker. The
measurements of two eggs in the P. B. Philipp collection are 30.9 by
23 and 29.6 by 22.9 millimeters. W. L. Dawson (1923) gives the
average measurement as 32.5 by 24.1 millimeters.
Young. — ^Mrs. Irene G. Wheelock (1904) gives the following inter-
esting account of the young :
The parents are very devoted to their treasures whether they be eggs or infant
woodpeckers, and the male rarely fails to stand on guard on a high perch ready
to warn and defend should possible danger threaten. The method of feeding is
like that of the flickers, by regurgitation for the first two weeks or longer. The
adult comes with gular pouch full of food and alights at one side of the nest
hole to rest a moment. Though he may have come noiselessly and from the
other side of the tree, yet his approach is always heralded by a mowing-machine
chorus from the young, plainly heard some yards away. If old enough, the
queer-looking little heads are thrust out of the doorway, and the parent, in-
serting his long bill into the open mouth of a youngling, shakes it vigorously,
thereby emptying the food from his throat into that of his offspring. Each in
turn is fed in this odd fashion. * * *
For a week or two after the young have left the nest, they follow their parents
begging for food with ludicrous eagerness; at this time the provender brought
them consists of nuts, berries, ants, and the larvae of beetles. These, especially
the nuts, are often placed in a crevice of the bark, and the youngster is com-
pelled to pick them out. After a few trials he learns to hammer right merrily
and is ready to forage for himself.
194 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Food. — The western pileated woodpecker lives on much the same
kind of food as its eastern relative, but naturally on different species
of insects and berries. Dr. Harold C. Bryant (1916) examined the
stomach of one, taken in Lake County, Calif., on November 5, 1915,
and says: "The stomach contained more than fifty carpenter ants
{Camponotus herculaneus subsp.) and 131 seeds of poison oak {Rhus
diversiloba). As the seeds of poison oak are hard and without a
noticeable covering of softer material it is difficult to understand
what there is about them that is attractive to birds. Certain it is
that the seeds are incapable of complete digestion by woodpeckers."
And he adds : "The stomachs of two pileated woodpeckers taken in or
near Yosemite National Park * * * were filled with carpenter
ants {Camponotus herculaneus modoc Wheeler), many of them
winged. Each stomach contained more than a hundred of these ants.
In addition one stomach contained a whole fruit of manzanita {Arc-
tostaphylos nevadetisis Gray) and the other, four large beetle larvae
(Ceramhycidae) , unidentifiable as to genus or species, which had
evidently been dug out of some dead tree, as the stomach contained
slivers of dead wood."
J. A. Munro (1930) writes: "On December 2, 1926, a pileated wood-
pecker was seen scrambling among the thick entwined branches of
Virginia creeper that partly covered the walls of a house situated on
the shore of Okanagan Lake. Here it remained for twenty minutes,
busily picking off the fruit. Subsequently, during the month of De-
cember, it often was observed eating these berries at the same place and
likewise at a vine-covered house half a mile distant. Sometimes it ap-
peared at both houses on the same day, but more often only one house
was visited."
Charles W. Michael (1928) gives the following interesting account:
Beside the road, with branches overhanging it, stands a group of mountain
dogwoods (Cornus mittalU). These trees bore this year a heavy crop of fruit.
At the end of each flower stalk was a bunched cluster of ripe berries. The
Pileated Woodpecker was here today [September 19] to collect his toll of fruit.
The fruit being at the ends of slender branches we thought the heavy-bodied
bird would be out of luck. How could the big fellow reach the fruit? He was
apparently not just sure himself. At first he tried walking out the heavier
branches ; but always as he approached the tip-ends they bent under his weight
and threw the berries beyond reach. By working out on a cedar branch that
intermingled with the dogwood branches he did manage to get a taste of fruit,
just enough to tease his appetite. He was not to be cheated, however ; for his
next move was to flutter clumsily up to a branch containing berries, clutch the
branch firmly with his strong feet, and then drop to swing like a great pendulum.
He now had the system. Swinging head down he would pick the berries one by
one, loosen his hold, swing into flight and then repeat the performance on another
branch.
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER 195
MELANERPES ERYTHROCEPHALUS (Linnaeus)
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Plates 25-27
HABITS
This handsome and conspicuously colored woodpecker enjoys a wide
distribution over much of North America, from southern Canada to
the Gulf coast, east of the Rocky Mountains, and west of New England
and eastern Canada. It is recorded from British Columbia, and is
rare in New England. The only one I have seen in southeastern
Massachusetts, in 50 years of field work, was chased across the line
from Rhode Island before I shot it. Throughout the northern portion
of its range, it is a summer resident only, though in mild winters, when
food is abundant, it may remain all through winter.
The red-headed woodpecker is essentially a bird of the open country
and not in any sense a forest dweller. I first met this woodpecker in
northern New York while on a fishing trip on the St. Lawrence River ;
here it was fairly common in open gi'oves of large trees or in groups of
scattered trees in open fields, where its brilliant color pattern made
it very conspicuous ; it was frequently seen sitting on telegraph poles,
fence posts, the dead tops of tall trees, or on dead stubs. Dr. Elon
H. Eaton (1914) says of its hamits in that State : "The preferred home
of this woodpecker is in open groves and 'slasliings' and 'old burns'
and tracts of half-dead forest where the live trees are scattered and
dead stubs are in abundance."
Spencer Trotter (1903) writes: "I first saw the bird on a certain
hill-side in Maryland that was grown up with tall white-oaks, not
thickly, but open enough for a sheep-pasture, with vistas of close-
cropped grass among the gray tree-trunks. In this setting a Wood-
pecker winged before me from tree to tree with its strongly contrasted
blotches of black, white, and crimson flashing in the sunlight."
In Florida I have found it most commonly in the large burned-
over areas in the pine woods, where numerous dead trees and stubs
are left standing; these offer attractive nesting sites and some food
supply. But Arthur H. Howell (1932) says: "The red-head is the
most domestic of our woodpeckers, living frequently in the heart of
populous towns and nesting in telephone poles on village streets.
The birds are especially attracted to newly cleared lands, where
many dead or girdled trees are left standing. They are common,
also, in open pine forests in certain sections, but in other seemingly
suitable localities are not to be found."
Nesting. — As my experience with the nesting habits of the red-
headed woodpecker is almost nothing, I shall have to draw on the
196 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
observations of otliers. Major Bendire (1895) makes the following
general statement:
Some of its nesting sites are exceedingly neat pieces of work; the edges of
tlie entrance hole are beautifully beveled off, and the inside is as smooth as if
finished with a fine rasp. The entrance is about 1% inches in diameter and
the inner cavity varies from 8 to 24 inches in depth; the eggs are deposited
on a layer of fine chips. It usually nests in the dead tops or limbs of decidu-
ous trees, or in old stumps of oak, ash, butternut, maple, elm, sycamore, cotton-
wood, willow, and other species, more rarely in coniferous and fruit trees, at
heights varying from 8 to 80 feet from the ground, and also not infrequently
in natural cavities. On the treeless prairies it has to resort mainly to tele-
graph poles and fence posts, and here it also nests under the roofs of houses
or in any dark corner it can find.
John Helton, Jr., tells me that in Alabama the favorite nesting
site is in a rotten stump from which the bark has peeled off ; he very
seldom finds a nest in a tree with bark on it. M. G. Vaiden sends
me a note on a nest that was only 5 feet from the ground in a limb
of a dead oak near Rosedale, Miss. The nests are often placed near
houses or in trees on town or village streets. Two broods are often
raised in a season and sometimes in the same cavity; A. D. DuBois
tells, in his notes, of such a Minnesota nest ; the earlier brood had been
raised in a newly excavated cavity that was 14 inches deep; the
second set of eggs was laid at a depth of only 9 inches, the bed for the
eggs having been raised 5 inches by chiseling fresh chips from the
inner walls of the cavity. Dr. H. C. Oberholser (1896b) gives the
average measurements of four Ohio nests as follows: Total depth
10.75; diameter of entrance 2.06 by 1.66; diameter at entrance 3.81
by 2.69; diameter at middle 4.50 by 3.88; and diameter at bottom
4.41 by 3.35 inches.
In the prairie regions and in other places, where trees are scarce
and these woodpeckers are common, some unusual and odd nesting
sites have been noted. Kumlien and Hollister (1903) write : "Among
some of the odd nesting sites we have noted are the following: Be-
tween two flat rails on an old style rail fence; the hub of a broken
wagon wheel, leaning against a fence; the box of a grain drill left
standing in a field; a hole excavated in the hollow cylinder of an
ordinary pump; common fence posts and telegraph poles. These
were usually in prairie regions where there were few, if any, suitable
trees."
G. S. Agersborg (1881) mentions a nest that "was in the angle
formed by the shares of an upturned plow" in South Dakota. And
E. A. Stoner (1915) flushed a red-headed woodpecker from a blue
jay's nest in Iowa. "The nest was eight feet up in an oak sapling
and was a typical Blue Jay's but was found to contain three pure
white and unmistakably Woodpecker eggs."
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER 197
Eggs. — Major Bendire (1895) writes: "The number of eggs to a set
varies from four to seven, sets of five being most frequently found,
while occasionally as many as eight eggs have been taken from a nest.
Mr. R, C. McGregor records taking a set of ten eggs of the red-head,
varying in size from ordinary down to that of the song sparrow.
Incubation varied from fresh in the smallest ^^'g to advanced in the
larger (Oologist, vol. 5, p. 44, 1888)."
If the first set of eggs is taken, another set will be completed within
the next 10 or 12 days, usually in the same hole. Like the flicker, this
woodpecker is very persistent in its attempt to raise a brood and will
keep on laying, if repeatedly robbed. C. C. Bacon (1891) , of Bell, Ky.,
reports taking six sets of eggs, 28 eggs in all, from the same nest in a
single season, after w^hich the birds drilled a new hole in the same tree
and raised a brood of four young; this persevering pair drilled two
holes and laid 32 eggs before they succeeded in raising a brood.
The eggs vary in shape from short ovate to rounded ovate, are pure
white in color, and somewhat glossy when incubated. The measure-
ments of 54 eggs average 25.14 by 19.17 millimeters ; the eggs show-
ing the four extremes measure 27.18 by 19.30, 26.16 by 20.57, 23 by
18.20, and 23.11 by 17.78 millimeters.
Young. — Incubation is said to last for about 14 days. Both sexes
assist in this duty, as well as in the care of the young. As an 'igg is
laid each day, and, as incubation often begins before the set is com-
plete, the young may hatch on different days.
Mr. DuBois writes to me that one nest that he watched held newly
hatched young on June 11 ; they were in the nest on July 7 but had left
before 2 p. m. on the 9th, making the period in the nest approximately
27 days. He says : "The newly hatched, naked young have extremely
long necks, longer in fact than their bodies. The four young all
faced inward, each toward a point to the right of the center of the
nest; and when in repose, each neck crossed the necks of the two
others at right angles to its own — like woof and warp in a loom. A
little noise on my part made all four of them stretch their necks straight
upward; but when they collapsed, their necks became again inter-
woven. Each lowered its head to its own right side of the one opposite
it. There were ^^g shells still in the nest."
Julian K. Potter (1912) says of a nest that he watched at Camden,
N. J.:
The old birds fed the young at varying intervals, sometimes going to the nest
once in every three or four minutes for a half hour, then not appearing again
for fifteen or twenty minutes. * * *
The young birds left the nest about June 25. On that day I saw them out in
the open, quite able to take care of themselves, although the parents fed them
occasionally. [This pair raised a second brood that season, and had young
on July 30.] Meanwhile the young of the first brood were being very much
misused by their parents, and were driven away whenever they came in sight ;
198 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
in fact they were persecuted to such an extent that they must have been driven
from the locality, for I was unable to find them after July 30.
Some "writers have said that only one brood is raised in a season,
and others that two broods are raised only in the southern part of
the breeding range. But Mr. DuBois reports two broods in Minne-
sota; and Mr. Potter one brood one season and two broods the next
season for his pair in New Jersey.
Plumages. — The young are hatched naked and blind, but they
acquire the ju venal plumage before they leave the nest. The sexes
are alike in all plumages, and the ju venal plumage is quite unlike
that of the adult. In the juvenal plumage, the head, neck, and
upper chest are brownish graj^, spotted above and streaked below
with dusky; the back is black but not glossy as in the adult; the
wings are as in the adult, except that the secondaries and tertials
are white but more or less patterned or barred with black, chiefly
near the tips, and the primaries are edged with buffy white on the
outer webs; the under parts below the chest are dull white, clouded
with brownish gray and more or less streaked with dusky, chiefly on
the sides and flanks. This plumage is usually worn in its purity
through July and August and sometimes into October, though some-
times a few red feathers are seen in the head; I have seen two
or three red feathers in the head as early as June 29 and a bird not
much farther advanced on December 1. But usually the complete
molt into the adult plumage begins in September and lasts through
winter; the change begins on the head and back in fall, but the
wings are not usually molted until April, and even then some of the
juvenal secondaries may be retained. Most young birds are in prac-
tically adult plumage before May.
Adults have a complete postnuptial molt in August and September ;
they may have a j^artial molt in spring, but I have not seen it. Some
highly plumaged birds, probably old birds and mostly from western
localities, have the abdomen tinged with red.
Food. — Much has been written on the food habits of the red-
headed woodpecker, a most resourcefid feeder on a greatly varied
diet. Prof. F. E. L. Beal (1895) makes the following report on the
contents of 101 stomachs, collected throughout the year in various
parts of the country :
Animal matter, 50 percent ; vegetable matter, 47 percent ; mineral matter,
3 percent. * * * The insects consist of ants, wasps, beetles, bugs, grass-
hoppers, crickets, moths, and caterpillars. Spiders and myriapods also were
found. Ants amounted to about 11 percent of the whole food. * * * Beetle
remains formed nearly one-third of all food. * * * The families repre-
sented were those of the common May beetle (Lachnosterna) , which was found
in several stomachs, the predaceous ground beetles, tiger beetles, weevils, and
a few others. * * * Weevils were found in 15 stomachs, and in several
cases as many as 10 were present. Remains of Carabid beetles were found
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER 199
in 44 stomachs to an average amount of 24 percent of the contents of those
that contained them, or 10 percent of all. The fact that 43 percent of all
the birds taken had eaten these beetles, some of them to the extent of 16 indi-
viduals, shows a decided fondness for these insects, and taken with the fact
that 5 stomachs contained Cicindelids or tiger beetles forms a rather strong
indictment against the bird.
The vegetable food includes corn, dogwood berries, huckleberries,
strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, mulberries, elderberries, wild
black cherries, choke cherries, cultivated cherries, wild grapes, apples,
pears, various seeds, acorns, and beechnuts. Prof. Beal (1895)
reports that —
corn was found in 17 stomachs, collected from May to September, inclusive, and
amounted to more than 7 percent of all the food. While it seems to be eaten
in any condition, that taken in the late summer was in the milk, and evidently
picked from standing ears. This * * * corroborates some of the testimony
received, and indicates that the Redhead, if sufl3ciently abundant, might do
considerable damage to the growing crop, particularly if other food was not
at hand. WhUe the fruit list is not so long as in the case of the Flicker,
it includes more kinds that are, or may be, cultivated ; and the quantity found
in the stomachs, a little more than 33 percent of all the food, is greater than
in any of the others. Strawberries were found in 1 stomach, blackberries or
raspberries in 15, cultivated cherries in 2, apples in 4, and pears in 6. Fruit
pulp was found in 33 stomachs, and it is almost certain that a large part
of this was obtained from some of the larger cultivated varieties. Seeds were
found in but few stomachs, and only a small number in each.
Audubon (1842) gives this woodpecker a rather bad name, saying:
I would not recommend to anyone to trust their fruit to the led-heads; for
they not only feed on all kinds as they ripen, but destroy an immense quantity
besides. No sooner are the cherries seen to redden, than these birds attack them.
* * * Trees of this kind are stripped clean by them. * * * i may safely
assert that a hundred have been shot upon a single cherry-tree in one day, * * *
They have another bad habit, which is that of sucking the eggs of small birds.
For this purpose, they frequently try to enter the boxes of the Martins or
Bluebirds, as well as the pigeon-houses, and are often successful. The corn,
as it ripens, is laid bare by their bill, when they feed on the top parts of the
ear, and leave the rest either to the Grakles or the Squirrels, or stUl worse, to
decay, after a shower has fallen upon it.
Bendire (1895) adds to the evidence against this gay villain. He
personally saw a red-headed woodpecker rifle a nest of a red-shafted
flicker and carry off an egg. He quotes from one observer who had
seen one of these woodpeckers clean out a nest of young of the tufted
titmouse, and from another who had seen one carrying off a freshly
killed young robin. W. G. Smith wrote to him from Colorado : "The
red-headed woodpecker is a common summer resident in the lower
foothills along the eastern slopes of the Eocky Mountains in this
State, and I consider it a veritable butcher among our nuthatches and
chickadees, driving every one away from its nesting sites, and woe
to the bird that this villain can reach. It destroys both eggs and
200 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
young, dragging the latter out of their nests and frequently leaving
them dead at the entrance of their holes."
He also relates the following personal experience:
We noticed a red-headed woodpecker take something, apparently a bunch of
moss, from a crotch of a maple and carry it to a fence post of an adjacent
field. After worrying some time in trying to swallow something rather too large
for his gullet, he finally succeeded, after an effort, and then worked some little
time, evidently trying to secrete the remainder. Both of us had our field glasses
and were watching the bird's actions closely. After some little time he flew
back to the tree he had started from, while we proceeded to the fence post to
investigate, and, much to our disgust and surprise, we found the freshly killed
and partly eaten body of a young bird, almost denuded of feathers, securely
tucked away behind the loose bark of the post. His victim was too much muti-
lated to identify positively, but looked like a half-grown bluebird, whose head
had been crushed in, the brain abstracted, and the entire rump and entrails
torn out ; the only parts left intact were the breast, upper part of the back, and
the lower portion of the head. The missing parts had evidently just been eaten
by the rascal while clinging to the top of the post, and the remnant was then
hidden for future use.
Howard Jones (1883), of Circleville, Ohio, reports the following
incident :
Under the eaves of a large bam near Mt. Sterling, O., a colony of Cliff
Swallows have built for some years. Last year they were nearly exterminated
by several woodpeckers. The redheads would alight at the doors of the mud
huts and extract the eggs from the nests with their bills. In some nests the
necks or entrance-ways were so long that the woodpeckers could not reach the
eggs by this means, but not willing to be cheated of such choice food they
would climb around to the side, and with a few well directed blows of their
bills make openings large enough to enable them to procure the eggs. Of the
dozens of nests built not a single brood was reared in any. One woodpecker
bolder than the rest began eating hen's eggs wherever they could be found.
Mr. DuBois says in his notes: "A redhead, seeing a young lark
sparrow flutter in the grass, attacked it and might have killed it, had
I not intervened. He had struck the young bird at one of his lores
and had brought blood. I have also seen this woodpecker attack a
young bluebird, on the ground, just after it had left the nest."
But not all red -headed woodpeckers are cannibals or murderers;
perhaps many individuals never indulge in such practices; and all
of them have some harmless and useful feeding habits. Their insect-
eating habits are impressive. They are very fond of grasshoppers
and destroy them in large numbers. H. B. Bailey (1878) quotes the
following from a letter from G. S. Agersborg, of Vermillion, S. Dak. :
Last spring in opening a good many birds of this species with the object of
ascertaining their principal food, I found in their stomachs nothing but young
grasshoppers. One of them, which had its headquarters near my house, was
observed making frequent visits to an old oak post, and on examining it I
found a large crack where the Woodpecker had inserted about one hundred
grasshoppers of all sizes (for future use, as later observations proved), which
were put in without killing them, but they were so firmly wedged in the crack
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER 201
that they in vain tried to get free. I told this to a couple of farmers, and
found that they had also seen the same thing, and showed me the posts which
were used for the same purpose. Later in the season the Woodpecker, whose
station was near my house, commeuced to use his stores, and to-day (February
10) there are only a few shrivelled-up grasshoppers left.
Milton P. Skinner (1928), referring to the feeding habits of this
woodpecker in North Carolina, writes:
Flying insects are an important source of food supply all through the winter,
but with the increase of the number of insects in March this activity greatly
increases. The observation post for fly-catching is usually the one in which
the nest hole is situated. But I noted at least one bird that used four tall trees
in succession for this purpose. Ou February 1, 1927, a red-headed woodpecker
was seen clinging to the side of a telephone pole. Twice it left the iwle, flew
out twenty feet, caught an insect each time, and returned to the pole to eat it.
Two weeks later another bird was seen to make six trips similarly out and
back during six minutes, sometimes going more than a hundred feet from its
perch. As the bird went direct to the insect, caught it and returned immediately
to its perch, it seemed likely that the insect was seen each time before the bird
started, indicating wonderful eyesight. While not engaged in thus hawking, this
bird hunted the limbs for prey. Ten days later I found this bird watching
for insects and making ten fly-catching sallies in minute and a half. Its
flights were from ten to one hundred and fifty feet in length, and all the insects
were from forty to sixty feet above the ground. One of the redheads seen
fly-catching in December, returned to its dead stub where It drilled for grubs
and borers in the usual woodpecker fashion, except that its strokes were heavy
and deliberate. On another occasion, I saw one of these birds fly down into
the road to catch and eat an earthworm.
E. D. Nauman (1930), in Iowa, watched a red-headed woodpecker
feeding a young bird in the top of a tall tree. "The adult bird was
at work, darting off every few moments into the air in pursuit of
insects and returning after each flight to the young bird on the
tree with its prey. I watched and timed it carefully for an hour.
It made from five to seven trips per minute, always at an elevation of
50 to 100 feet, and caught at each trip from one to three or more
insects. * * *
"A computation based upon careful observation showed that a
single individual Redhead had destroyed over 600 insects in one hour.
When I left, the bird was still at work, and I am, of course, unable
to state how long it had been at work at this place before I came
there."
A. V. Goodpasture (1909), of Nashville, Tenn., made some inter-
esting observations on the feeding habits of this woodpecker. He
watched one preparing insect food for its young on a stump, some 4
feet high, near its nest, and says :
When one of the woodpeckers came in, it did not go directly to the nest,
but always alighted first on this stump, where it hammered away for a time,
then proceeded to the nest with a shapeless mass in its beak. My glass having
failed to disclose their object in thus lighting and hammering on the stump
90801—39 14
202 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
before feeding their young, I went down to reconnoiter. Tlie place looked
like a field hospital after a severe engagement. There were wings, and wing-
covers, heads and legs strewn around the stump in great profusion. Then I
understood it all. The stump was their meat-block, and they were preparing
the food for their young by removing the hard and indigestible parts. They
dispatched this work with much dexterity, without using their feet to confine
the insect; they laid it on the stump, and, with the bill alone, succeeded in
removing the undesirable parts.
The kinds of insects whose remains were found there was a study. They
were almost as gaudy as the woodpecker himself. * * * Woodpeckers can
undoubtedly distinguish between colors; they find the ruddiest apple and the
rosiest peach in the orchard. In like manner, they seem to be attracted by
bright-colored insects. They prefer beautiful butterflies, silky moths, and
brilliant beetles. The favorite food of this pair was the June-bug; not the
plain brown beetle of the northern states, but the beautiful green and gold
June-bug of the South— associated in the mind with sultry summer days, and
ripe blackberries, on which he feeds. * * *
I found not only the dismembered wing-covers of the June-bug around the
Woodpecker's meat-block, but, in a pit on the splintered top of the stump, I
found a live June-bug'. And what a prison he was in! It was a thousand
times worse thau the Black Hole of Calcutta. They had turned him on his
back and pounded him into a cavity that so exactly fitted him that he could
move nothing but his legs, which were plying like weaver's shuttles in the
empty air. I always found the June-bugs deposited on their backs, and always
alive.
The red-lieaded woodpecker also shares with the California wood-
pecker the provident habit of storing acorns and nuts. Fannie
Hardy Eckstorm (1901) says:
Lately it has been discovered that they not only eat beechnuts all the fall,
but store them up for winter use. This time the observation was made in
Indiana. There, when the nuts were abundant, the red-heads were seen busily
carrying them off. Their accumulations were found in all sorts of places;
cavities in old tree-trunks contained nuts by the handful; knot-holes, cracks,
crevices, seams in the barns were filled full of nuts. Nuts were tucked into
the cracks in fence-posts; they were driven into railroad ties; they were
pounded In between the shingles on the roofs ; if a board was sprung out, the
space behind it was filled with nuts, and bark or wood was often brought to
cover over the gathered store.
Unlike the California woodpecker, it does not make holes for the
reception of the nuts but uses what cavities it can find. Dr. Thomas
S. Koberts (1932) says that, on the outskirts of St. Paul, "a red-
head spent most of October putting acorns into cracks and climbing-
iron holes in a telephone pole and under the shingles of a near-by
house. One crack was closely plugged for a distance of twenty feet.
When the nuts were too large for the cracks they were split and
driven in in pieces."
George A. Dorsey (1926) tells of an amusing attempt of a young
redhead to fill a hole in a telephone pole :
Finally he found a hole to his liking, and, chattering as he worked, he
drove the acorn in Imagine my surprise when I saw a couple of acorns fall
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER 203
out on the other side of the pole ! The hole was bored straight through the
pole, and the Woodpecker was wasting his time by pushing the acorns
through. He seemed to know that something was wrong, but couldn't quite
reason it out. He would chatter agitatedly and hitch around the pole to
examine the other side of the pole, but would finally give it up and go off
for another acorn. I watched him poke acorns in the hole several times,
only to have some of the ones he had previously placed there fall out on
the other side. On the ground under the pole was about a double handful
of acorns that had fallen out.
E. D. Naiiman (1932) saw a house mouse running across a paved
street, but it had not gone very far when a red-headed woodpecker
"darted down out of the grove and made an attack upon it. The
woodpecker struck the mouse several hard and vicious blows with
its stout bill, rolling and tossing it over and over. It appeared that
a moment more of such treatment must have finished the mouse, had
not a vehicle approached just at that instant, threatening to crush
both the red-head and its prey. The bird darted away just in time to
save itself, and the mouse, not having been struck by the wheels, hur-
riedly limped to the edge of the pavement, got over the curb with
difficulty, and hid in the grass. The red-head flew back immedi-
ately to see what had become of its prospect for diimer, but the
mouse was so well hidden that the bird had to give up the chase."
Mr. DuBois writes to me that "a red-headed woodpecker was ob-
served hanging upside down from the small twigs at the end of a
branch of a large oak, evidently gleaning insect life of some sort
from the twigs. It flew to another tree and repeated this method
of feeding."
Lewis O. Shelley tells me that he observed one "feeding on ants
in a dry, harvested oat piece, obtaining the ants by thrusting the bill
into an ant tunnel entrance and working the bill to form a cone-
shaped opening, up through which the ants emerged at the disturb-
ance, and were licked up without the bill being withdrawn from
this foodhopper."
Behavior. — Audubon (1842) writes attractively of the behavior of
this woodpecker:
With the exception of the mocking-bird, I know of no species so gay and
frolicksome. Indeed, their whole life is one of pleasure. They find a super-
abundance of food everywhere, as well as the best facilities for raising their
broods. * * • They do not seem to be much afraid of man, although they
have scarcely a more dangerous enemy. When alighted on a fence-stake by the
road, or in a field, and one approaches them, they gradually move sidewise out
of sight, peeping now and then to discover your intention ; and when you are
quite close and opposite, lie still until you are past, when they hop to the top
of the stake, and rattle upon it with their bill, as if to congratulate them-
selves on the success of their cunning. Should you approach within arm's
length, which may frequently be done, the woodpecker flies to the next stake
or the second from you, bends his head to peep, and rattles again, as if to
provoke you to a continuance of what seems to him excellent sport. • * *
204 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
They chase each other on wing in a very amicable manner, in long, beauti-
fully curved sweeps, during which the remarkable variety of their plumage
becomes conspicuous, and is highly pleasing to the eye. When passing from
one tree to another, their flight resembles the motion of a great swing, and is
performed by a single opening of the wings, descending at first, and rising
towards the spot on which they are going to alight with ease, and in the most
graceful manner. They move upwards, sidewise, or backwards, without ap-
parent effort, but seldom with the head downwards. * * *
On the ground, this species is by no means awkward, as it hops there with
ease, and secures beetles which it had espied whilst on the fence or a tree.
Ked-lieaded woodpeckers are quite quarrelsome at times with other
species; besides attacking various small birds, driving them away
from their nests, or robbing them of their eggs or young, they con-
tend with other hole-nesting birds, such as starlings and the smaller
woodpeckers, for the possession of nesting holes. They are jealous
of their food supply and will drive other birds away from their
favorite feeding places or from any choice morsel of food. They
are generally the winners in such encounters, even against such
aggressive rivals as blue jays and starlings. But toward birds of
their own species they are often solicitous, friendly, and helpful to
birds in trouble. Mr. DuBois writes to me: "A wounded female,
after several attempts to fly, fluttered to the ground; and while she
was fluttering in the air, her mate flew to her and apparently tried
to help her to a place of safety. After reaching the ground, the
female lay still in the grass, although only winged; but her mate
clung to a nearby tree, from which he flew down to her repeatedly,
showing great distress."
H. M. Holland (1931) tells the following story:
A red-head was caught by one wing, and possibly a foot, in a crack formed
at the tip of a tall, dead tree where the trunk had been broken off and left
a splintered stub. Perhaps a dozen red-heads were present, all flying here
and there, evidently much excited, and make a great ado, a veritable wood-
pecker hubbub.
First one and then another would alight just below and apparently peck at,
or more often while in flight would strike or brush against the hapless victim,
whose struggles were renewed at each encounter. The clamor became actually
distressing. At times two or three were simultaneously fluttering close to the
captive. These activities continued for several minutes when suddenly the
bird was freed, to accomplish which it would seem that a concerted effort had
been made. Quiet was restored almost at once and the participants dispersed.
Julian K. Potter (1912) noticed that sparrows bothered his wood-
peckers considerably about their roosting holes and saw one of them
fighting two starlings for the possession of a cavity, but all were
eventually driven away and learned the lesson of "no trespass." He
says : "On one occasion, when I watched the woodpeckers until dark,
I found that one went to roost in the nesting-hole about dusk, and
the other, probably the male, shortly after went into an old hole in
the same dead tree higher up."
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER 205
Mrs. John Franklin Kyler (1927) gives an interesting account of
a red-headed woodpecker that she raised by hand from the nest,
beginning before the young bird had opened its eyes; it developed
into a very satisfactory pet, with marked affection for its foster
mother; anyone who wants to try raising young birds could learn
much by reading her story.
Voice. — Bendire (1895) writes: "Its ordinary call note is a loud
'tchur-tchur' ; when chasing each other a shrill note like 'charr-chiirr'
is frequently uttered, and alarm is expressed by a harsh, rattling
note, as well as by one which, according to Mr. Otto Widmann, is
indistinguishable from the note of the Tree-frog {Hyla arhorea).
He tells me that both bird and frog sometimes answer each other."
Describing their spring notes, W. L. Dawson (1903) says:
Then the woods and groves soon resound with their loud calls, Quee-o —
quee-o — queer. These queer cries are not unpleasant, but the birds are a noisy
lot at best. When one of them flies into a tree where others are gathered, all
set up an outcry of yarrow, yarroio, yarrow, which does not subside until tlie
newcomer has had time to shake hands all around at least twice. Besides these
more familiar sounds the red-heads boast an unfathomed repertory of chirp-
ing, cackling, and raucous noises. The youngsters, especially, — awkward, saucy
fellows that most of them are — sometimes get together and raise a fearful
racket xmtil some of the older ones, out-stentored, interpose.
Field marhs. — The red-headed woodpecker is so conspicuously
marked that it hardly could be mistaken for anything else. The
large white areas in the wings and on the rump are much in evidence,
in any plumage, especially in flight. The bright red of the entire
head and neck and the plain white breast of the adult are also very
conspicuous.
Enemies. — The red-headed woodpecker has some bad habits, which
have at times caused considerable damage to property, arousing the
enmity of those who have suffered from its depredations and resulting
in the destruction of large numbers of these birds. Kaids on cultivated
fruits have given these woodpeckers a bad name and many have been
killed by fruit growers. Audubon (1842) asserts that as many as
"a hundred have been shot upon a single cherry tree in one day. Pears,
peaches, apples, figs, mulberries, and even peas, are thus attacked."
They do considerable damage to pole lines by excavating their nests
in them. An editorial in The Osprey (vol. 1, p. 147) quotes, as fol-
lows, from an article in the Kansas City Star :
The little red-headed woodpecker has become such a nuisance on the electric
lines of the metropolitan street railway system, that it has become necessary
to appoint an oflBcial woodpecker exterminator. The title has been conferred on
Coffee Rice, an Independence young man, and yesterday he killed nineteen of the
destructive birds on the Independence line. The woodpeckers attack the large
poles which hold up the feed cables and dig holes into the center and downward
to a depth of more than a foot. * * * The result is that in a season the
water gets into the heart of the pole and it rots off and breaks, requiring a
206 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
new pole to be set up; whereas, ordinarily, the life of the big pole is several
years. A large number of the electric line poles have been ruined this way, and
there was a threatened loss of many thousand dollars unless the pest was checked.
Red-headed woodpeckers seem to be oftener killed on highways by
speeding automobiles than any other species, as attested by several
observers. Dr. Dayton Stoner (1932) made some observations on this
point on an automobile trip, on July 15, 1924, for a distance of 211
miles on well-graveled roads in Iowa. He says :
En route, 105 dead animals representing fifteen species were counted ; of these,
thirty-nine were red-headed woodpeckers. The mortality in this species was
higher than for any other species of vertebrate animal noted and I believe that
several contributory factors are responsible for it. First, these birds have a
propensity for feeding upon Insects and waste grain in and along the roads;
second, they delay taking wing before the approaching car, in all probability
being poor judges of its speed ; and third, they have a slow "get-away," that is,
they can not quickly gain suflBcient speed to escape the oncoming car. However,
I feel certain that a speed as high as thirty-five to forty miles an hour is necessary
in order to overtake these birds.
Alexander Wilson (1832) writes:
Notwithstanding the care which this bird, in common with the rest of its genus,
takes to place its young beyond the reach of enemies, within the hollows of trees,
yet there is one deadly foe, against whose depredations neither the height of the
tree nor the depth of the cavity, is the least security. This is the black snake
(Coluber constrictor), who frequently glides up the trunk of the tree, and, like
a skulking savage, enters the woodpecker's peaceful apartment, devours the eggs
or helpless young, in spite of the cries and fluttering of the parents ; and, if
the place be large enough, coils himself up in the spot they occupied, where he
will sometimes remain for several days.
Fall. — The fall migration is often well marked. A. H. Helme
(1882), writing from Millers Place, Long Island, N. Y., where the bird
occurs mainly as a migrant, says :
The first one observed this season was on the 10th of September. On the 12th
I saw three, and on the 20th I saw one. Early on the morning of the 24th of Sep-
tember they began to pass over in large numbers, and continued to pass until
about 10 o'clock, after which very few were seen, except straggling groups of
three or four, and occasionally a single one was seen to pass over during the day.
The flight must have consisted of several hundred, principally young birds.
They came from the east and were flying west Many of them in their flight
would alight for a few minutes in the orchards and corn fields to feed on the
half-ripened corn, or search among the apple trees for the larva or eggs of insects
but would soon continue on their journey, and their places would be supplied by
others. I noticed one or two to dart out and seize an insect in the manner of a
flycatcher. The following day but two or three were seen. A few stragglers,
however, were occasionally met with up to the 10th of October, and one was seen
as late as the 23rd of November.
John B. Semple (1930) writes:
On September 16, 1929, a flight of red-headed woodpeckers (Melanerpes
erytJirocephalns) was observed passing over the marshes at the head of Sandusky
Bay, Ohio. The birds were flying in little groups of two to five against a stiff
KED-HEADED WOODPECKER 207
south-west wind heading nearly south and at an elevation of sixty to eighty yards.
Rather more than half of them were immature birds but the old and young were
not segregated. I was hunting ducks at the time and counted forty-eight wood-
peckers passing in a little more than two hours. They apparently came from
Ontario and probably crossed Lake Erie by way of Point Pelee and Bass Island
which would make the flight over water only about nine miles. It was interesting
to note that each successive group of birds followed exactly the same route over
the marshes although those that had gone before were well out of sight.
Winter. — The red-headed woodpecker is generally considered to be
a migratory species throughout the northern portion of its breeding
range, but its movements seem to depend almost entirely on the
abundance or scarcity of its winter food supply, mainly acorns and
beechnuts; when these nuts are available in considerable quantities,
tliis woodpecker is to be found in reasonable numbers witliin its sum-
mer range in the northern States. When Dr. C. Hart Merriam (1878)
referred to it as remaining occasionally in northern New York, Lewis
County, in winter, some of his ornithological friends were skeptical.
He says :
I therefore wrote to my friend, Mr. C. L. Bagg, asking him to send me a lot
of red-headed woodpeckers as soon as possible, and in a week's time received
a box containing over twenty specimens, — all killed in Lewis County and when
the snow was three feet deep ! This was proof positive. Notes kept by Mr.
Bagg and myself during the past six years show that they were abundant here
during the winters 1871-72, 1873-74, 1875-76, and 1877-78 ; while they were rare
or did not occur at all during the winters of 1872-73 and 1876-77. Their absence
was in no way governed by the severity of the winters, but entirely dependent
upon the absence of the usual supply of beechnuts. While the greater portion of
nuts fall to the ground and are buried beneath the snow far beyond the reach of
the woodpeckers, yet enough remain on the trees all winter to furnish abundant
subsistence for those species which feed on them. ♦ * *
During the autumn the scattered pairs for several miles around usually con-
gregate in some suitable wood, containing a plenty of beech-trees, and here spend
the long cold winter in company, chattering and chasing one another about
among the trees to keep warm, and to help while away the time. "Coe's woods,"
in this immediate vicinity, has long been famous as the great winter resort for
the red-headed woodpeckers of the neighborhood, and it is certainly the most
suitable place for their purposes to be found for many miles around. This piece
of woods, not over an eighth of a mile in extent, contains, besides hundreds of
beeches {Fagus ferruginea), a large number of elms {Vlmus americana), and
white ash-trees (Fraxinus americana) of great size, most of the tops of which are
now dead. What more favorable location than this woods could a woodpecker
desire? Here they have beechnuts in abundance and a bountiful supply of
dead limbs and tree-tops far above the reach of the small charges commonly
used by bird-collectors.
James B. Purdy (1900) says that "the presence of the Red-headed
Woodpecker {Melanerpes erythrocephalus) during the winter months
in Michigan does not depend upon the temperature, but entirely upon
the food supply, viz. : the crop of acorns and beechnuts which precedes
the winter. If these nuts are plenty, the red-headed woodpeckers will
208 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
always be found during the winter months, but in no great abundance.
If there are no acorns or beechnuts, this bird will be entirely absent
in our Michigan forests."
Robert Eidgway (1881) writes:
Ordinarily this species {Melanerpes eryilirocephalus) is decidedly the most
numerous of the Woodpeckers iu Southeastern Illinois, while during the winter
season it is often so excessively common in the sheltered bottom-lands as to
outnumber all other species together, and, in fact, is voted a decided nuisance
by the hunter, sportsman, or collector, on account of its well known habit of
following any one carrying a gun, and annoying him by its continued chatter ; at
intervals sweeping before him and thus diverting attention. Being at this
season always semi-gregarious, while they are of all woodpeckers the most
restless and sportive, the annoyance which they thus cause is really no trifling
matter.
Evidently, they do not always spend the winter even here, for he
says : "In the early part of October, 1879, 1 paid my usual yearly visit
to my old home, and scarcely had arrived at the house ere my father
informed me, as a bit of news which he was well aware would both in-
terest and surprise me, that the red-headed woodpeckers had all
migrated ; that for a number of nights preceding he had heard over-
head their well-known notes as they winged their way to some more
or less distant region; in short, that the woods that had been their
home 'knew them now no more.' "
Even as far south as South Carolina, according to Arthur T. Wayne
(1910) : "The controlling influence upon the migration of this species
in winter is the presence or absence of acorns of the live and water
oaks. If the crop of acorns is large, this woodpecker is abundant
during the winter months, but if there are no acorns, the bird is entirely
absent, no matter whether the season is mild or severe."
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — Southern Canada and the United States east of the Rocky
Mountains ; irregularly migratory in the northern parts of its range.
Breeding range. — The breeding range of the red-headed wood-
pecker extends north to northern Montana (Strabane, Lewistown,
Fairview, and Terry) ; northern North Dakota (Arnegard and Wil-
low City) ; southern Manitoba (Lake St. Martin and Winnipeg) ;
southern Ontario (Kenora, Cobden, and Ottawa) ; southern Quebec
(Three Rivers and Hatley) ; and southern New Brunswick (St.
John). The eastern limits of the range extend from New Brunswick
(St. John) south along the Atlantic coast to Florida (Orlando and
Fort Myers). South through the Gulf coastal regions of Florida,
Mississippi, and Louisiana; central Texas (Waco) ; and central New
Mexico (Fort Sumner and Albuquerque). West to New Mexico
(Albuquerque and Santa Fe) ; central Colorado (Hotchkiss, Golden,
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER 209
Estes Park, and Fort Collins) ; eastern Wyoming (Laramie and
Careyhurst) ; and Montana (Kirby, Billings, Lewistown, and
Strabane) .
During the siinuner season the species also has been taken or ob-
served north to southeastern Alberta (Medicine Hat, Big Stick, and
Eastend) ; southern Saskatchewan (Oak Lake, Aweme, and Pilot
mound) ; Quebec (Quebec City) ; and New Brunswick (Beaver Dam).
Winter range. — The normal winter range of the red-headed wood-
pecker appears to extend north to Oklahoma (Oklahoma City and
Okmulgee) ; northeastern Iowa (National) ; Illinois (Ohio and
Mount Carmel) ; Tennessee (Nashville and Knoxville) ; West Vir-
ginia (Charlestown and Clarksburg) ; and southeastern Pennsyl-
vania (Philadelphia). At this season it is never common on the
Atlantic coast north of South Carolina (Charleston), but is found
from there south to southern Florida (Miami). From this point
it winters westward along the Gulf coast to Louisiana and probably
Texas. The western limits of the winter range appear to be central
Texas (probably Somerset) and Oklahoma (Caddo and Oklahoma
City).
In addition to the winter range above given, it also has been noted
casually at this season in eastern Kansas and Nebraska, southeastern
South Dakota (Yankton, January 2, 1929, and the winter of
1936-37) ; North Dakota (Grafton, specimen collected January 24,
1905) ; Minnesota (frequent in the southern part) ; Wisconsin (oc-
casional north to Meriden and New London) ; southern Michigan
(Grand Kapids, Lansing, and Detroit) ; southern Ontario (Cold-
stream, Toronto, and Kingston) ; southern Vermont (Bennington) ;
and Massachusetts (Boston).
Migration. — The migrations of the red-headed woodpecker are
imperfectly understood, and, as will be noted from the numerous
casual winter records, individuals of this species sometimes winter
north almost to the limits of the breeding range. This makes diffi-
cult the designation of early and late dates of migration. Never-
theless, the following dates may be considered representative of most
seasons in that portion of the range where the species is normally
migratory :
/Spring Tnigration. — Early dates of arrival are : New Jersey — Eliza-
beth, February 27 ; New Providence, March 13 ; Cape May, March 27.
Northwestern Pennsylvania — Beaver, April 15. New York — Penn
Yan, April 3; West Brighton, April 12; Syracuse, April 14. Con-
necticut — Fairfield, ISIarch 2; Meriden, March 28. Massachusetts —
Bernardstown, April 4 ; Russell, April 21. Vermont — St. Johnsbury,
April 19. Maine — Lewiston, May 8; Portland, May 15. Quebec —
Montreal, May 7. Ohio — Wauseon, INIarch 7. Michigan — Saginaw,
March 9; Sault Ste. Marie, May 22. Ontario — London, March 13;
210 BXJULiETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Hamilton, April 15; Toronto, April 26. Wisconsin — Ladysmith,
April 23. Minnesota — Redwing, March 30; St. Cloud, April 1;
Hutdiinson, April 14. Kansas — Fort Hays, April 11; Bendena,
April 13; Harper, April 25. Nebraska — Omaha, April 29; Neligh,
May 3; Scribner, May T. South Dakota — Yankton, April 13; Ver-
million, April 29 ; Sioux Falls, May 4. North Dakota — Jamestown,
April 21; Argusville, May 8; Fargo, May 9. Manitoba — East
Kildonan, May 6 ; Aweme, May 19. New Mexico — Glenrio, April 26.
Colorado (occasionally winters) — Burlington, May 7; Lamar, May
11; Denver, May 15. Wyoming — Laramie Peak, May 2; Careyhurst,
May 15; Torrington, May 17. Montana — Albion, May 19; Fort
Custer, May 20.
Fall migration. — Late dates of fall departure are : Montana — Sun
River, September 5. Wyoming — ^Laramie, September 4; Wheatland,
September 6 ; Panco, October 2. Colorado — Greeley, October 1 ; Den-
ver, October 21 ; Boulder County, October 23. New Mexico — Koehler
Junction, October 24. Manitoba — ^Margaret, September 20 ; Aweme,
October 8. North Dakota— Medora, September 18; Wahpeton, Sep-
tember 29. South Dakota— Sioux Falls, September 20; Harrison,
September 28 ; Yankton, October 7. Nebraska— Red Cloud, October
3 ; Blue Springs, October 4. Kansas — Harper, October 15 ; Lawrence,
October 18; Fort Hays, October 29. Minnesota — Hutchinson, Octo-
ber 20 ; Minneapolis, October 26. Wisconsin — Prescott, October 10 ;
Reedsburg, October 16 ; and La Crosse, October 29. Northern Michi-
gan — Sault Ste. Marie, November 15. Ontario — Toronto, September
15 ; Ottawa, September 18 ; Point Pelee, October 14. Maine — Skow-
hegan, October 26. Vermont — Wells River, September 24 ; Rutland,
October 14. Massachusetts — Springfield, October 9 ; Boston, October
15. Connecticut — Fairfield, October 8; Hartford, October 13.
Northern New York — Watertown, October 16; Geneva, October 24;
Rochester, November 11. Northwestern Peimsylvania — ^McKeesport,
October 19 ; Berwyn, November 8 ; Erie, November 17. New Jersey —
Passaic, October 21; Cape May, October 21; Morristown, Novem-
ber 2.
An examination of the banding files in the Biological Survey adds
but little information to knowledge of the migrations of this bird.
Although it has been banded in fair numbers (more than 1,700 pre-
vious to July 1, 1937) the farthest recovery record is only about 80
miles south of the point of banding. There are, however, several
cases of return in subsequent seasons to the banding stations.
Casual records. — Records of this species outside its normal range
are not numerous. A single specimen was taken in the Chiricahua
Mountains, Ariz., in the spring of 1894; one was observed in Salt
Lake City, Utah, in June 1874; and one was noted near Fortine, in
northwestern Montana, on June 18, 1931.
ANT-EATING WOODPECKER 211
Egg dates. — ^Alabama : 12 records, April 20 to July 15 ; 6 records,
May 26 to June 17, indicating the height of the season.
Illinois: 19 records. May 9 to July 10; 10 records, May 19 to
June 15.
Michigan : 16 records. May 9 to August 20 ; 8 records. May 15 to
June 3.
New York: 15 records. May 21 to June 19; 8 records, May 26 to
June 5.
South Carolina : 12 records. May 6 to July 2.
BALANOSPHYRA FORMICIVORA FORMICIVORA (Swainson)
ANT-EATING WOODPECKER
HABITS
The type race of the species is now restricted in its distribution
to the region from south-central Texas (Kerr County and the Chisos
Mountains) to eastern and southern Mexico. It differs from the other
races in the width of the white frontal band, the amount of streaking
on the breast and sides, and the amount of yellow in the throat
patch, as well as in size. It differs from hairdi and aouleata in hav-
ing the chest mostly streaked, at least on the median portion, instead
of mostly uniform black. The white frontal patch is broader than
in angustifrons, and the black band across the female crown is much
wider. It is slightly larger than aculeata, and somewhat smaller
than hairdi but decidedly larger than angustifrons. Its throat patch
is paler yellow than in hairdi and angustifrons.
I cannot find anything of consequence in print relating to the
habits of the race, which probably do not differ materially from the
habits of the species elsewhere. There are two sets of eggs in the
Thayer collection, one of six and one of five eggs, taken in Tamau-
lipas, Mexico, on April 18 and 22, 1908; in each case the nest is said
to have been 20 feet from the ground in a pine. The measurements
of these 11 eggs average 26,47 by 19.00 millimeters ; the eggs showing
the four extremes measure 28.1 by 19.0, 26.7 by 19.3, 25.9 by 18.9
millimeters.
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — Western United States, Central America, and northwest-
ern South America ; nonmigi-atory.
On the Pacific coast the ant-eating woodpecker ranges through
the Coast and Sierra Nevada ranges north to southwestern Oregon
(Cow Creek and Asliland). In the interior it is found north to
northern Arizona (Hualapai Mountain, Williams, and Grand Can-
yon) ; northern New Mexico (Largo Canyon and the headwaters
of the Gallina Eiver) ; and southwestern Texas (Fort Davis and
212 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Kerrville). From these regions the species is found south through
both eastern and western Mexico (including Baja California) and
other Central American countries, at least to central Colombia.
Several subspecies of this woodpecker are found only in Central
and South America, but three varieties occur regularly in the United
States, while two others are confined to Baja California. The true
ant-eating woodpecker {B. f. formicivoTo)^ which ranges through
eastern and southern Mexico, is found also in south-central Texas
(Chisos Mountains and Kerrville). Mearns's woodpecker {B. f. acu-
leata) occupies the range in Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas
(Fort Davis) south through the Mexican States of Sonora, Chi-
huahua, and Durango. The California woodpecker {B. f. hairdi)
is found in the Pacific coast region from Oregon south to northern
Baja California. In this Mexican State the narrow- fronted wood-
pecker {B. f. angustifrons) is confined to the region of Cape San
Lucas, while the San Pedro woodpecker {B. f. martireTisis) is found
in the northwestern part of the area nearly to the United States
border.
Egg dates. — Arizona : 9 records. May 10 to June 10.
California: 66 records, April 2 to June 15; 33 records, April 20
to May 15, indicating the height of the season. Second and third
broods have been found in September and October.
Baja California: 4 records, May 10 to June 3.
BALANOSPHYRA FORMICIVORA BAIRDI (Ridgway)
CALIFORNIA WOODPECKER
PI^TE 28
HABITS
The above common name is well chosen, as this is one of the com-
monest and most conspicuous birds throughout its range in Cali-
fornia. Anyone who spends much time afield in the valleys, foothills,
and canyons of southern and western California is sure to see this
strikingly colored and active woodpecker making itself conspicuous
among the oaks and pines; and, where one is seen, there are almost
sure to be others, for it is a sociable species.
Referring to the Lassen Peak region, Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale
(1930) say:
Two environmental factors of seeming importance for the presence of this
bird were an available supply of acorns and wood or bark of sorts into which
the birds could bore storage holes. As to species of oak, out of the six or more
present, our impression remains that no outstanding choice by the woodpeckers
was shown. About as many of the birds were seen among the black oaks in the
vicinity of Payne Creek P. O., as among the valley oaks around Cone's. How-
ever, tracks of black oaks recurred east of the main mountain mass in the
section, as along the upper Susan River and near Eagle Lake, where no Cali-
fornia woodpeckers were ever seen by us. To repeat, none of this species of
CALIFORNIA WOODPECKER 213
woodpecker was seen by us east of about the western edge of the yellow pine
belt (Transition life-zone). * * *
Situations where individuals of this woodpecker were observed are as follows :
top of sycamore; dead sycamore stub; in Cottonwood; about clumps of fruiting
mistletoe; at tips of twigs of large valley oak; in black oak; in blue oak; on
dead upper limb of living blue oak; in orchard tree; on isolated digger pine;
in large yellow pine ; at top of dead incense cedar ; on ground at roadside ; on
fence post ; on barn end ; on telephone pole.
Courtship. — I first became acquainted with this handsome wood-
pecker in the Arroyo Seco, on the outskirts of Pasadena, during the
winter and spring of 1929, where I often saw these birds busy with
their courtship activities in the tops of the tall sycamores. They were
flying about among the treetops, making a lot of noise, two males
sometimes chasing a female and showing off their brilliant colors, the
white spaces in their wings and the white rumps being especially
conspicuous; doubtless the red crown and yellow throat, set off by
black and white, played an important part in the display. They
reminded me of flickers, as they danced on, or dodged around, the
branches in playful, showy antics.
Nesting. — Bendire (1895) writes:
In the more southern portions of its range nidification commences sometimes as
early as April, and somewhat later farther north. The nesting sites are mostly
excavated in white-oak trees, both living and dead, but preferably one of the
former is selected in which the core of the tree is decayed. It also nests
occasionally in sycamores, cottonwoods, and large willow trees, and more rarely
in telegraph poles. Both sexes assist in the excavation of the nesting site, as
well as in incubation. The entrance hole is about 1% inches in diameter, pei*-
fectly circular, and is sometimes chiseled through 2 or 3 inches of solid wood
before the softer and decayed core is reached. The inner cavity is gradually
enlarged as it descends, and varies from 8 to 24 inches in depth, usually being
from 4 to 5 inches in diameter at the bottom, where a quantity of fine chips
are allowed to remain, on which the eggs are deposited.
Milton P, Skinner writes to me : "On May 12, 1933, I found a nest
in the main trunk of an almost dead black oak. The opening, 25 feet
above the ground, seemed very small and was placed on the southeast
side of the tree.
"In the Yosemite Valley, these birds nest in the trunks and large
limbs of the Kellogg oaks, and their abandoned holes may be used by
pygmy owls another year. As a rule, the California woodpeckers
and the pygmy owls show little antagonism tow<ird each other. In
spite of this usual custom of nesting in the oaks, most of the birds
I saw in the Yosemite were actuall}' in the cottonwoods along the
river. After some searching, I found at least one nest there in a
short, dead stub of a cottonwood, on July 24, 1933. I saw one bird
fly down and feed another that was inside, and then fly away. The
hole was about 12 feet above the ground and on the north side of the
stub, facing the river and away from the meadow behind it. All the
214 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
trees in the vicinity were cottonwoods, but there was one oak 150
feet east of the nesting site. There were six other holes in the stub,
all on the north side and from G to 18 feet above the ground."
Grinnell and Storer (1924) write:
The more intensive occupancy of the Yosemite Valley during recent years and
the operations of the government employees in promptly removing dead but
standing trees to be cut up for wood has operated to the detriment of the
woodpeclvers wliich seek such trees for nesting holes. So it was no surprise, in
May, 1919, to find a number of telephone or electric power poles near Redwood
Lane which had been prospected for nesting sites by woodpeckers — the Cali-
fornia, to judge from the size of hole and genefal location. Dearth of suitable
natural sites had forced the birds to at least investigate these newly estab-
lished dead- tree substitutes. With no substitutes at all available, the only
result to be logically looked for, as a result of man's interference with the
n'atural order of affairs, would be the disappearance of woodpeckers. The
question arises here as to the justification of the admiuistratiton in so altering
natural conditions in National Parks as to threaten the persistence there of
any of its native denizens.
Eggs. — The California woodpecker lays ordinarily four or five
eggs; six eggs are not very rare; and as many as ten have been
found in a nest, probably the product of two females. The eggs
vary from short-ovate to elliptical-ovate. They are pure white, with
very little or no gloss. The measurements of 52 eggs average 25.98
by 19.78 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure
29.9 by 19.0, 27.9 by 22.6, 22.0 by 18.6, and 24.38 by 18.29 millimeters.
Young. — The period of incubation is said to be about 14 days, in
which both parents assist. Both also help to feed the young. Harriet
Williams Myers (1915) made some interesting observations on a late
brood of young California woodpeckers, which she found in a hole
in a telephone pole, on September 11, between Los Angeles and
Pasadena. She says :
In an hour's watching the birds fed 28 times, the shortest interval being one-
half minute, the longest eight. In nine minutes they fed eight times.
On the loth of the month, when I believe the young must have been about
ten days old, they were fed 24 times in 58 minutes. The food given them now
was mostly acorns which the adults took from the nearby poles, sometimes
digging them out in pieces, and sometimes taking them to the top of a flat pole
where they pounded away for some minutes before coming to the nest with
their bills stuffed full of the white bits. From this time until the young left
the nest they were fed mostly on these acorns.
One of her most interesting observations was that an apparently
young bird, presumably a fully grown member of an earlier brood,
joined the two parents that were feeding the young in the nest. At
one time, this immature bird entered the nest, while the parents were
away, apparently for the purpose of being fed by them, and remained
there for some time. Meanwhile —
when the adults came to feed they did not go inside but reached over, fed,
and flew away. Three times one of them did this, but the fourth time, when
CALIFORNIA WOODPECKER 215
the male (^ame, he stood on one side of the hole and I heard him give low,
guttural notes. * * * Presently, the truant young, for such he proved to be,
appeared in the doorway and, with open mouth, begged for just one bite. ♦ * *
But the old bird was unrelenting and stayed in his position by the hole until
the bird inside, which was undoubtedly a former nestling, came out and flew
onto the wire above, when the adult male went within.
Just to prove that he was not all baby, the former nestling turned in and
helped feed. Several times he went into the hole and came directly out, and
I might have thought that he was in there in hopes of getting fed had I not
distinctly seen a big fly in his bill as he entered. Each time as he bobbed into
the hole several white bars showed plainly on the underside of the outer tail
feathers. It was this marking of a young bird which convinced me that he
was a former nestling. In every other respect he resembled a male California
Woodpecker. Once more, during my watching, he slipped into the nest, staying
eight minutes before they got him out. The first time it had been twenty minutes.
From the above, and from the observations of Frank A. Leach
(1925), to be referred to later, it seems that the California woodpecker
often, if not regularly, raises two or even three broods in a season.
Plumages. — The young are hatched naked and blind, but the juvenal
plumage is acquired before the young bird leaves the nest. In this
plumage the young male closely resembles the adult male and the
young female is much like the adult female in general color pattern,
but the red of the crown and nape is duller and more or less mixed
with dusky or black; sometimes the crown is nearly all black mixed
with some scarlet feathers; the colors everywhere are duller, lacking
in gloss, and the plumage is softer, less firm ; the yellow of the throat
is less pronounced ; the streaks on the breast are less sharply defined ;
the tertials and scapulars are tipped with white, and there are narrow
white tips on the two outer tail feathers on each side, but these tips
wear away during winter, or sooner; there are at least two white
spots on each web of the outer tail feather, which are in evidence all
through the first year; as the juvenal wings and tail are retained until
the next summer molt, birds of the year may be thus recognized ; the
bill is smaller and weaker than that of the adult. The molt of the
juvenal contour plumage begins in August or September.
Adults have a complete annual molt between July and September,
mainly in August.
Food. — Some prominent California ornithologists have named this
bird the "California acorn-storing woodpecker," a rather long but very
appropriate name, for it designates one of its most characteristic
habits and names the largest item in its food supply. W. L. Dawson
(1923) has this to say on the subject :
From time immemorial this bird has riddled the bark of certain forest trees
and stuffed the holes with acorns. Speculation is still rife as to the cause or
occasion or necessity or purpose of this strange practice, but the fact is indis-
putable and the evidence of it widely diffused. * ♦ *
What he accomplishes the photographs show well enough, — the close, methodi-
cal studding of bark or wood of any kind with acorns, chiefly those of live-oaks,
216 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
over immense areas. The cultures, once started, are wrought upon continuously
year by year, as material avails or the colony flourishes. Live-oaks themselves
are the commonest hosts, together with the white, or post, oak, and the black oak
of the southern counties. After these come sycamore and yellow pine or, more
rarely, eucalyptus. Telegraph and telephone poles, gables, cornices, and, in fact,
any wooden structure where they are permitted to work, if near the source of
acorn supply, may come in for ornamentation. On a small square-sawed tele-
phone pole near Marysville I found sixty acorns (and pecans purloined from
a neighboring orchard) imbedded in a space five inches wide and two feet long.
At that rate the pole carried some 1500 of these tiny storehouses.
In Tecolote Canyon, west of Santa Barbara, there is a giant sycamore which
I count one of the handsomest examples of Carpintero's workmanship — an
unbroken shaft, at least forty feet high and three feet across the inlaid face,
covered with a "solid" mass of acorns totalling, say, some 20,000. Strawberry
Valley in the San Jacinto Mountains appears to be a paradise for the Cali-
fornia Woodpecker. Here majestic oaks (Querctis calif ornica) alternate with
still more majestic pines {Pinus ponderosa), the former for sustenance and
the latter for storage, and the doughty "California" is probably the most
abundant bird in the valley. The boles of the most enormous pines are methodi-
cally riddled with their acorn-carrying niches, and in some of the trees the
work is carried through from base to crown. In one such tree I estimated
that there were imbedded no less than 50,000 acorns.
Dr. William E. Eitter has made an intensive study of this inter-
esting habit of the California woodpecker and has published the re-
sults of his observations and theories in three extensive papers (1921,
1922, 1938) . There is much food for thought in these scholarly papers,
to which the reader is referred, but space here will permit only brief
quotations from or references to them. As to whether the hole drill-
ing is injurious to the trees, he says (1921) : "Although I have ex-
amined many storage pines in widely separated localities, I have
never seen anything even suggestive of harm to the trees from the
holes. Never, so far as I have noticed, do the holes pierce through
into the deeper living layers of the bark." He noticed that "almost
without exception the nuts were inserted tip in and base out, most
of them fitting the hole snugly," having been driven in good and
hard, and flush with the surface of the bark, or even countersunken
below it ; and that "to a certain extent the store holes are made to fit
the size of the acorns they are to receive" ; this latter point was dis-
covered when he noted that, in a region where the black oak {Quer-
cus Icelloggii) predominated, the holes were considerably larger than
they were in the live-oak region, the acorns of the black oak being
sharply larger than those of the live oak. In some cases the acorns
were not driven in flush with the bark, the base being left protrud-
ing somewhat and thus leaving them vulnerable to pilfering by
rodents and perhaps some birds; in this connection, he says: "Con-
clusive evidence that nut-eating rodents (squirrels, rats) prey upon
the acorns stored by the woodpeckers was first obtained on the pres-
ent visit. Two trees were found on which the bark immediately
CALIFORITIA WOODPECKER 217
around acorn holes had been gnawed by rodents, as unmistakably
proved by the tooth marks. The acorns were gone from some of these
holes, but not from all, thus showing that the marauders had failed
in some of their efforts."
Summarizing his first paper, he makes the following statements:
As to hole drilling : While the holes are made expressly for the reception of
acorns, many holes are probably made which are never used, holes are made at
seasons of the year when there are no acorns to store, and large numbers of
perfectly serviceable holes seem to be abandoned even in localities where both
birds and acorns are abundant, and new holes are being made.
As to the storing business itself: While this is of distinct service to the food
necessities of the woodpeckers, the instinct sometimes goes wrong to the extent
of storing pebbles instead of acorns, thus defeating entirely the purpose of the
instinct. Again, large numbers of acorns are sometimes stored, the use of
which is so long delayed that the acorns become wholly or largely unfit for
food, and this in places where the bird population seems normal. Finally, acorns
are sometimes stored in such fashion as to make them easy prey for marauding
rodents, when with some definite foresight and a little more work such exposure
could easily be largely avoided.
In his second paper (1922), after further observations, he states^:
My previous surmise that the birds are more interested in the grubs con-
tained in the acorns than in the acorn meats has not been substantiated. What I
could make out while in camp among them, by watching them gather and eat
their breakfasts, was to the effect that good uninhabited acorns were chiefly
used. Again and again birds were seen to pick nuts from the top-most branches
of the black oak, fly with them in their beaks to some approximately horizontal
surface of a large limb on a pine or another oak, make the surface aid them
somehow (I never could see exactly how, as the "brealffast tables" were, of
course, all on the upper surfaces of the limbs, and too high for my vision) in
breaking and tearing open the nuts. Apparently cracks and chinks in the table
top serve as holders for the acorns while they are being opened and eaten.
This is indicated by the fact that dead and partly decayed trees or parts of
trees were mostly used. I saw no indication of the feet being used in handling
the nuts. The litter on the ground under the dining trees, consisting of shell
fragments and lost bits of meat, indicated grubless nuts almost entirely. This
result as to the use of mast is in agreement with Beal's examination of the
stomach contents of our woodpecker.
Charles W. Michael (1926), in the Yosemite Valley, made the inter-
esting discovery that the California woodpecker has been known to
learn by experience and to show some intelligence in its acorn storing.
For a number of years when acorns were abundant no extensive stor-
ing was done, yet the woodpeckers liA'ed in the valley all winter.
Then came a lean year, with no acorn crop, when no storing could be
done ; and that winter the woodpeckers were forced to leave the valley
for lack of food. The following year there was a bountiful crop of
acorns, and the woodpeckers, having learned by experience, were
busy filling up their storehouses. "From the above observations," he
^ Prof. Ritter's extensive book (193S) on the California woodpecker appeared while this
bulletin was in press. — Editor.
90801—39 15
218 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
says, "one might conclude that an abundance of acorns is not directly
responsible for prodigious storing. In a land of plenty the necessity
of laying aside stores for future consumption is obviated. It is the
barren years that teacli the value of thrift. Intelligence plus experi-
ence may well have been the cause of the excessive storing of this
year. A few of the more intelligent woodpeckers that were forced
last winter to abandon the valley for lack of food are now preparing
against the next lean year."
Claude Gignoux (1921) reports finding almonds stored in the bark
of an oak tree on a ranch near Marysville, Calif., as well as in the
side of a barn.
Dawson (1923) says: "A regrettable taste for fruit is occasionally
cultivated, but this has not reached economic proportions, save in the
case of almonds. Almond orchards thrive best at a very considerable
distance from oak groves."
Although acorns, almonds, walnuts, and pecans constitute nearly
53 percent of its food, and much more than that in fall and winter,
the California woodpecker eats quite a variety of other food at differ-
ent seasons. Prof. F. E. L. Beal (1910) examined the contents of
75 stomachs, which contained "22.43 percent of animal matter to 77.57
percent of vegetable." Bendire (1895) says: "During the spring and
summer its food consists, to a great extent, of insects, including grass-
hoppers, ants, beetles, and different species of flies, varied occasionally
with fruit, such as cherries, which are carried off whole, apples, figs,
and also berries and green corn."
Mr. Skinner says in his notes: "At times this bird feeds very
much like an eastern red-headed woodpecker. On May 9, 1933, one
was seen on the trunk of an oak, only 4 feet above ground, making
flycatcherlike sallies up under the foliage of the oak. And many
times thereafter I saw the birds operating similarly within the foliage
itself. In some instances I have seen these woodpeckers dart out
from high up in tall yellow pines after passing insects, then gliding
back on set wings. Sometimes they do this from tall electric poles,
at times going out as much as 50 feet. Since there was every reason
to suppose that the bird saw the insect before it started, this speaks
well for its keenness of eyesight. At times, these woodpeckers glean
insects from the bark of trees. In July, in the Yosemite Valley, hunt-
ing the twigs and bark for insects seemed the favorite method of
getting food."
Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1908) saw one of these woodpeckers, in the
San Bernardino Mountains, drive a sapsucker away from its borings
in an alder and then go "the rounds of the borings" drinking from
each. Dr. Harold C. Bryant (1921) saw a California woodpecker
robbing a nest of a pair of western wood pewees; he was "calmly
perched on the pewee's nest and eating one of the eggs. I could see
CALIFORNIA WOODPECKER 219
the white and the yolk of the egg on the Avoodpecker's bill, as he raised
his head. After watching for some time, I attempted to frighten the
robber away, but experienced considerable difficulty in doing so.
When he finally left the nest the pewees continued to dart at him,
to drive him farther away. Soon one of the pewees, apparently the
female, returned to the nest, picked up an eggshell and flew off with
it. I was unable to see what she did with it. In half a minute she
returned and began incubating the remaining eggs."
Behavior. — The California woodpecker flies in true woodpecker
fashion, an undulating flight, interspersed with long dips during
which the wings are partly closed and somewhat pressed against the
sides of the body ; during the rises the wings are flapped, displaying
the black and white markings conspicuously ; there is an upward sweep
before alighting. Grinnell and Storer (1924) say: "When alighting
on a tree trunk, these birds assume a vertical posture, head out, tail
appressed to the bark. They move up by a hitching process — head in,
tail out ; up ; tail in, head out. If a bird perches on a small horizontal
branch, his position is more likely to be diagonal than directly cross-
wise. If a bird alights on the square top of a fence post, he seems ill
at ease and soon backs over the edge into a more woodpecker-like
posture."
Mr. Dawson (1923) writes: "A most characteristic flight-movement
is an exaggerated fluttering wherein progress is at a minimum and
exercise at a maxinmm. In this way, also, they ascend at acute
angles, sometimes almost vertically. With this movement alternates
much sailing with outspread wings, and certain tragic pauses where-
in the wings are quite folded." A similar flight is thus described by
Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale (1930) as follows: "Individual wood-
peckers were often seen making a kind of flight the object of which
we did not determine. A bird would fly in a nearly vertical direc-
tion from its perch for three meters or more and then commence an
irregular swooping flight, finally coming back to the original perch."
M. P. Skinner says in his notes : "In many of their ways, motions,
and mannerisms these birds strongly resemble the red-headed wood-
peckers of Eastern United States. Often they are very quiet and re-
main motionless in one position for many minutes at a time. They
are as apt to perch crosswise as lengthwise of a horizontal, or nearly
horizontal, limb. At times, they hop along a limb, or the cross-
arm of an electric pole, while their bodies are turned a little sideways.
Although one exhibited the usual woodpecker habit of nervously
jumping down backward, and swaying from side to side, so as to be
seen first on one side of his dead stub and then on the other, he was
really noticeably quiet and motionless most of the time. One was
seen in the Yosemite Valley on the under side of a cottonwood twig,
clinging there with his back down."
220 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Bendire (1895), on the other hand, says: "It is one of the most
restless Woodpeckers I know of, and never appears to be at a loss
for amusement or Avork of some kind, and no other bird belonging
to this family could possibly be more industrious." This was my
impression of it, as well as the opinion of others.
Henry W. Henshaw (1921) evidently considered this woodpecker
playful, for he writes: "In searching for the motives underlying
the storing habit of the California Woodpecker we should not lose
sight of the fact that the several acts in the process, the boring of
the holes, the search for the acorns, the carrying them to the holes
and the fitting them in, bear no semblance to work in the ordinary
sense of the term, but is play. I have seen the birds storing acorns
many times, and always when thus engaged they fill the air with
their joyous cries and constantly play tag with each other as they
fly back and forth. When thus engaged they might not inaptly be
likened to a group of children at play."
California woodpeckers are well known to be sociable birds and to
live more or less in communities or loose colonies, where food condi-
tions are favorable. But a most remarkable story of apparently
communal nesting is told by Frank A. Leach (1925). On February
2, 1922, he discovered these woodpeckers excavating a nest in a
wooden trolley pole at Diablo, Calif. He estimated that they must
have started work on this hole about the middle of January and
thinks that it was some time near the latter part of April before
it was finished. On March 1, he "saw two go in one after the other.
Both appeared to be working on the inside. Two other birds on the
pole showed interest in the work by remaining there and taking an
occasional peep into the hole." On April 3, there were "from four
to six woodpeckers about the place all day. On one occasion saw
three go into the hole. Heard digging while they were inside."
On April 17, he saw "three birds go into the cavity and soon after
heard two of them working. Four other birds were on the pole, one
looking into the hole."
The above extracts from his notes, made at frequent intervals
and often for several days in succession, would seem to indicate that
at least two, and possibly three, pairs of woodpeckers assisted in
the excavation of that nest, but evidently their work was not very
efficient, as the time involved w\as unusually long. The same coop-
erative behavior continued during incubation of the eggs and the
feeding of the young, several different birds working in relays; and
this continued during the rearing of three broods of young that
season. He says that "in the case of the second brood, on eight differ-
ent occasions I saw three different old birds feed the young ones
in the nest, and at one time I witnessed a fourth one delivering food
to them."
CALIFORNIA WOODPECKER 221
Referring to the third brood, he says :
In the large oak tree standing so near the trolley pole that some of Its outer
branches nearly reached the pole, there were almost always from six to
eight mature woodpeckers, all of which seemed to be interested in the welfare
of the nestlings in the pole. I repeatedly saw three of them feed the young-
sters, and on two occasions noted four different old birds perform this pa-
rental service. I was satisfied from the actions of the birds that a majority
of the flock, if not all of them, participated in the care of the young wood-
peckers. * * *
For others than the parent birds to feed the young was a custom that
was not confined to this group or flock at the trolley pole. At about the time
the young were leaving that nest, I discovered another nest in a large oak
tree situated about a quarter of a mile distant from the pole, where I
found from one to five old birds, and possibly more, very busy feeding the
nestlings.
Major Bendire (1895) remarks: "The California woodpecker is by
far the most social representative of this family found within the
United States, and it is no unusual occurrence to see half a dozen
or more in a single tree. It is also a well-disposed bird, and seldom
quarrels or fights with its own kind or with smaller species; but it
most emphatically resents the thieving propensities of the different
jays, magpies, and squirrels, when caught trespassing on its winter
stores, attacking these intruders with such vigor and persistency that
they are compelled to vacate the premises in a hurry."
According to some other observers, its behavior toward other
species is not always as friendly as it might be. M. P. Skinner writes
to me: "Once I found a California woodpecker and a California
jay peaceably perched in the top of a dead cotton wood. But at
other times I have noted much fighting between these woodpeckers
and the jays, with the woodpeckers apparently able to hold their
own. On May 1, 1933, at old Fort Tejon, I saw a California wood-
pecker make a vicious dive at a plain titmouse that was clinging to
the bark on the trunk of an oak. On May 31 I saw one make a dive
at an Arkansas kingbird on a fence and drive it away. In May
1933 I found a pair of house finches that had attempted to nest
in a cavity high up in a dead stub of a black oak. When I ap-
peared, I found a California woodpecker throwing out the straws
and other nest material. The two finches were only a foot or two
distant, but they made no attempt to save their home, although it
is probable that they were scolding. Old acorn stores in the same
stub indicated that some woodpecker had an earlier claim to that
stub than the finches had."
Howard W. Wright (1908) says:
January 18, while collecting at Newhall, California, I wounded a Lewis
woodpecker. The bird was able to fly to another tree, and I noticed that
some California woodpeckers in a nearby tree became very much excited.
As the Lewis woodpecker lit on the tree trunk four California woodpeckers
222 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
attacked liim evidently with tbe intent of driving liim off. Tlie Lewis started
for another tree but a California flew at him from in front, and they both
fell in the struggle that ensued. At this tbe other California woodpeckers,
which were joined by a few more, set up a violent chattering and when I
ran up, to my amazement I found that the Lewis had hold of the California
by tbe skull, two of its claws entering the latter's eyes and tbe other two
entering the skull in front and behind. The Lewis woodpecker was dead
and the California so nearly so that it died while I was removing tbe former's
claws.
Voice. — Mr. Skinner says in his notes: "In May, at least, these
woodpeckers are sometimes noisy while calling- to their mates. One
gave a ringing cleep-ep, cleep-ep call on May 25, 1933. It was some-
what similar to a flicker's call." Ralph Hoffmann (1927) says:
"When a bird lights on a pole or limb already occupied, there is
always mild excitement, fluttering of the wings, bowing and scraping,
and always a lively interchange of harsh calls, like the syllables
chdh-a^ chdk-a^ chdk-a chak^ dying off at the end." W. L. Dawson
(1923) gives the following interpretations of its notes: "A jeering,
raucous voice, * * * Jacoh^ Jacob., Jacob 5 * * * Kerack
Kerackf and '■''cliaar chaar tchurrupP
Field marks. — The California woodpecker is conspicuously marked
and need not be mistaken for anything else from any angle. When
flying away, it looks like a black bird with an extensive white rump
and with a white patch in each wing; when flying over or when
perched facing the observer, the white abdomen and the broad black
band across the chest are distinctive; if near enough, the color pat-
tern of the head is easily seen.
BALANOSPHYRA FORMICIVORA ANGUSTIFRONS (Baiid)
NARROW-FRONTED WOODPECKER
HABITS
The Cape region of southern Baja California is the home of this
subspecies. It is a well-marked race, which Ridgway (1914) de-
scribes as "similar to B. f. formicivora^ but wing averaging much
shorter, bill relatively larger, white frontal band decidedly nar-
rower, lower throat usually much more strongly yellow^, white area
on proximal portion of remiges smaller, and the adult female with
black area on crown much narrower."
William Brewster (1902) says of its haunts:
This woodpecker, which seems to be confined to the Cape Region proper, is
exceedingly abundant throughout the pine forests on the higher mountains
south of La Paz and common in many places in the oaks at the bases of the
mountains and among their foot-hills, ranging downward, according to Mr.
Belding, to an elevation of about 700 feet. Mr. Frazar found it most niimerous
on the Sierra de la Laguna, during the last week of April and the first week
of May. After that its numbers decreased perceptibly. It began breeding on
NARROW-FRONTED WOODPECKER 223
this mountain the first week in June, but the breeding season was not at its
height until the middle of that month. * * *
Only one specimen was seen at Triunfo during the last two weeks of June,
but the bird was common and presumably breeding at Pierce's Ranch in July.
At the latter place it fairly swarmed in December, the resident colony being
probably augmented by large numbers of winter visitors from La Laguna, where
Mr. Frazar found only a few birds lingering in late November and early De-
cember. Along the road between San Jose del Cabo and Miraflores it was seen
in considerable numbers on November 15, and three were observed in some
evergreen oaks at Santiago on November 23.
Nesting. — There is a set of four eggs in the Thayer collection,
apparently the same set referred to by Mr. Brewster, collected by
M. Abbott Frazar in the Sierra de la Laguna, on June 3, 1887; the
nest is described as 10 feet up in a dead pine stump; the entrance
measured 1% inches in diameter, and the cavity was 18 inches deep.
The measurements of these 4 eggs are 24.13 by 19.05, 22.61 by 19.56,
22.61 by 19.30, and 23.88 by 18.80 millimeters.
The food and general habits of this woodpecker do not seem to
differ materially from those of the species elsewhere. It has similar
acorn-storing habits, for Mr. Frazar found "many dead pines liter-
ally stuffed full of acorns."
BALANOSPHYRA FORMICIVORA ACULEATA (Mearns)
MEARNS'S WOODPECKER
Pl.\TB 28
HABITS
Along our southwestern border, from Arizona, New Mexico, afnd
western Texas southward over northwestern Mexico to Durango, we
find this race of ant-eating woodpecker. It was separated, named,
and described by Dr. Edgar A. Mearns (1890a) as follows: "General
size and coloring intermediate between M. formicivoims and M.
formicivo-nis lairdi', throat less yellow than in either of them; bill
shorter, more slender, and less arcuate than in either of the other
forms of M. formicivorus ; white striping of chest more than in the
Pacific coast form, less than in formiclvonisP
He says of its haunts (1890b) : "A very common resident through
the pine belt, breeding plentifully. I have found it as high as the
spruce forests, but never in them. It is essentially a bird of the pines,
only occasionally descending to the cottonwoods of the low valleys.
The oaks which are scattered through the lower pine zone supply a
large share of its food."
Henry W. Henshaw (1875) writes: "This woodpecker was first
observed when we neared Camp Apache, and, so far as my own ob-
servations go, its range in Arizona is coincident with that of the oaks,
the acorns of which appear to constitute a very important item in its
224 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
bill of fare. "We noticed it to the southward in every locality -where
oaks were found in sufficiently large groves to afford it at once a place
of shelter and an inexhaustible source whence to draw food."
Harry S. Swarth (1904), writing of the Huachuca Mountains,
Ariz., says: "A most abundant summer resident in the lower parts
of the mountains; a few winter here but they are scarce during the
cold weather. I saw but two or three during February and the early
part of March, about the middle of March they began to arrive in
numbers, and by April 1 were most abundant. Primarily a bird of
the oak" woods they seldom venture into the higher parts of the
mountains, breeding almost entirely below 6,000 feet."
Courtship. — We found this woodpecker quite common on the steep
slopes of the Huachuca Mountains in May 1922, especially in the
vicinity of Ramsay Canyon, between 5,000 and 6,000 feet elevation.
They were usually seen in the open groves of tall pines mixed with
oaks. A tall dead pine seemed to be one of their favorite resorts
for their courtship displays, which were both showy and noisy. They
reminded me of flickers as they dodged about the branches, chasing
each other and displaying their conspicuous markings.
Nesting. — I have the records of four sets of eggs, all taken in the
Huachuca Mountains but in a variety of nesting sites. There are
two sets in the Thayer collection ; one, containing six eggs, was taken
on May 10, 1897, from a hole 8 inches deep in the dead limb of a
sycamore, 30 feet from the ground; the other set of five eggs was
taken on June 1, 1902, from a cavity 10 inches deep in an ash stump,
20 feet from the ground. A set of three eggs, in my collection, was
collected by O. W. Howard on May 31, 1901; the nest was 6 feet
above ground in a dead oak stump. Frank C. Willard took a set
of five eggs on May 31, 1899, from a cavity 15 inches deep, 35 feet up
in a large dead pine stub.
Eggs. — Mearns's woodpecker evidently lays three to six eggs.
Major Bendire (1895) mentions a set of ten eggs, taken by F. H.
Fowler, which were "evidently the product of two females." The
eggs are pure white, of course, and vary from short-ovate to rounded-
ovate, with only a slight gloss. The measurements of 20 eggs aver-
age 24.07 by 18.91 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes
measure 26.8 by 17.8 (a long narrow egg), 23.9 by 20.8, and 22.4 by
19.5 millimeters.
Plumages. — Mr. Swarth (1904) writes:
About July 1 the young birds begin to inalce their appearance so like the
adults in general appearance that it is difficult to distinguish between them.
The young of both sexes usually have the entire crown red, as in the adult
male, but of a duller color, more of a brick red ; but one young female secured
has the red area very limited and coming to a point behind, so as to form a
small, triangular shai>ed patch on the crown. Of seventeen specimens col-
lected in the Huachucas, three show, more or less distinctly, white markings
MEAKNS'S WOODPECKER 225
on the outer tail feathers. In one of these, an adult female, the marks consist
of indistinct white spots, mostly on the inner web. The other two, juvenile
females, have the outer feathers distinctly, though irregularly, barred with
white for about half their length.
Food. — The food of this woodpecker is evidently similar to that
of other races of the species. Dr. Mearns (1890b) remarks : "Its habit
of industriously hoarding food in the bark of pines, and in all sorts
of chinks and hollows, is well known. These stores are the source of
unending quarrels between this woodpecker and its numerous pilfer-
ing enemies; and I have laid its supplies under contribution myself,
when short of provisions and lost from the command with which
I had been traveling, by filling my saddlebags with half -dried acorns
from under the loose bark of a dead pine."
Behavior. — ^Mrs. Bailey (1928) says: "An odd habit of the wood-
peckers was happened on by Mr, Ligon in the Black Range. At dark,
on March 15, 1913, seeing a bird enter a hole about eight feet up in
an oak he closed it after it, and in the morning when he returned
was surprised to find six birds in the one hole. As the woodpeckers
do not nest until the last of May, and then in high dead pines, it was,
of course, a night roost."
Ed. S. Steele (1926) tells the following story:
I was camping in a pine forest not many miles from Reserve, N. Mex.,
accompanied by a small English terrier. In front of my tent stood a large
dead pine, near the top of which there were a number of holes, evidently the
homes of four pairs of Ant-eating Woodpeckers {Balanosphyra formicivora
aculeata). A gray tassel-eared squirrel came scampering along, and was at
once spied by the dog, which gave chase. The squirrel ran up the dead tree
mentioned above, to be instantly assailed by the woodpeckers. Their constant
cries and their sharp bills made things so uncomfortable for the squirrel that
it ran down the tree to within a few feet of the dog, who sent him scampering
to the top again with his eight antagonists constantly flaying him.
About this time there was a swish of wings, and a sharp-shinned hawk
{Accipiter velox) darted like a streak among the woodpeckers. For an instant
it seemed that one of them was doomed, but by a small margin it managed
to escape, and in an instant they had all darted to cover among the green
boughs of surrounding trees. All was quiet for a few brief seconds, when the
woodpeckers returned to the attack, except one which perched on the topmost
bough of a near-by tree, as guard or lookout, watching for the hawk. The
other seven took up the fight with the squirrel.
In a few minutes the hawk again appeared on the scene, the guard gave a
shrill call of warning, and all the woodpeckers were under cover before
their enemy could reach them. The hawk, then, finding the birds on their
guard, left and did not return. The terrier soon abandoned the tree, and
the squirrel hurried down and scampered away; the woodpeckers quickly
quieted down and went peacefully about their home affairs. I believe that
the birds recognized in the squirrel a danger to their eggs or young.
226 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
BALANOSPHYRA FORMICIVORA MARTIRENSIS Grinnell and Swarth
SAN PEDRO WOODPECKER
HABITS
The acorn-storing woodpecker of the Sierra San Pedro Martir,
northwestern Baja California, has been separated and described by
Grinnell and Swarth (1926) under the above name, to which they
have added the long common name "San Pedro Martir acorn-storing
woodpecker." Its distinguishing characters are given as follows:
Most nearly like B. f. hairdi. Distinguished from that species primarily by
shorter wing, and by slightly shorter and notably weaker, more slender bill ;
also by average differences in head markings as set forth below. * * *
The relatively feeble bill of this bird, as compared with that of the upper
California hairdi, is the most conspicuous character of this subspecies. In bill
structure it is closely similar to B. f. aciileata, of Arizona.
The character of the head markings in the female is suggestive again of
aculeata, the red area being usually more nearly square, as in that form,
rather than shorter than wide, as in hairdi. The white frontal band averages
slightly narrower than in hairdi, an approach toward the condition in angusti-
frons, of the Cape San Lucas region. The yellowish white (more dilutely
yellow than in hairdi) U-mark on the lower throat in both sexes averages very
much narrower in our specimens of rnartlrensis than in a large series of hairdi
usually only about half the width of the former as in the latter. This we are
not quite confident of as a real character, in that there is a chance that "make"
of specimen (whether or not the skin of the throat was stretched) affects the
width of the white band. * * *
In character of the markings on the feathers of the breast there is no de-
parture from the condition in hairdi. The upper breast is broadly and solidly
black, the black band not penetrated posteriorly with white streaks to such an
extent as in aculeata and angustifrons.
The range is given as, "so far as now known, onl}' parts of the
Sierra San Pedro Martir, in northern Lower California, between lat-
itudes 30° and 31°30"; altitude 5,800 to 7,200 feet; life-zone mainly
Upper Sonoran (live-oak association), but also Transition locally or
sporadically."
The eggs are similar to those of other races of the species. The
measurements of 12 eggs average 26.19 by 18.35 millimeters; the
eggs showing the four extremes measure 25.1 by 19.4, 19.0 by 18.5,
and 22.8 by 16.8 millimeters.
ASYNDESMUS LEWIS (Gray)
LEWIS'S WOODPECKER
Plate 29
HABITS
My first impression of this curious and interesting woodpecker
was of a large, black bird that looked more like a crow than a wood-
pecker and that flew with the strong, steady flight of a crow or a
LEWIS'S WOODPECKER 227
jay, with none of the undulations common to so many woodpeckers.
I made the same comment the second time I saw it, and am interested
to see that the same impressions were made on many others.
It is essentially a bird of the more open country and among scat'
tered large trees, rather than of the heavily forested regions. S. F,
Rathbun writes to me of its haunts in western Washington: "In
this section of the State are many tracts of land commonly known
as 'old burns.' At one time all were forested, then later they were
swept by fire and in some instances more than once ; but even now, on
many, still stand the scarred and blackened trunks of what formerly
were large, tall trees; and it is in or about these unattractive places
that this woodpecker is more apt to be found, although by no means
is it restricted to them."
Major Bendire (1895) says: "I have rarely seen Lewis's wood-
pecker in deep forests; far more frequently just on the outskirts
of the pines, in juniper groves on the table-lands bordering the
pines, as well as in the deciduous timber along streams in the low-
lands, and occasionally even in solitary cotton woods or willows, near
some little spring, in the drier sagebrush-covered flats, miles away
from the nearest forest."
Winton and Donald Weydemeyer (1928) say that in northwestern
Montana it is —
a common summer resident throughout most of the Transition zone. It occurs
most regularly in mixed broadleaf and conifer woods in river valleys, and in
open forests of yellow pine along the foothills. It rarely ranges into the
higher mountains, although we observed one individual in a Canadian zone
forest of lodgepole pine and alpine fir, at an altitude of 6,160 feet. In cut-over
or burned woods, it ranges to a higher elevation than in virgin forests.
In the eastern part of the county, this woodpecker is most common ai"ound
farms and slashings, and in the more open woods of fir, larch, and yellow
pine. Near Libby, in the western part, it seems to prefer creek-bottom woods
of aspen, spruce, and cottonwood.
Johnson A. Neff (1928) says that his "acquaintance with this
exotically brilliant woodpecker began in the mountains of Colorado,
and even now the thought of it calls to mind that bleak, wind-blown
area at an elevation of 8,500 feet, where these birds were very much
at home in the dead trunks of spruce and hemlock that had once
covered the mountains with living verdure."
Nesting. — Mr. Rathbun says in his notes: "In western Washing-
ton this woodpecker nests in June. Almost invariably the excavation
for its nesting place is in a dead tree, the trunk of which is more
or less blackened by fire, and this may be one reason why the bird
is partial to the old burns. The tree may be one of several scattered
about, or, infrequently, somewhat isolated. But in any event, this
w^oodpecker shows a liking for a good-sized tree, broken off at quite
a height, the outside of which has been charred or blackened by
228 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
the flames. We have found many of its nesting places, and among
these was one we shall not forget. In this case, the tree was a Yery
large one, was broken off at a height of about 175 feet, and, as usual,
had its outer surface burnt. Not far below its top was the entrance
to the nest of a pair of these woodpeckers. Because it was so high
it could be distinctly seen only by the use of glasses, but often we
had noticed one of the birds enter it or come out of it. This nesting
place was used for a number of years, and when it was in use we
have gone out of our way more than once just to see these wood-
peckers ; for the top of the tree was used as a lookout station by the
pair of birds, from which at times one or both would sail into the
air after a flying insect."
Major Bendire (1895) says that —
it is by no means as particular in the choice of a nesting site as the majority of
our Woodpeckers. Shortly after arriving on their breeding grounds a suitable
site is selected for the nest, and not infrequently the same excavation is used for
successive years. In most cases the nesting sites are excavated either in the
tops of tall pines or in dry cottonwoods, and in tall rotten tree trunks, occasionally
in partly decayed limbs of sycamores, oaks, and less frequently in junipers and
willows. The nests, as a rule, are not easily gotten at, and quite a number are
practically inaccessible, varying in height from 6 to fully lOO feet from the
ground.
* * * [At Camp Harney, Oreg.] these birds nested mostly in junipers.
* * * The junipers which are selected for nesting sites were invariably de-
cayed inside, and after the birds had chiseled through the live wood, which was
usually only from 1 to 2 inches thick, the remainder of the work was compara-
tively easy; the same site, if not disturbed, was occupied for several seasons,
and in such the inner cavity was much deeper, some being fully 30 inches deep
and generally about 4 inches wide at the bottom. The entrance hole varies from
2 to 21/^ inches in diameter, and when this is made by the birds it is always
perfectly circular ; but occasionally a pair will take advantage of an old knot
hole, if it and the cavity it leads to are not too large.
The Weydemeyers (1928) say that in northwestern Montana this
species exercises a wide range of selection for nesting trees; of four
nests that they record, two were in larch stubs, one in a dead cotton-
wood, and one in a live yellow pine ; these nests were in the Transition
Zone at elevations between 2,000 and 3,100 feet.
Ed. S. Currier (1928) found Lewis's woodpeckers nesting in what
he called "colonies," near Portland, Oreg.; in each of tAvo dead cot-
tonwoods, less than a mile apart, he found three occupied nests all
on the same day.
Eggs. — Bendire (1895) says:
From five to nine eggs are laid to a set; those of six or seven are the most
common, but sets of eight are not very rare ; I have found several of that num-
ber, and a single set of nine.
The eggs of Lewis's woodpecker vary greatly in shape and also in size. They
are mostly ovate or short ovate in shape, but an occasional set is decidedly
rounded ovate, while others are elliptical ovate; the shell is close grained and,
LEWIS'S WOODPECKER 229
in most cases, dull, opaque white, without any gloss whatever. Some sets, how-
ever, are moderately glossy, but scarcely as much so as the better-known eggs
of the red-headed woodpecker, and none are as lustrous as the eggs of the
flicker.
The measurements of 58 eggs average 26.22 by 19.99 millimeters;
tlie eggs showing the four extremes measure 30.48 by 21.34, 26.G7 by
24.38, and 23.37 by 17.27 millimeters.
Young. — Major Bendire (1895) says of the young:
Both sexes assist in incubation, and this lasts about two weeks. The young
leave the nest about three weeks after they are hatched, and are readily tamed.
I kept a couple for several days, but they had such enormous appetites that I
was glad to give them their liberty, as they kept me busy providing suitable
food. They were especially fond of grasshoppers, but also ate raw meat, and
climbed everywhere over the rough walls of my house. A considerable share
of the food of these birds is picked up off the ground, and they appear to be much
more at home there than woodpeckers generally are. The youug are fed on
insects, and I believe also on berries ; I have seen one of these birds alight in a
wild strawberry patch, pick up something, evidently a strawberry, fly to a tree
close by in which the nest was situated, and give it to one of the young which
was clinging to the side of the tree close to the nesting site.
Plumages. — The young Lewis's woodpecker is hatched naked and
blind, but the juvenal plumage is acquired before the young bird
leaves the nest. In fresh juvenal plumage the red "face" of the adult
is replaced by black or dusky, though a young bird taken on July
22 shows some red mixed with the black in this area ; the bill is small
and weak; the crown and occiput are dull brownish black, without
any greenish luster; the silvery-gray nuchal collar of the adult is
wholly lacking; the under parts are mostly dull pale gray or dull
grayish white, more or less suffused on the central breast and ab-
domen with dull red or orange-red; the whole plumage is softer
and more blended in texture. Dr. J. A. Allen (Scott, 1886) says
of some young birds that he examined : "The back and upper surface
of the wings are bronzy green nearly as in the adult, with, however,
in addition, broad bars of steel-blue on the scapulars and quills.
These bars are especially prominent on the secondaries and inner
vanes of the primaries, and are seen also in some specimens on the
rectrices. The steel-blue edging the outer vanes of the quill feathers
in the adult is absent ; and the inner secondaries and longest primaries
are tipped more or less prominently with white."
This juvenal plumage is worn through the siunmer and into
September, when the molt into the first winter plumage begins with
a sprinkling of the silvery, bristly feathers appearing on the breast
and in the collar, with the increase of red in the "face," and with
metallic-green feathers showing on the head. This molt is appar-
ently prolonged and is not finished until early in winter, when young
birds and adults are practically alike. Adults have a complete annual
molt late in summer and fall ; I have observed it as late as October 12.
230 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Pood. — Keferring to the food of Lewis's woodpecker, Major Bendire
(1895) writes:
In summer its food consists mainly of insects of different liinds, sucli as grass-
hoppers, large black crickets, ants, beetles, flies, larvae of different kinds, as well
as of berries, like wild strawberries and raspberries, service berries and salmon
berries, acorns, pine seeds, and juniper berries, while in cultivated districts
cherries and other small fruits enter into its daily bill of fare. Here, when
common, it may occasionally do some little damage in the orchards, but this is
fully compensated by the noxious insects it destroys at the same time. In locali-
ties where grasshoppers are abundant they live on these pests almost exclusively
while they last. Mr. Shelly W. Denton tells me he noticed this Woodpecker
gathering numbers of May flies (Ephemera) and sticking them in crevices
of pines, generally in trees in which it nested, evidently putting them away
for future use, as they lasted but a few days. It is an expert flycatcher, and
has an extremely keen vision, sallying forth frequently after some small insect
when this is perhaps fully 100 feet from its perch.
On this latter subject, Mr. Kathbiin writes to me :
Lewis's woodpecker is an expert at catching insects on the wing. When in this
act, its perch is some vantage spot, such as the top of a dead tree or a bare limb
in the open. Here it sits motionless, except to turn its head from side to side on
the lookout for its prey ; and when this is seen, the bird glides from its resting
place to make a capture. On one occasion for more than an hour, we watched a
pair of these woodpeckers seize flying insects, and in that length of time not less
than 35 were taken. Through our field glasses we kept" a close watch on the
birds and soon learned from their actions when an insect was sighted, thus it
was easy for us to anticipate its capture, and in not a single instance was a
failure made by either of the birds. Once, a light puff of air changed the course
of the insect just at the time it was about to be taken, but the woodpecker made
a quick turn upward at the same time, dropped its legs straight down, and
neatly made the take. When busy catching insects on the wing, this bird leaves
its perch by easy wing beats or a long, slow, graceful glide ; then, after its prey
is caught, rises in its flight and, quickly wheeling, returns to its lookout station.
But, as if not content with hunting insects after the manner of a flycatcher,
sometimes this bird mingles with the swallows as they hawk over the ground.
On one occasion in summer, as we came to a very open pasture, we noticed
numbers of barn and cliff swallows in flight over it after insects, and in com-
pany with them was a pair of Lewis's woodpeckers. Back and forth over the
meadow flew these dark birds, busy in an attempt to catch flying insects, and
their actions as they flew were in marked contrast to those of the graceful
swallows. Although we watched the woodpeckers for more than half an hour,
throughout that time neither one alighted; and when we left the place both
still coursed busily above the field.
About one-third of the food of Lewis's woodpecker consists of
acorns. It shares with the California woodpecker the interesting
habit of storing acorns, though its method of storing them is quite
different, for it seldom, if ever, m.akes the neat round holes to fit
the acorns, so characteristic of the other species; and its stores of
acorns are never so extensive, so systematic, or so conspicuous as
LEWIS'S WOODPECKER 231
those of the California woodpecker. Charles W. Michael (1920)
writes :
Recently we watclied a Lewis Woodpecker making trips back and forth
between a Kellogg oak and his home tree, a Cottonwood. He was busy stor-
ing away his winter supply of acorns. Occasionally he picked a fallen acorn
from the ground; more often he flew into the lesser branches of the oak, and
hanging like a great black chickadee he plucked the acorn from the cup.
With crow-like flappings, his broad wings carried him back to the dead Cot-
tonwood with his prize in his bill. Alighting somewhat below the summit of
his tree he would, by a series of flight jumps, come to a certain shattered
stub where a fissure formed a vise. Into this he would wedge the acorn.
With the acorn held firmly in place he would set about cutting away the
hull, and strong strokes of his bill would soon split away the shell and
expose the kernel. But he was not satisfied in merely making the kernel
accessible, he must go on with his pounding until he had broken it into
several pieces, and then with a piece in his bill he would dive into the air
like a gymnast, drop twenty or thirty feet and come with an upward swoop
to perch on the trunk of the same tree. A few hitching movements would
bring him to a deep crack that opened into the heart of the tree. Here he
would carefully poke away, for future reference, his morsel. Usually the
acorn was cut into four parts, involving four such trips, and on the last trip
to the vise he would take the empty hull in his bill, and with a jerk of his
head, toss it into the air. An examination of the ground beneath the tree
disclosed hundreds of empty acorn shells. Holding a watch on the Lewis
Woodpecker, we found that he made five trips in five minutes and stored five
acorns.
J. Eugene Law (1929) has published another illuminating paper
on this subject, which is well worth reading; he describes in con-
siderable detail the woodpeckers' methods in storing the meats of
acorns in cracks in poles and indulges in some speculation as to the
causes and purposes involved in the habit.
Herbert Brown (1902) found Lewis's woodpeckers quite destructive
to pomegranates and quinces, near Tucson, Ariz. On September 30
he counted ten in the pomegranate groves ; "they were mostly feeding
on pomegranate fruit. They first cut a hole through the hard sldn
of the fruit and then extract the pulp, leaving nothing but an empty
shell." Later, on October 13, he says: "Now that the pomegranate
crop has been destroyed they have commenced to eat the quinces, of
which there are large quantities. On the tops of some of the bushes
I noticed that every quince had been eaten into, one side of the fruit
being generally eaten away."
William E. Sherwood (1927) writes:
On June 16, 1923, while collecting near Imnaha, W^allowa County, Oregon.
I frightened a Lewis woodpecker from the top of a fence post where it was
evidently having a fe'ast. On top of the post it had left a fresh egg, probably
its own; for it was absolutely fresh, of the right size, and unmarked. The
shell had been broken into, but the contents not yet extracted.
In a knothole on the side of the post was an eggshell (of the same kind),
and a snail shell which had been broken into. Wedged into the cracks of the
232 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
post were several insects (some of them still alive) of the two species com-
monly known as "salmon flies" and "trout flies." On the ground at the foot of
the post were several snail shells, a green prune (picked into), and several
cherry seeds with stems attached.
Johnson A. Neff (1928) has much to say about the economic status
of this Avoodpecker, mainly in Oregon. A few quotations from his
paper will serve to show the vast amount of damage to the fruit
grower that it does in sections where it is abundant, mainly in sum-
mer and fall. He says that Prof. Beal (1911) "mentions one case in
Washington wherein the birds tore the paper at the corners of packed
boxes of apples left in the orchard over night, picking into every
apple within reach, and necessitating the repacking of every box
attacked."
S. D. Hill wrote to Mr. Neff:
In some sections and seasons they will destroy carloads of fruit, especially
in orchards near timber. I have known them to do 50 percent damage to a
pear crop in the Peyton district on upper Rogue River." Jackson Gyger, Ash-
land, wrote: "In 1924 the loss on S'pitz and Delicious apples was about 75
percent, on Newtowus about 15 percent; Bosc and Anjou pears about 10 per-
cent. The loss on trees near oak timber was nearly 100 percent. This season
(1925) due to hunting them every day the loss was possibly 50 percent less.
I bought $18.00 worth of ammunition to combat them this year. One man can
not keep them out of a seven acre orchard, as they will work on one end while
you are scaring them out of the other.
Mr. Neff goes on to say :
These complaints can not be over-looked, for stomach analyses show only
the volume of fruit eaten, not the percentage of fruit damaged per tree, nor
the real loss to the orchardist. * * *
In Oregon, although it sometimes becomes a nuisance in the small fruit
plantings of various areas, it centers its destructive activities in the Rogue
Valley ; there it flocks in the greatest abundance. * * *
In this area there can be no question of the objectionable status of the
Lewis woodpecker. If the birds would consume each fruit injured, there would
be little complaint of their taking the quantity which probably v<'ould satisfy
them. They are restless and energetic, however, and always attacking fresh
fruit, which with one stroke of the bill is ruined for commercial use. If one
aUows only one bite to each fruit, some of the stomachs studied would have
contained the samples of as high as two bushels of fruit. In the restricted
areas mentioned the Lewis woodpecker is a pest.
Behavior. — Lewis's woodpecker seldom indulges in the undulating-
flight so common to other woodpeckers, though it sometimes swings
in a long curve in a short flight from tree to tree. Its ordinary
traveling flight is quite unlike the flight of other members of the
family; it is strong, direct, and rather slow, with steady strokes of
its long, broad wings. At first glance one would hardly recognize it
as a woodpecker, for its flight and its appearance are more suggestive
of a crow, a Clarke's nutcracker, or a jay. But it is far from clumsy
in the air, and its skill in catching insects on the wing demonstrates
LEWIS'S WOODPECKER 233
its mastery of the air in flight. It also indulges in some rather re-
markable aerial evolutions, which one would hardly expect from a
member of the woodpecker family. On this subject, Robert Ridg-
way (1877) writes:
In its general habits and manners this beautiful species resembles quite
closely the eastern Red-headed Woodpecker {M. erythroccphalus), being quite
as lively and of an equally playful disposition. Some of its actions, howeYcr, are
very curious, the most remarkable of them being a certain elevated flight,
performed in a peculiar floating manner, its progress apparently laborious, as
if struggling against the wind, or uncertain, like a bird which had lost its
course and become confused. At such a time it presents the appearance of a
Crow high in the air, while the manner of its flight is strikingly similar to
that of Clarke's Nutcracker (Pkicorvus coliimbianus) . * * * After per-
forming these evolutions to its satisfaction, it descends in gradually contracting
circles, often to the tree from which it started,
Herbert Brown (1902) evidently saw a similar flight, of which he
says : "In flight they have little or none of that laborious midulating
movement so common to its kind, but in action and flight they seem
possessed of peculiarities supposed to belong to birds of a totally
different family. Today not less than fifty of them were circling
through the air, at an elevation of about 500 feet, with all the ease
and grace of the Falconidae. Not a stroke of the wing was ap-
parent. * * * Those high in the air were sailing in great circles.
They kept it up indefinitely and had the appearance of being so
many miniature crows. When sailing they appear to open their
wings to the fullest extent possible."
Mr. Neil" (1928) states that "these birds love the hottest sunshine,
and are commonly found perched in the tiptop of some tall partly-
dead tree, whence they can scan the air for insect food. They rarely
sit vertically upright on a branch as do most other woodpeckers, but
perch cross-wise with ease. They seldom climb up the trunk or
branches, although perfectly capable of doing so, and are rarely
heard tapping." They perch occasionally on wires, an uncommon
habit with other woodpeckers.
Major Bendire (1895) observes: "On its breeding grounds Lewis's
woodpecker appears to be a stupid and rather sluggish bird ; it does
not show nearly as much parental affection as most of the other
members of this family, and is much less demonstrative. It is not
at all shy at such times, and will often cling to some convenient limb
on the same tree while its eggs are being taken, without making the
least complaint."
Voice. — Bendire (1895) says: "It is by far the most silent wood-
pecker I have met, and, aside from a low twittering, it rarely utters a
loud note. Even when suddenly alarmed, and when it seeks safety
in flight, the shrill 'huit, huit' given on sucli occasions by nearly all
of our woodpeckers is seldom uttered by it. Only when moving about
90801—39 16
234 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
in flocks, on tlieir first arrival in the spring and during the mating
season, which follows shortly afterwards, does it indulge in a few
rattling call notes, resembling those of the Red-shafted Flicker, and
it drums more or less, in a lazy sort of way, on the dead top of a tall
pine, or a suitable limb of a cottonwood or willow."
Ralph Hoffmann (1927) writes : "For a great part of the year the
Lewis woodpecker is a silent bird, uttering not even a call note, but
in the mating season it utters a harsh chirr and a high-pitched squall-
ing chee-up, repeated at rather long intervals. Adult birds utter near
the nest a series of sharp metallic cries like the syllable ick^ ick, ich^
which when rapidly repeated become a rattle. The young in the
nest utter the usual hissing sound of young woodpeckers."
Field marks. — ^Lewis's woodpecker should be easily recognized.
At a distance it appears likes a black bird, the back and the upper and
lower surfaces of the wings being black, with no conspicuous white
showing anywhere, and with a crowlike flight, broad wings and black
tail. At short range, the greenish sheen of the back may glisten in
the sunlight, and the silvery gray collar and pinkish underparts may
be seen, as well as the gray upper breast and perhaps the red face.
Fall. — This woodpecker seems to be a highly migratory species.
From the northern parts of its range it disappears almost entirely
during winter; and throughout its entire range it is given to exten-
sive wanderings, being very abundant in certain localities during fall
and winter in certain seasons and at other seasons entirely absent. The
species is highly gregarious in fall, wandering about in large flocks in
search for suitable food supplies.
Mr. Rathbun tells me that this woodpecker is found in Washington
from April to about November and occasionally is seen in winter, and
says : "In this part [western] of the State the fall migration of this
bird seems to begin earl}^ in September. Once, very early in the month,
on our arrival at a lake not far from Seattle, we noticed a large
number of these woodpeckers in three or four deciduous trees along the
shore. Occasionally, a few of the birds would make short flights after
insects in the air, but by far the larger number were more or less
inactive and appeared to be resting, as some remained motionless where
perched. And when one did change its position, it did this in a list-
less manner. Our arrival at the lake was rather late in the afternoon,
and from the actions of the birds as a whole we gained the impression
that they must have made quite an extended flight that day on their
movement southward. On several other occasions in September we
have seen this woodpecker as it was migrating. In each case a good
many were in company, though rather loosely associated. And once,
moving in a southerly direction with them for a very brief time, were
numbers of nighthawks, swallows, and Vaux's swifts flying around
for insects."
LEWIS'S WOODPECKER 235
Mr. Neff (1928) writes:
This species, more than all its kin, moves in flocks in autumn. After the
nesting season it gathers into flocks of from 10 to 300 or more. In such numbers
it drops down into the fruit districts of southern Oregon and of northern Cali-
fornia, and disaster results. * * *
On August 29, the writer, accompanied by Mr. Richardson, made a trip to
Lake of the Woods, Klamath County. Just south of Ashland a few scattered
individuals were seen. As the Cascade summit was approached many were seen
in the open fields and meadows. In the flats near the lake, and in the open
meadows near Rainbow Creek, numbers were found feeding on the mountain
huckleberries. Returning to Ashland on September 1, huge flocks of these birds
could be seen moving steadily toward the lower Valley. * * *
On September 7, also, the growers in the vicinity of Medford reported the
arrival of the first birds there. Flocks were present until September 19, when
almost every bird in the area disappeared. A few scattering individuals were
left in various foothill areas, but these left during November. The areas in
which they wintered so abundantly during the 1924-5 season were totally deserted
during the 1925-6 season, and not until spring did they return to this area.
Herbert Brown (1902) states that Lewis's woodpeckers appeared in
large numbers, during the fall of 1884, in the Santa Cruz Valley, Ariz.,
the first he had seen there for 20 years. He saw the first one on
September 28 and ten on the 30th. They vrere very abundant at times
during October but disappeared at intervals. They were last seen on
November 16.
Winter. — ^W. E. D. Scott (1886) says of its winter habits in Arizona :
About my house it generally appeared about the 20th of September, and some
j^ears was very abundant. It stays as late as April 20, and then is not seen
again till fall, though I have seen the species in the pine region above me late
in the spring. In 1884, there was an unprecedented abundance of the species
throughout the entire region under consideration. They came in countless num-
bers about the ranches, both on the San Pedro and near Tucson. Arriving early
in September, they did great injury to the fruit crops raised in these regions, and
I heard much complaint of them. In the oak woods they were equally abundant,
living almost altogether on acorns, but spending much of the warmer portion
of the day catching insects on the wing, very much as any of the larger fly-
catchers do, only that on leaving the perch of observation or rest, the flight is
much more prolonged than in the flycatchers that I have seen.
Lewis's woodpeckers sometimes remain in winter, in small numbers,
as far north as the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. Accord-
ing to Suckley and Cooper (1860), they are "constant winter resi-
dents" near Fort Dalles on the Columbia River. Of their winter
habits, Suckley writes :
They seem in winter to be semi-gregarious, flying singly, yet still keeping
more or less in each other's company. Their flight at this season is high and very
erratic, resembling much, in its characteristic peculiarities, that of the swallow.
On warm days they keep tap a lively chattering noise, unlike, in character, that
of any other woodpecker that I have heard. During the cold season they are so
shy that it is difficult to shoot them, as at the least alarm they betake themselves
to the tops of the highest trees in the vicinity. They at that season subsist
236 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
principally upon the larvae of insects, found in the cracks and fissures of the
"red pine" of the country. I dissected a specimen killed at Fort Dalles, January 9,
1855, finding the coats of the stomach (gizzard) very thick and muscular, its
cavity filled with the white larvae of insects, together with fine gravel.
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — ^^Vestern United States, southwestern Canada, and north-
vi'estern Mexico; migratory in tlie nortliern areas.
Breeding range. — Lewis's woodpecker breeds north to southern
British Cohnnbia (Courtenay, Okanagan Landing, and Arrow Lake) ;
Montana (Fortine, Flathead Lake, and Great Falls) ; and south-
western South Dakota (Elk Mountains). East to southwestern
South Dakota (Elk Mountains) ; southeastern Wyoming (Laramie
Hills and Laramie) ; eastern Colorado (Boulder, Denver, Colorado
Springs, Boone, and Rouse Junction) ; and New Mexico (Bojuaquc
and Sacramento Mountain). South to southern New Mexico (Sacra-
mento Mountain) ; Arizona (San Francisco Mountain and Fort
"Wliipple) ; and southern California (Paso Robles). West through
the coast ranges of California, Oregon, Washington, and British
Columbia (Victoria, Comox, and Courtenay).
Winter range. — On the Pacific coast the species is resident north
to the Columbia River (Portland and The Dalles, Oreg.) and is
found south at this season to northern Baja California (Catavina
and Guadalupe Valley). During two different winters these wood-
peckers were recorded wintering in southern British Columbia
(Alowna in 1920-21, Vernon in 1928-29, and Summerland 1928-29).
In the Rocky Mountain region it winters north to north-central
Colorado (Boulder and Denver) and is found south to central Texas
(San Angelo) ; southern New Mexico (Guadalupe Mountains) ; and
northern Sonora (5 miles southwest of Nogales, Ariz.).
SpHng migration. — At neither season is the migratory movement
extensive, but the following early dates of arrival in the northern parts
of the breeding range may be considered typical : Wyoming — Wheat-
land, April 15; Laramie, May 5; Yellowstone Park, May 14. Mon-
tana — Fortine, April 27; Big Hole River, May 1; Corvallis, May 6.
Washington — Grand Dalles, April 23; Prescott, April 26; Tacoma,
April 27. British Columbia — Okanagan Landing, April 20; Arrow
Lakes, April 28 ; Sumas, May 3.
Fall migration. — The following are late dates of departure in
autumn : British Columbia — Arrow Lakes, October 16 ; Kelowna,
October 23; William Head, November 23. Washington — Prescott,
September 18 ; North Dalles, October 10 ; Yakima, October 29. Mon-
tana — Columbia Falls, September 9; Missoula, September 17; Gold
Creek, September 21. Wyoming — Laramie, September 24; Carey-
hurst, September 26 ; Wheatland, October 4.
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER 237
Casual records. — Lewis's woodpecker has been taken on several
occasions at points east of its normal range. Among these records
•are Alberta, Castor, May 7 and 9, 1924 ; Big Hay Lake, October 12,
1930; and Lesser Slave Lake, May 22, 1928; Saskatchewan, one speci-
men at Herschel on September 23, 1914, three in the Qu'Appelle
Valley, one from near Eastend on September 19, 1915, two in the
same vicinity on September 24, 1929, and two in the summer of 1931 ;
North Dakota, a specimen was taken at Neche, on October 13, 1916,
and one was noted at Grafton on October 10, 1926; Nebraska, re-
corded at Long Pine during the winter of 1898-99 ; Kansas, a speci-
men at Ellis on May 6, 1878, and another near Lawrence on Novem-
ber 7, 1908; eastern Oklahoma, one w^as carefully observed near
Tulsa on December 24, 1922; Iowa, recorded at Sioux City from
November 28, 1928, to April 7, 1929; Illinois, one recorded from
Chicago on May 24, 1923, and another from Argo on May 14, 1932 ;
and Rhode Island, a specimen collected at Mount Pleasant, near
Providence, on November 16, 1928,
Egg dates. — California: 19 records, April 18 to June 10; 10
records. May 3 to 28, indicating the height of the season.
Colorado : 30 records. May 8 to August 6 ; 15 records, June 2 to 20.
Oregon: 18 records. May 17 to June 24; 9 records, May 30 to
June 10.
British Columbia : 6 records, May 31 to June 15.
CENTURUS CAROLINUS (Linnaeus)
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
Plates 30, 31
HABITS
This showy and noisy woodpecker enjoys a wide distribution
throughout much of the eastern half of the United States, except the
most northern and northeastern States. Throughout much of this
range, it is one of the commonest and most conspicuous of the wood-
peckers. Arthur H. Howell (1932) writes: "In Florida, red-bellied
woodpeckers are found chiefly in hammocks, groves, and wet bottom-
land timber, less commonly in the pine woods and the cypress
swamps. * * * These woodpeckers are not particularly shy, and
they often visit dooryards and orchards." In Texas, according to
George Finlay Simmons (1925), its favorite haunts are ''heavily
timbered bottom lands or swampy woods; open deciduous or mixed
coniferous woodlands with very large trees; heavy woods of oak and
elm along river and creek bottoms; shade trees and dead trees in
town." Major Bendire (1895) says: "Throughout the northern por-
tions of its range it prefers deciduous or mixed forests to coniferous,
but in the south it is apparently as common in the flat, low pine woods
238 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
as in the oak hammocks. Newly cleared lands in which numbers of
girdled trees still remain standing are favorite resorts for this as well
as other species."
Nesting. — Bendire (1895) writes:
Birds that migrate from the northern portions of their range usually arrive on
their breeding grounds rather early, sometimes by March 20, and shortly after-
wards preparations for nesting are commenced. A suitable site is readily found
in the decayed top of some tree, or in an old stump, near a stream along the
edges of a pasture, or close to some road, and less often farther in the center
of a forest. Deciduous trees, especially the softer wooded ones, such as elms,
hasswood, maple, chestnut, poplar, willow, and sycamore, are preferred to the
harder kinds, such as ash, hickory, oak, etc. In northern Florida they nest fre-
quently in pines. Several excavations are often found in the same tree in
which the nest is located, and occasionally the same site, with slight repairs,
is used for more than one season. * * *
Both sexes assist in excavating the nesting site, as well as in incubation,
which lasts about fourteen days. The sites selected are usually from 5 to 70
feet from the ground, and resemble those of our Woodpeckers in every re-
spect, averaging about 12 inches in depth. It takes from seven to ten days to ex-
cavate a nest, and frequently the birds rest a week afterwards before begin-
ning to lay; an egg is deposited daily, and from three to five are usually laid
to a set, rarely more.
Mr. Howell (1932) says that in Florida "almost any kind of a tree
will satisfy the birds for a nesting site, but a partly decayed stub
seemingly is preferred. Where cabbage palms occur, a dead stub of
that tree is often chosen, and cavities in oaks, cypresses, pines, and
other trees are frequently utilized, the nesting hole being anywhere
from 5 to TO feet from the ground, usually, however, under 40 feet.
Nesting begins in April and continues until June." The only nest I
ever examined in Florida was found on April 25, 1903, on one of the
Bowlegs Keys, in the Bay of Florida ; it was placed in a dead branch
of a black mangrove; the cavity was about 14 inches deep and con-
tained four fresh eggs.
Mr. Simmons (1925) says that in Texas this woodpecker nests in
"dead limbs of stumps of hackberry, Chinaberry, cedar elm, pecan,
and American water elm trees, particularly the rotten, shaky, skele-
ton upper-parts of living hackberry trees in backyards, or in tele-
graph poles along city streets and alleys." In a small village in
Texas I once found a nest containing three eggs in a fencepost near
one of the houses.
Various observers have given quite different measurements of the
nesting cavity. Mr. Simmons (1925) says: "Entrance, diameter 1.75
to 1.96. Cavity, depth 10 to 12; widest diameter near bottom (3
above eggs) 5.25." William H. Fisher (1903) found a nest in
Maryland in which "the opening measured 2 by 214 inches and it
was 5 inches from the outer edge of the hole to the back wall."
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER 239
Charles R. Stockard (1904) located a nest in Mississippi, of which
he says :
In the spring of 1900 a nest of this species was located in a dead Cottonwood
tree which stood in an open pasture. The nest was a burrow fifteen inches
deep with a perfectly circular entrance about forty feet above the ground. A set
of five eggs was taken from it on April 24. The entrance being small it was
found necessary to cut it larger so as to admit my hand. Twenty-three days
later the same nest contained a second set of five eggs, slightly incubated. The
enlarging of the entrance evidently had no ill effect except for the fact that the
burrow had been deepened several inches, probably to prevent an extra amount
of light on the floor of the nest. These birds seem to gauge the depth of their
excavations more by the amount of light admitted than from any instinct to
dig a certain distance. For example, burrows that had their entrance just be-
low a limb or were situated in shady woods were noticed, as a rule, to be shal-
lower than those located in exposed fields or on the sunny side of the tree.
Bayard H. Christy (1931) describes a nest found in Pennsylvania
as follows :
The hole was in tlie top of a great primeval white oak, standing in the bottom of
a wooded ravine and at the edge of a neglected clearing, in southern Beaver
County. I had discovered it a month or six weeks before, attracted by the
calls of the bird. The hole was drilled in a dead and vertically standing bough
about eight inches in diameter, in the very centre of the crown of the
oak, and was, I should say, about eighty feet above the ground ; it was drilled
in the northern side of the bough, and beneath the talus of a branch which had
died and fallen away, leaving a knot-hole a few inches above. The wood-
peckers' hole was newly cut, and the bark around and beneath it had been
trimmed by use or by design, so that the region about formed a tawny patch
upon the grey of the bough.
S. A. Grimes (1932) mentions four cases that have come under
his observation, in which red-bellied woodpeckers have occupied old
nests of red-cockaded woodpeckers in Florida. F. M. Phelps (1914)
mentions another similar case.
Eggs. — The red-bellied woodpecker lays three to eight eggs, usually
four or five. It is a persistent layer ; if the first set is taken, it will
lay a second set within a week or two, generally in the same nest.
Mr. Stockard (1904) reports his experience with a pair that laid four
sets of eggs, 19 eggs in all, and all in the same nest.
Bendire (1895) says that "the eggs are white, mostly ovate in
shape ; the shell is fine grained and rather dull looking, with little or
no gloss, resembling in this respect the eggs of Lewis's woodpecker
more than those of the red-headed species." I have seen eggs that
are elliptical-ovate in shape, and decidedly glossy; eggs that have
been incubated for some time become more glossy than when first
laid. The measurements of 50 eggs average 26.06 by 18.78 milli-
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 27.00 by 19.79,
25.15 by 23o62, 23.00 by 18.70, and 23.11 by 16.76 millimeters.
Young. — The period of incubation is said to be about 14 days.
Both sexes assist in this and in the feeding and care of the young.
240 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
In the more northern portions of its range, probably only one brood
is reared in a season, but in the South this woodpecker is said to raise
two and sometimes three broods.
Pluviages. — Like other woodpeckers, the young are hatched naked
and blind, but the juvenal plumage is acquired before the young leave
the nest. In this the young male closely resembles the adult female,
but the colors are duller, the barring is less distinct, and the white
bars are suffused with brownish white; there are indistinct dusky
shaft streaks on the chest and little or no red on the abdomen, which,
if present, is more orange or yellowish; there is no clear red on the
head, but the gray crown is sometimes suffused centrally with dark
red mixed with the gray ; the hind neck is often suffused with pinkish
or yellowish. The juvenal female is similar to the young male, but
the top of the head is darker gray, or dusky, and there is less reddish
or yellowish suffusion anywhere. The juvenal plumage is apparently
worn through the first fall; I have seen it as late as December 20,
but Forbush (1927) says that it is shed between August and October.
In the first winter plumage, there is an advance toward maturity,
young males acquiring more red on the crown and occiput, and young
females on the latter. There is probably a more or less continuous
molt during winter, or a partial prenuptial molt in early spring, by
which young birds become practically indistinguishable from adults.
Adults have a complete postnuptial molt late in summer and early
m fall.
Food. — Bendire (1895) says:
Its food consists of about equal proportions of animal and vegetable matter,
and it feeds considerably on the ground. Insects, like beetles, ants, grasshoppers,
different species of flies, and larvae are eaten by them, as well as acorns, beech-
nuts, pine seeds, juniper berries, wild grapes, blackberries, strawberries, poke-
berries, palmetto and sour-giim berries, cherries, and apples. In the South it
has acquired a liking for the sweet juice of oranges and feeds to some extent
on thend ; but as it always returns to the same one, until this ceases to yield
any more juice, the damage done in this is slight. It has also been observed
drinking the sweet sap from the troughs in sugar camps. The injury it commits
by the little fruit it eats during the season is fully atoned for by the numerous
insects and tlieir larvae which it destroys at the same time, and I therefore
consider this handsome Woodpecker fully worthy of protection.
An examination of 22 stomachs by Professor Beal (1896) showed:
"Animal matter (insects) 26 percent and vegetable matter 74 per-
cent. A small quantity of gravel was found in 7 stomachs, but was
not reckoned as food. Ants were found in 14 stomachs, and amounted
to 11 percent of the whole food. Adult beetles stand next in im-
portance, aggregating 7 percent of all food, while larval beetles only
reach 3 percent. Caterpillars had been taken by only 2 birds, but
they had eaten so many that they amounted to 4 percent of the whole
food. The remaining animal food is made up of small quantities of
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER 241
bugs {H emiptera) , crickets {Orthopterd) , and spiders, with a few
bones of a small tree frog found in 1 stomach taken in Florida."
The red-bellied woodpecker eats some corn, which it has been seen
to steal from corncribs and from bunches of corn hung up to dry.
Various berries have been recorded in its food, besides those men-
tioned aboA^e, mulberries, elderberries, bayberries, blueberries, and
the berries of the Virginia creeper, cornel, holly, dogwood, and poison
ivy, also the seeds of ragweed and wild sarsaparilla, hazelnuts, and
pecans. N. M. McGuire (1932) saw one feeding at the borings of
a yellow-bellied sapsucker on a sugar maple tree, driving the latter
away; he "would fly at the Sapsucker, causing him to dodge around
a limb in order to keep out of the way."
Dr. B. H. Warren (1890) first called attention to the orange-eat-
ing habit of the red-bellied woodpecker in Florida, where it is called
the "orange sapsucker" or "orange borer." He found on inquiry that
these birds often destroyed large numbers of oranges when they were
ready for picking and that "they damaged the orange trees by boring
holes in them and sucking the sap." He collected 26 of these wood-
peckers in one orchard, 11 of which had "fed to a more or less extent
on oranges."
William Brewster (1889) saw a red-bellied woodpecker eating the
pulp of a sweet orange at Enterprise, Fla, He says that it attacked
the orange on the ground, pecking at it in a slow and deliberate way
for several minutes. On examining the orange he found it to be
decayed on one side. "In the sound portion were three holes, each
nearly as large as a silver dollar, with narrow strips of peel between
them. The pulp had been eaten out quite to the middle of the fruit.
Small pieces of rind were thickly strewn about the spot. Upon
searching closely I discovered several other oranges that had been
attacked in a similar manner. All were partially decayed, and were
lying on the ground. I was unable to find any on the trees which
showed any marks of the Woodpecker's bill."
Certainly the habit of eating fallen and partially decayed oranges
does no injury to the orange groves, but D. Mortimer (1890) tells
a different story:
While gathering fruit or pruning orange trees, I frequently found oranges
that had been riddled by this woodpecker, and repeatedly saw the bird at
work. I never observed it feeding upon fallen oranges. It helped itself
freely to sound fruit that still hung on the tree, and in some instances I
have found ten or twelve oranges on one trees that had been tapped by it.
Where an orange accidentally rested on a branch in such a way as to make
the flower end accessible from above or from a horizontal direction the Wood-
pecker chose that spot, as throiigh it he could reach into all the sections of
the fruit, and when this was the case there was but one hole in the orange.
But usually there were many holes around it. It appeared that after having
once commenced on an orange, the woodpecker returned to the same one
242 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
repeatedly until he had completely consumed the pulp, and then he usually
attacked another very near to it. Thus I have found certain clusters in which
every orange had been bored, vrhile all the others on the tree v?ere untouched.
The red-bellied woodpecker shares with other species, formerly in-
cluded in the genus Melanerpes^ the habit of storing acorns, nuts,
insects, and other articles of food for future use. Ben, J. Blincoe
(1923) Avrites:
The red-bellied woodpecker is a heavy feeder on beech and oak mast. In
the early fall its incessant "Cha-cha-cha" was a familiar sound in the beech
woods about Cherry Hill. I never observed it in the act of storing beech mast
though on numerous occasions red-bellied woodpeckers were seen carrying
beechnuts to a considerable distance from the trees from which they were
secured. Very likely many of these nuts were wedged in cracks or crevices
for future use. However, in the fall of 1913, a red-belly was seen storing
the acorns from a Chinquapin Oak (Quercus acuminata) which stood over the
wood-pile at Cherry hill. The acorns were carried, one at a time, to fence
posts ranging from twenty-five to three hundred yards distant from the oak
tree, and were generally wedged in a crack in the post, usually near the top.
One acorn was placed in a cavity caused by decay, and laid loosely on the
rotten wood. As far as my observations went, but one acorn was placed in a
single post.
Wliile Mr. Blincoe was shelling walnuts, he saw one of these
woodpeckers carry off the shells, and apparently eat the remaining
meat out of them. Several times he saw one stealing corn from his
corncrib or fl^ying off with cherries from a tree in his garden and
sometimes carrying them to a fence post to eat. Again he watched
one eating a hole in an apple, and "found that the apple on which
it had been working bore a decayed spot near the stem and just at
the edge of it, but entirely in the solid part of the apple, was a hole
about half an inch across, and three-quarters deep. The bottom of
this cavity contained several tiny holes, markings made b}'^ the wood-
pecker's mandibles. In the early winter, frequently, a red-belly
would be seen feeding on an apple that remained on the tree, though
decayed and practically dried up."
Lester W. Smith writes to me that it seems to be a habit of the
red-bellied woodpecker in Florida to store away insects and other
food. "After digging into and capturing an insect, I see it fly to
a small hole, commonly in the trunk of the cabbage palmetto, and
place the insect in it. At a hole 5 feet from the ground I found a
male carolinus inserting the badly mutilated body of a cockroach.
A large portion of his catches or finds he seems to prefer to hide
away. A tree of small, late tangerines was visited almost daily dur-
ing the latter half of May, and sections of the pulp, taken from fruit
torn open b}^ the mockingbird, were carried off and hidden in various
places. On June 3 I saw carolim/s go to the base of banana leaves,
take out a section of pulp, and fly away with it. Examination
showed other pieces similarly hidden, some with ants on them."
KED-BELLIED WOODPECKER 243
M. P. Skinner (1928) says: "Although other woodpeckers carry off
and store bits of food, the red-bellied woodpeckers appear to do it
more than any others in the Sandhills. These birds are rather easily
attracted to artificial feeding stations, especially if suet be offered
them. They will eat nuts and bread crumbs, also, but not as
greedily."
Behavior. — ^Mr. Skinner (1928) writes: "In flight, these wood-
peckers are apt to progress step by step from tree to tree. In this
respect, and in that it is undulating, their flight is much like that
of other woodpeckers. In approaching a perch, the red-bellied wood-
peckers usually glide and sweep up to it with the impetus already
gained. * * * These woodpeckers work and hammer on the
trunks of trees, on the boles of oaks, on boles high up in live or
blasted pines, and on both living and dead limbs, usually working
up, but working down also if they want to, using a peculiar partly-
sidewise drop downward."
Voice. — Mr. Simmons (1925) gives the following elaborate inter-
pretations of the various calls of this noisy bird :
In fall and winter, a soft scolding chuh; chuh-chtih ; clioic-cliow; cJierr-cherr ;
or chawh-chawh. At other seasons, a variety of calls : a slow, harsh crer-r-7'-r-
r-r r r r r r r or chur-r-r-r-r r r r r r r; a noisy charr-r-r or chawh-chawh; a
rather slow, regular chuh-chuh-chuh-chuh-chuh, sometimes tittered in a series
of a dozen or more as rapidly as the syllables can be plainly pronounced; a
very rapid chuck-a-chuck-a-chuck-a-cJiuck-a-chuck-a-chuck-a-cMick-a; a slow,
harsh sherr, cherr, cherr or crerr, crerr, crerr, crerr, crerr; an alarmed cha-
cha-cha; at intervals, a loud, bold, running, connected koo er-r-r-r; qu er-r-r-r-r;
qui er-r-r-r-r; or k-r-r-ring, uttered with a distinct rolling of the r's ; in the
nesting season, an additional whicker.
Bendire (1895) says: "The Red-bellied, like the majority of our
Woodpeckers, is a rather noisy bird. Its ordinary call note resembles
the 'tchurr, tchurr' of the red-headed very closely; another sounds
more like 'chawh, chawh,' and this is occasionally varied with a dis-
agreeable creaking note, while during the mating season peculiar,
low, mournful cooing sounds are sometimes uttered, which somewhat
resemble those of the Mourning Dove."
Various other observers have given somewhat similar descriptions
of some of the above interpretations. Wlien I first saw this wood-
pecker, many years ago in Florida, climbing up the trunk of a cab-
bage palmetto, its rolling notes sounded to me like those of a tree
toad, as heard before a rain.
Field marks. — The red-bellied woodpecker is so conspicuously
marked that it could hardly be overlooked. It is a medium-sized
woodpecker, about the size of the hairy ; the entire back and rump are
conspicuously barred transversely with black and white; the wings
are spotted or barred with white; the under parts are uniform gray,
except for the inconspicuous reddish tinge on the abdomen; in the
244 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
male the entire crown and nape are brilliant scarlet, and a large
patch of the same color adorns the nape of the female.
Winter. — The migrations of this woodpecker are, apparently, not
so extensive or so regular as those of most migratory birds; they
seem to consist more of irregular wanderings and to depend more
on the abundance of the food supply. The species occurs, in small
numbers at least, more or less irregularly in winter even in the north-
ern portions of its range. There is, however, usually a general south-
ward movement in fall, which greatly increases its abundance in the
Southern States in winter. William H. Fisher (1897) says of its
winter occurrence in Maryland : "I have only met with about half
a dozen individuals outside of Somerset County, but there, for the
last fourteen years, in either November, December or January, I have
found them to be very abundant. According to my observations,
they prefer the low, swampy woodlands and clearings, only occa-
sionally being found in the isolated tree in the field."
W. E. Saunders tells me that it was formerly quite common in
southern Ontario and came regularly to the feeding stations in
winter ; evidently some of these birds did not migrate. On the other
hand, Audubon (1842) says: "In winter I have found the red-bellied
woodpecker the most abundant of all in the pine barrens of the
Floridas, and especially on the plantations bordering the St. John's
river, where on any day it would have been easy to procure half a
hundred." And C. J. Maynard (1896) w^rites: "I found the red-
bellied woodpeckers quite abundant in winter in the piney woods
which border the plantations on the Sea Islands off the Carolinas but
as I proceeded south, their numbers increased and in Florida, they
fairly swarmed, actually occurring in flocks. They accompany the
cockaded woodpeckers in the piney woods and also associate with
the yellow-bellies in the swamps and hummocks ; in fact, it is difficult
to remain long in any portion of Florida where there are trees, with-
out hearing the discordant croak of these woodpeckers and I even
found them on the Keys."
DISTRIBUl'IOM
Range. — Chiefly the Eastern United States, casual west to Ari-
zona and Colorado; nonmigratory.
The range of the red-bellied woodpecker extends north to south-
eastern Nebraska (Lincoln and Nebraska City) ; southeastern Min-
nesota (St. Peter and Minneapolis) ; southern Michigan (Grand
Rapids, Howell, and Plymouth) ; and southern Ontario (Coldstream,
Toronto, and Twin Lakes). East to southeastern Ontario (Twin
Lakes) ; western New York (Canandaigua, Potter, and probably
Ithaca) ; southern Pennsylvania (Fulton County) ; eastern Maryland
(Marydel and Church Creek) ; Virginia (Dismal Swamp) ; North
GOLDEN-FRONTED WOODPECKER 245
Carolina (Mattamuskeet Lake and Orton) ; South Carolina (Colum-
bia and Frogmore) ; Georgia (Savannah, Cnmberland Island, and
Blackbeard Island) ; and Florida (New Smyrna, Eldred, Cape Flor-
ida, and Upper Matecunibc Key). The southern limits extend west-
ward along the Gulf coast to eastern Texas (Giddings and Austin).
V/est to eastern Texas (Austin, Cameron, and Waco) ; Oklahoma
(Caddo, Norman, and Arnett) ; eastern Kansas (Harper, Wichita,
and Manhattan) ; and southeastern Nebraska (Lincoln).
Although not a migratory species, there appears to be some retreat
from the northern parts of the range, particularly during severe
winters.
Casual records. — Red-bellied woodpeckers have been taken or ob-
served on numerous occasions in New Jersey and eastern New York
(including Long Island). The northermnost records on the Atlantic
seaboard are several from Massachusetts, among which are the fol-
lowing: Springfield, May 13, 1863; Newton, November 25, 1880;
Cohasset, May 28, 1881 ; and Clinton, July 17, 189G. One was noted
at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, on August 29, 1920 ; two were reported
from Yankton, S. Dak., on April 14, 1923 ; one was seen in Monroe
Canyon, Sioux County, northwestern Nebraska (date ?) ; in Colo-
rado, a specimen was taken at Fountain in 1873 and another at Limon
in May 1899, while one was seen at Greeley in 1895 and another at
Yuma on October 1, 2, and 3, 1906. According to Ridgway (1914),
the species is "accidental in Arizona (Fort Grant) ," but no informa-
tion is available to indicate the authority for this statement.
Egg dates. — Alabama : 9 records, April 17 to July 11.
Florida : 20 records, April 10 to June 20 ; 10 records, April 16 to
May 13, indicating the height of the season.
Illinois : 8 records, April 1 to Jane 3.
Texas : 8 records, April 8 to July 9.
CENTURUS AURIFEONS (Wagler)
GOLDEN-FRONTED WOODPECKER
HABITS
The golden-fronted woodpecker is found, in suitable localities, from
central Texas southward to the Valley of Mexico, It is not, however,
evenly distributed, being common in certain regions that suit its re-
quirements and entirely absent from other types of surroundmg
country. For example, E. M. Hasbrouck (1889) says: "In the single
locality in Eastland County where they are found, they may be said
to be fairly common, but outside of an area of twenty-five square miles
they are unknown in the County. * * * This section of country
presents peculiar characteristics ; the timber is entirely of post-oak, and
the ground more or less thickly covered with 'shinnery,' and differs
246 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
from the surrounding country in that the tops of the trees were affected
some years ago with a blight, and now this entire area is one mass of
dead-topped trees, aiid this is what apparently suits the present
species."
George F. Simmons (1925) says of its haunts in the Austin region :
"Mesquite forests with large trees, and mesquite flats ; partial to large
timber near mesquite growth, particularly among post oak and mixed
oaks on gravel uplands, and in pecan groves on open and semi -open
bottoms."
D. B. Burrows (Bendire, 1895) says that, in Starr County, on the
lower Rio Grande, "the golden-fronted woodpecker is a common resi-
dent species in this locality, and much more abundant than Baird's
woodpecker, the only other variety that I have found here. They may
be found wherever there is a growth of trees sufficiently large to afford
nesting places, but are most numerous in the river bottoms where there
is a heavy growth of old mesquite timber."
Nesting.— Major Bendire (1895) writes: "Nidification commences
sometimes in the latter part of March, but usually not much before the
middle of April ; both sexes assist in this labor, and it takes from six
to ten days to excavate a proper nesting site ; both live and dead trees
are used for this purpose, as well as telegraph poles and fence posts ;
the holes are rarely over 12 inches deep, and are situated at no great
distances from the ground, mostly from 6 to 25 feet up." As to its
nesting in Starr County, he quotes from Mr. Burrows : "The nest is by
preference made in the live trunks of large trees, usually the mesquite,
but sometimes in a dead stump or limb, the same cavity being used year
after year, and it is quite a rare thing to see a fresh excavation. The
nesting season begins in April, and most of the nests contain fresh eggs
by May 10. I took a set of six eggs from a cavity in a live mesquite
tree, the opening being but 2 feet 9 inches from the ground, but usually
they are placed from 8 to 20 feet up." And H. P. Attwater wrote to
him that "near San Antonio, Texas, where the golden-fronted wood-
pecker is a common resident, it nests in all kinds of tall live timber,
pecan, oak, and large mesquite trees being preferred, but telegraph
poles furnished favorite sites here also. A line running out of San
Antonio to a ranch nine miles distant was almost destroyed by these
birds ; they came from all sides, from far and near, and made fresh
holes every year, sometimes as many as five or six in a single pole.
Here it also nests occasionally in artificial nesting sites, like bird
boxes, etc., in yards and gardens."
My only experience with the nesting habits of this woodpecker was
in Cameron County, Tex., where we found this noisy and conspicuous
bird quite common in the trees about the ranches. On May 24, 1923,
we found two nests quite near the buildings on a well-kept Mexican
ranch and collected two sets of four fresh eggs ; one was about 8 feet
GOLDEN-FRONTED WOODPECKER 247
up in an anaqiia tree and the other about 12 feet from the ground in a
willow.
Eggs. — The golden- fronted woodpecker lays four to seven eggs to
a set, usually four or five. The eggs are pure white and vary from
ovate to short or rounded-ovate, with very little or no gloss when
fresh.
The measurements of 59 eggs average 25.82 by 19.50 millimeters;
the eggs showing the four extremes measure 28.45 by 20.07, 27.94 by
20.83, 22.86 by 17.78, and 25.91 by 18.03 millimeters.
Young. — Major Bendire (1895) says: "Incubation lasts about four-
teen days, and both sexes share this duty. * * * It is probable
that two broods are occasionally raised in a season, as there are sets
of eggs in the collection taken in June, and two of these in the latter
part of this month." But Mr. Simmons (1925) says "probably only
one brood." Both parents assist in the care of the young. In sum-
mer and fall the young may be seen traveling about with their par-
ents in family parties, but they separate before winter.
Plumages. — Probably the young are hatched naked and blind, as
with other woodpeckers, and the juvenal plumage is acquired before
the young bird leaves the nest. The young male, in juvenal plum-
age, is similar to the adult male but is everywhere duller, with the
markings less clearly defined; the red crown patch is smaller and
consists of somewhat scattered red feathers ; there is usually more or
less indistinct dusky barring on the forehead, which is duller yellow
than in the adult; the yellow of the hind neck is paler and duller;
the chest is usually more or less streaked with dusky, and the yellow
on the abdomen is paler. The young female is similar to the young
male but without any red on the head, the yellow band on the hind
neck paler, and the under parts all paler. This juvenal plumage is
apparently worn all through fall and early winter ; I have seen it as
late as January 5; but probably a protracted molt during fall and
winter produces a gradual change into a plumage that is practically
adult. Adults have a complete postnuptial molt late in summer and
fall, mainly in August and September, according to what few molting
specimens I have seen.
Food. — Bendire (1895) says: "Their food consists of insects of
various kinds, such as beetles, ants, grasshoppers, also larvae, acorns,
Indian corn, and different kinds of wild berries and fruit. Consid-
ered from an economic point of view, this woodpecker certainly does
more good than harm, and the only thing that can be said against it
is that in certain localities where it is common it may make itself
more or less of a nuisance by injuring telegraph poles." In this
connection, George B. Sennett (1879) makes the following interest-
ing remark: "The numerous holes which I observed the previous
season in the telegraph poles, and which I inferred might be nests
248 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
of Woodpeclvers, I found to be excavations made by the birds in
search of a large species of borer that works in the dry wood."
Roy W. Quillin writes to me that "this species has an odd habit of
placing shelled mesqnite beans in the nesting holes. I have not yet
found any reason for this which seemed plausible."
Behavior. — In general habits and behavior, the golden-fronted
woodpecker is much like the red-bellied woodpecker, to which it is
closely related; and it reminded me also of our more familiar red-
headed woodpecker. It is a lively, active, noisy bird, being much
in evidence wherever it is found. It loves to perch for many minutes
in the dead top of some tall tree or on some telegraph or telephone
pole, where it can obtain a good outlook. Mr. Burrows (Bendire,
1895) says: "During the fall and winter they may be found traveling
about from place to place in pairs, and are easily located by the call
note, which somewhat resembles that of the red-bellied woodpecker,
the habits of the two birds being in many respects quite similar. In
the spring, when nesting, they become very noisy, and when ap-
proached, utter their alarm note with great vigor. I have never
known this species to drum on a dead limb, as most of the other
woodpeckers do. When searching for food they may be seen very
diligently at work near the base of old trees, among the thick bushes,
or even on the ground."
Voice. — Mr. Simmons (1925) says that this bird is "extremely
noisy," and describes its notes as "a harsh, rapid, scolding chuh-
chuh-chuh-chuh-chuh-chuh-chuh ; a metallic whah-iohah; a loud,
long-drawn sh-h-h-h-ah-er-r-r-r or tcher-r-r-r^ tcher-r-r-r; a short
chech, check-check. Both this species and the red-bellied woodpecker
have the same chow, chow., chow., choio call; however, there is a
striking difference in the tone; the call of the Red-bellied Wood-
pecker may be imitated by completely filling the mouth with air and
keeping the lips pushed well forward, while that of the golden-
fronted woodpecker — choogh-choogh — is best given by pulling the
lips back tightly, tautening the vocal cords, and making a hoarse,
croupy noise in the throat, since the bird at times sounds as if it had a
bad cold."
Mr. Hasbrouck (1889) writes: "Their note is peculiar, combining
the 'chirp, chirp' of carolinus with a certain shrillness and accent
of their own, while the call note, either flying or at rest, is similar
to that of M. erythrocephalus and at the same time not unlike that
of Colaptes auratus. While their notes once learned are readily
recognized, still it takes not a little practice to distinguish between
a red-head in one tree and the gold-front in the next, or between a
gold-front and a flicker when both are on the opposite side of a ravine
and hidden from view; and I have more than once shot carolinus
even when morally certain it was what I wanted."
GOLDEN-FRONTED WOODPECKER 249
Field marks. — The golden-fronted woodpecker might easily be con-
fused with the red-bellied woodpecker, for they are often found in
the same general region, and both have the back and wings barred
with black and white; but all the lower part of the rump is white,
instead of barred, in the golden-fronted and the gray under parts
are tinged with yellow, instead of red; the male red-bellied has
the whole upper part of the head, from forehead to hind neck,
bright scarlet, and the female has an extensive patch of red on the
posterior half of the upper head; whereas the male golden-fronted
has a much smaller patch of red on the crown, a yellow forehead,
and an orange-yellow band on the hind neck ; and the female golden-
fronted has no red on the head at all. The voice is said to be more
distinctive than the color pattern.
Enemies. — Mr. Quillin writes to me: "While this species is still
fairly abundant in southern Texas, it was much more plentiful ten
or more years ago. Because of the damage the birds wrought to tele-
phone and telegraph poles, the various concerns owning such prop-
erty secured passage of a law placing all woodpeckers on the un-
protected list. This done, they gave section crews of the railroads
shotguns, and the killing was on in earnest. Hunters and others
helped, and the result has been a marked decrease in the ranks of
this species. The killing, or controlling still continues. However,
pressure is now being brought to place the birds back on the pro-
tected list, and this will be done sooner or later. There is no getting
around the fact that the birds did cause considerable damage. In
this species we have a woodpecker which for centuries had been
pecking into hard mesquite trees. Along came the soft pine poles
and these same birds immediately literally ate them up. I have
seen 16 holes, three of which were deep enough for nesting sites,
in one small pole, not over 10 inches in diameter."
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — North-central Texas south to Central Mexico; nonmi-
gratory.
The golden-fronted woodpecker ranges north to central Texas
(San Angelo and Dallas). East to Texas (Dallas, Giddings, Cuero,
Corpus Christi, and Brownsville) ; Tamaulipas (Matamoros, San
Fernando, Ciudad Victoria, and Tampico) ; southeastern San Luis
Potosi (Valles) ; Hidalgo (Ixmiquilipam and Tula) ; and the Federal
District of Mexico (near Mexico City). South to the Federal Dis-
trict of Mexico (near Mexico City) ; Michoacan (Querendero, INIore-
lia, and Patzcuaro) ; and Jalisco (Ocotlan and Guadalajara). West
to Jalisco (Guadalajara) ; Zacatecas (Calvillo, Aguas Calientes, and
Chicalote) ; northwestern Durango (Boquilla, Sestin, and Rosario) ;
90801—39 17
250 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIOls^AL MUSEUM
eastern Chihualiiia (Jiilimes) ; and central Texas (Eagle Pass, Fort
Clark, Kerrville, and San Angelo).
Egg dates. — Texas: 66 records, March 30 to June 29; 33 records,
April 24 to May 17, indicating the height of the season.
CENTURUS UROPYGIALIS UROPYGIALIS Baird
GILA WOODPECKER
Plates 32-34
HABITS
In the desert regions of our southwestern borders, this gay little
woodpecker is one of the commonest, noisiest, and most conspicuous
birds, always much in evidence, and always seeming to protest, in
whining tones, the intrusion of strangers. Its center of abundance
seems to be on the great desert mesas of southern Arizona, where the
infertile soil is scantily covered with a scattered growth of creosote
bushes, low mesquites, an occasional choUa or barrel cactus and
dotted with single specimens or little groups of the giant cactus, or
saguaro. But it is also common in the river bottoms, covered witli
a heavier growth of mesquite, and in the canyons of the foothills
among the cottonwoods, willows, and sycamores. It ranges from
an elevation of 2,500 feet on the mesas up to 4,000, or even 4,500, feet
in the canyons and foothills.
In this region, it is a dominant species and a very useful neighbor,
even if unintentionalh% for the many species of birds and small mam-
mals for which it provides homes. M. French Gilman (1915) puts it
very well as follows:
Were it not for the Gila woodpecker (Centurus uropygialis) what would be-
come of the several species of birds that use already prepared cavities for
their domiciles? In some cases these tenants do not even await the pleasure
of the excavators, but take forcible possession. In holes excavated by Gila
woodpeckers there may regularly be found nesting the elf owl, ferruginous
pigmy owl, ash-throated flycatcher, and Arizona crested flycatcher. Occasion-
ally a cactus wren makes use of the handy hollow, and once I saw one occupied
by a Lucy warbler. A big "rough-neck" scaly lizard frequents the holes Avhen
not too high in the cactus, and in two holes in willow trees I found snakes.
It is not pleasant to insert one's hand and have a big lizard or snake crawl
up the arm to escape. Rats and mice are sometimes found in the deserted
holes, especially if the tree be much decayed and with cracks and hollows con-
necting holes at different heights in the tree or branch. So these woodpeckers
may be considered among the class of innocent or unintentional benefactors.
In addition to the species mentioned by Mr, Gilman above, we
found saguaro screech owls, desert sparrow hawks, and western mar-
tins nesting in the old holes made by woodpeckers. Some of these
holes were doubtless made by Mearns's gilded flickers, perhaps those
GILA WOODPECKER 251
that were used by the larger species, as this woodpecker is fairly
common in the same region and nests regularly in the saguaros.
These old holes make ideal nesting sites, for the sap of the cactus
hardens around the excavations, making them fairly permanent nest-
ing boxes ; I have seen these gourd-shaped pockets still persisting in
fallen saguaros, where the pulp had all rotted away, leaving only the
skeleton ribs of the dead giant.
Nesting. — ^While collecting with the late Frank C. Willard in
southern Arizona in 1922, we examined seven occupied nests of the
Gila woodpecker. The first of these was found on May 17, at Fair-
bank, in the valley of the San Pedro River; the nest was a cavity
15 inches deep in a dead branch of a cottonwood, 15 feet above
ground. Five days. May 19 to 23, were spent in Pima County, in
the vicinity of Tucson, between the mesquite forest in the valley of
the Santa Cruz River and the southern end of the Santa Catalina
Mountains. Two nests were found in the mesquite forest on May 19,
both in mesquite trees, one 20 and one 25 feet from the ground ; one
contained only a single fresh egg and the other held a brood of
young. We had an interesting experience here the next day. While
crossing the forest, I saw a Gila woodpecker fly out from what I
supposed was its nesting hole, about 15 feet up in a mesquite stub;
the bird made such a great fuss about it that I felt sure that we had
a set of woodpecker's eggs witliin easy reach, and I called Mr.
Willard to investigate it. He climbed the stub and chopped out the
hole, while the woodpecker was flying about, scolding us and show-
ing the greatest concern. But, much to our surprise, he pulled out an
elf owl and three unmistakable elf owl's eggs. I killed the owl and
shot the woodpecker, which still seemed much interested; and, on
skinning and sexing both specimens, I found that the woodpecker was
a male and the owl a female. We were naturally much puzzled to
figure out the relationship between the two birds and their interest
in the nest. But, since reading Mr. Gilman's remarks, quoted above,
that sometimes the woodpecker's tenants "do not even await the
pleasure of the excavators, but take forcible possession," it has oc-
curred to me that probably this was a case in point. The owl may
have appropriated the finished burrow of the woodpecker, and the
latter was trying to evict an unwelcome tenant.
The remaining four nests found in this vicinity, and one found
by Mr. Willard on June 11, were all in saguaros on the desert mesa;
the heights from the ground varied from 16 to 20 feet ; and the cavi-
ties varied in depths from 15 to 20 inches ; there was one set of five
eggs, two nests held four and one three eggs; and in one nest were
two young and an addled Qgg.
252 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Referring to the nesting habits of this woodpecker in the vicinity
of the Gila River, in Arizona, Mr. Gilman (1915) writes:
Nesting sites in this locality are restricted to giant cactus {Cereus gigan-
teus), Cottonwood and willow, as they are the only suitable material for a
nest excavation. More nests are found in the giant cactus, as these plants
are more numerous than the others, and more "peckable," though the willows
and cottonwoods along the river and the canals are well patronized when suf-
ficiently decayed. Of the nests I examined I should say that fifty per cent
were in the cactus, and the rest equally divided between the other trees
mentioned. * * *
As to the size of the holes in the cactus as compared with those in cotton-
wood and willow, I found no appreciable difference. I expected the holes in
the cactus to average a little larger owing to possible greater ease in excavating
but the difference was too slight to be sure of in measuring. Of eighteen holes
measured, the average diameter was 1.95 inches; the largest was 2.25 inches
and the smallest 1.87 inches. The deepest hole was 16 inches, with the en-
trance 2 inches in diameter. The shallowest one was 9 inches, with entrance a
little less than 2 inches in diameter. The average depth of holes measured
was a little more than 12 inches. Many of the holes were not exactly circular,
there being a difference of from % to nearly % inch between the long and
short diameter if it be allowable to use the term in that way. Usually the nest
hole runs straight in for a short distance before turning downward, the distance
seemingly depending on the texture of the wood. In one case the hole went
straight back for nine inches before turning downward. It was in a big
Cottonwood stump, and the bird excavated horizontally until decayed wood
was reached, when the hole turned downward. This was an extreme case,
as the depth horizontally is usually about three inches. In the giant cactus
it varies according to the diameter of the trunk, the smaller the trunk the
less distance before turning downward. * * *
The same nest hole is used more than one season, both in cactus and other
locations. In 1913 I found a nest in a big Cottonwood stump containing young.
The next year it had young again, and I cut into it to measure the hole and
count them.
Frank C. Willard (1912) says: "I think it is their habit to dig
fresh holes after raising their brood of yonng. These fresh holes
are not occupied that year but are made use of the next year when
the sap has had a chance to dry and form the hard lining which
coats the inside of all the cavities. I have found but one fresh hole
occupied as a nest." Bendire (1895) also says that "most of their
nesting sites are used for several years in succession ; in fact, I doubt
very much if a freshly excavated hole in a giant cactus is fit to nest
in the same season. Both sexes assist in excavating the nesting site."
In the heavily incrusted nest cavity in a giant cactus, the eggs
lie on the bare, hard floor of the nest, there being no chips to furnish
a soft bed.
In addition to the trees mentioned above, the Gila woodpecker has
been found nesting more rarely in oaks and palo-verdes.
Eggs. — ^The Gila woodpecker lays three to five eggs, three or four
being much oftener found than five. The eggs are pure white and
GIT.A WOODPECKER 253
not very glossy when fresh, but sometimes quite glossy when heavily
incubated; they vary from ovate to elliptical-ovate and are some-
times quite pointed. The measurements of 62 eggs average 25.14
by 18.56 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure
27.43 by 18.80, 26.6 by 20.1, 22.86 by 17.27, and 23.9 by 16.6 millimeters.
Young. — Incubation is said to last about two weeks, and is prob-
ably shared by both parents. Mr. Gilman (1915) writes:
It is not easy to dotermine just what food the young in the nest are given,
but insects play a prominent part, as I have seen them frequently carried to
the young. Fruit is also used, as I watched one parent carry ripe Lycium
berries several times to the nest; after emerging from the hole she would
halt at the entrance each time and "lick her chops." * * *
The young are fed by the parents for a long time after leaving the nest, and
they are regular little beggars. One pair stayed around our house for several
months, and became quite tame. They were missed during the breeding season
but soon came back with three youngsters to share the good things found on
the bird tables in the yard. The young, though as large as their parents,
would flutter their wings and sit with open beak as though the old ones told
them to "open your mouth and shut your eyes," etc. The old ones would try
to get them to eat watermelon placed on the tables, but the babies would not
be shown ; the parents had to put it in their mouths. They followed the parents
from perch to perch, begging for food until I expected to see them chastised.
The pair in question stayed with the three juvenals until they had them
broken to eat for themselves, and then left. After a proper interval they
came back with two more yoimg ones, thus indicating that a second brood is
sometimes raised. The abundant supply of food may have been a determining
factor in the number of broods raised.
Plumages. — The nestlings are naked and blind at first but become
fully clothed in the juvenal plumage before leaving the nest. The
young male, in juvenal plumage, is much like the adult male, but
the colors are generally paler, the head and under parts grayer, the
barring on the upper parts less distinct, and the white bars are suf-
fused with brownish buff ; the red patch on the crown is smaller and
often consists of only a few red feathers; and the bill is somewhat
smaller and weaker. The young female is like the young male but
has no red on the head. I have been unable to trace the postjuvenal
molt, but young birds in the following spring are apparently like the
adults. Adults have a complete postnuptial molt in August, Septem-
ber, and October.
Food. — Major Bendire (1895) says: "Its food consists of insects
of various kinds, such as ants, beetles, grasshoppers, and larvse, and
in season largely on the sweet, fig-like fruit of the sahuaras, the
giant cactus, and also, to a considerable extent, on the viscous berries
of a species of mistletoe which is commonly found on most of the
larger cottonwoods, oaks, and mesquite trees in these regions. These
sticky, whitish-looking berries are a favorite food of many Arizona
birds."
254 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAI^ MUSEUM
Mr. Gilman (1915) writes:
The food of tliis woodpecker is varied, nearly everything being grist that
comes to his mill. He pecks around decayed and dying trees as well as green
ones, and presumably get the insects usually found and eaten by such birds.
The giant cactus is pecked into very frequently, and I believe some of the pulp
is eaten. The small punctures made are not enlarged, and in some cases quite
an area is bitten into. The fruit of the giant cactus is eaten as long as it
lasts, and the berries of the Lycium are also freely eaten. The Gila wood-
pecker frequents corn fields, and pecks through the husks into the ears of corn.
The birds may peck in at first to get a worm, but it is a case similar to the
discovery of roast pig as portrayed by Lamb. They alight on the ground and
feed upon table scraps thrown to chickens, three of them being regular morn-
ing visitors, star boarders, to a pen of chickens I fed. They are very fond of
peaches and pears, and volubly resent being driven from a tree of the fruit.
They peck holes in ripening pomegranates and then the green fruit beetle helps
finish the fruit. They relish grapes, both white and colored, and will spear
one with their bill and carry it to a convenient crevice where it may be eaten
at leisure. On bird tables I have tried them with various articles of food
and found very little that they rejected. They would not eat cantaloupe at
all but were regular watermelon fiends, eating it three times a day and calling
for more. They did not care for oranges, and I had no success in trying to
teach them to eat ripe pickled olives. I tried the olive diet on them because
two Mocking-birds in our yard learned to eat this fruit. Meat, I'aw and cooked,
was eaten, and they ate suet greedily. Their favorite cut of beef was the
T-bone steak and we always left some meat on the bone for them. They
picked it clean, and if a new supply was slow in coming the softer parts of the
bone were devoured. * * * jyjj.. Frank Pinkley, custodian of the Casa
Grande Ruins told me of a pair of these woodpeckers that stayed around his
home and became quite tame, coming into the shed to drink from a can of
water. He said they got into the habit of sucking the eggs in the chicken
house, or at least pecking into them and eating of the contents. * * *
The Indians store corn in the ear on the flat tops of their houses and
sheds, * * * and each home has one or more of woodpecker retainers or
pensioners hanging about most of the time. This corn provides an abundant and
sure source of food, and the birds make the most of it. I have never seen any
indication of food-storage on the part of the Gila woodpecker, as with the Cali-
fornia Woodpecker, for they live in a claw-to-beak fashion. They peck at a
kernel until it comes off the cob, when it is carried to a post or tree and placed
firmly in a crack. Here it is pecked to pieces and eaten. They seem never
to swallow a kernel whole but always break it up.
W. L. Dawson (1923) says that tliis woodpecker indulges in "a sys-
tematic search for birds' eggs, especially those of the Lucy warbler,
yellow warbler, and Arizona Least Vireo. In case of the first-named,
the eggs are devoured in spite of the most emphatic protests of the
tiny parents; but eggs of Cardinal, Cooper Tanager and Towhee
must be obtained by stealth."
A. H. Anderson (1934) writes:
In the Tucson, Arizona, area a gall-insect {Pacliiipsijlla vcnusta) frequently
attacks the leaves of the hackberry tree (Celtis reticulata). The galls form
on the leaf petiole, becoming from a quarter to half an inch in diameter. During
the winter the outer shell hardens like a nut.
GILA WOODPECKER 255
I have often seen the Gila woodpeckers tear the galls loose from the twigs
and, flying to a fence post, proceed to chisel out the contents. The hard gall
is wedged into a crack on the post and then opened by repeated hammering.
Around the base of one fence post I counted nearly 300 empty shells. Some-
times cracks in nearby trees are used. At one time five of these woodpeckers
were seen in a single tree, all of them feeding on the galls.
Behavior. — The Gila woodpecker is not only the most abundant
woodpecker, in fact one of the most abundant birds, in the region it
inhabits, but it is more conspicuous, noisier, and more active than
any of its neighbors. It is always much in evidence, always protest-
ing the intrusion of a stranger, and shows the greatest concern when
its nest is approached, especially if it has young. It is a close sitter
and will often remain in the nest hole to peck viciously at an investi-
gating hand; while the nest is being robbed, it flits nervously about,
scolding vociferously with all the vile epithets it can muster. As to
its behavior with other species, Mr. Gilman (1915) writes:
This woodpecker has not the best disposition in the world, for he is very
quarrelsome and intolerant. He fights his own kin and all the neighbors that
he dares. He, or she, is a great bluffer however and when "called", frequently
side-steps, subsides, or backs out entirely. I saw one approach a Bendire
Thrasher that was eating, and suddenly pounce on him. He had the thrasher
down and I was thinking of offering my friendly services as a board of arbi-
tration, when the under bird crawled from beneath and soon gave the wood-
pecker the thrashing of his career. Several times I have seen the woodpeckers
start to attack Bendire and Palmer thrashers, but they were always bluffed
or beaten at the game. With the Bronzed Cowbirds it is a drawn battle, some-
times one and then the other backing down. Most other birds, such as Cardi-
nals, Abert Towhees, Dwarf Cowbirds and Cactus Wrens do not attempt to
assert their rights, but always take a rear seat. But when it is woodpecker
versus woodpecker it seems not to be a case of "Thrice armed is he who hath
his quarrel just", but rather, "Four times he who gets his blow in fust".
I had two bird tables about twenty feet apart, and frequently one wood-
pecker might be peacefully assimilating watermelon, when another one would
come hurrying up and make a dive at him, causing a retreat to the other table.
Frequently the new-comer would then follow and drive him from the second
table. He seemingly would rather fight than eat if another was eating at
the same time. One day I saw him, or her, I forget which, hanging to the edge
of the table busily eating steak, when another one perched on the table and
made a vicious stab at him. He dodged backward clear under the table, though
retaining his hold, and then bobbed up again, just like the Punch and Judy show.
The attack was renewed, and the dodging as well, but this time he did not
"come back". Another day one of them was at work on a piece of melon when
one of his fellows came and perched on the end of the table. The diner made
a pass at the new comer, and seizing him by the feathers of the neck held
him suspended over the end of the table for a few seconds.
Voice. — Major Bendire (1895) says: "Its ordinary call note, sound-
ing like 'dchiirr, dchiirr,' can be heard in all directions in the spring;
when flying from one point to another it usually utters a sharp, shrill
'liuit' two or three times, resembling the common call note of the
Phainopepla, and which may readily be mistaken for it. It is also
256 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
more or less addicted to drumming on the dead tops of cottonwood,
sycamore, and mesquite trees."
Mr. Oilman (1915) writes:
As a neighbor, the Gila Woodpeclser is permanently on the map, and is afraid
neither of being seen nor heard. He is much in the public ear with a variety of
notes and calls. His sociable conversational notes somewhat resemble those of
the California Woodpecker but are shriller. In such of his notes as are directed
at humanity there is a peevish complaining tone, especially if closely approached
when feeding on fruit or some other delicacy. In such cases there is only one
term that exactly describes his attitude and utterances, and that is the phrase
"belly-aching." In fact all of his talk at us has a distinctly "colicky" tone and
one feels like giving him something to whine about. His ordinary call slightly
resembles that of the Flicker but is not quite so loud; altogether he is quite a
conversationalist.
Field marhs. — The Gila woodpecker should be easily recognized as
a medium-sized woodpecker, about the size of a hairy woodpecker,
with a grayish-brown head, neck, and under parts and a back narrowly
barred with black and white; in flight a white patch shows in the
wing and basal half of the primaries, and the black and wliite barring
on the central tail feathers is rather conspicuous ; the red crown patch
of the male is conspicuous only at short range.
Fall. — This woodpecker is apparently somewhat given to wandering
in fall and spring, for W. E. D. Scott (1886) says that he does not see
it about his house, at an elevation of 4,500 feet in Pinal County, Ariz.,
in summer, but that it is rather common there in fall and spring.
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — Southwestern United States and western Mexico; nonmi-
gratory.
The range of the Gila woodpecker extends north to extreme south-
ern Nevada (Clark County) ; southern Arizona (Sacaton, Rock Can-
yon, and Tombstone) ; and southwestern New Mexico (Eed Rock
and probably Gila). East to New Mexico (probably Gila) ; eastern
Sonora (Fronteras, Boca de Huachy, and Nuri) ; southwestern Chi-
huahua (Batopilas) ; western Durango (Chacala) ; and western Zaca-
tecas (Calvillo). South to southwestern Zacatecas (Calvillo) ; and
Jalisco (Guadalajara, Santa Ano, and Rio Ameca). West to Jalisco
(Rio Ameca) ; Nayarit (Tepic and San Bias) ; southwestern Sinaloa
(Escuinapa, Labrados, and Mazatlan) ; Baja California (Cape San
Lucas, Santa Margarita Island, San Ignacio, Rosario, San Quintin,
Las Palmas, and the Alamo River) ; southeastern California (Cal-
exico, probably Brawley, Palo Verde, and Needles) ; and southern Ne-
vada (Clark County).
This species has been separated into three geographic races, or sub-
species. Typical G. u. uro'pygialis is the form found in that part of
CARDON WOODPECKER 257
the range lying in the United States, and this race also is the one found
in the western mainland of Mexico. The cardon woodpecker {G. u.
cardonensis) is found in the northern part of Baja California south
to about latitude 28° N. Brewster's woodpecker {G. u. hrewsteri)
occupies the cape district of Baja California north to San Ignacio and
including also Santa Margarita Island.
Egg dates. — Arizona: 26 records, April 7 to May 30; 13 records.
May 5 to 25, indicating the heiglit of the season,
Baja California: 10 records, April 21 to June 2.
CENTURUS UROPYGIALIS CARDONENSIS Grinnell
CARDON WOODPECKER
HABITS
In describing and naming this race, Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1927a)
says:
In its main characters similar to Centurus uropygialis uropygialis, but gen-
eral coloration much darker: whole head (except for red patch on crown) and
anterior lower surface strongly tinged with snuff brown rather than pale drab ;
and white barring on closed wings, tail, dorsum, rump, flanks, and lower tail
coverts, narrower, leaving the black-barring correspondingly broader. Similar
to C. u. hre^vsteri, but size larger, and coloration darker, in the same respects
though not to quite so great a degree as shown in comparison with uropygialis.
In other words, the new form differs from both the previously known races in
the deeper brown tinge of the head and lower surface and in the greater degree
of predominance of black over white in the barring.
He says of its range : "So far as now known, only the giant cactus
(cardon) association in the northern section of the Lower Cali-
fornian peninsula, from about latitude 30° to latitude 31°. Life-
zone, Lower Sonoran." The 1931 Check-list extends the range north-
ward "along the western rim of the Colorado Desert to about
latitude 32°."
A. W. Anthony (1895a) says of the haunts of this woodpecker
in Baja California: "The range of this species along the Pacific
slope is exactly coextensive with that of Cereus pringlei, becoming
common with that cactus a short distance below Rosario and seldom
if ever being seen at any distance from the shelter of its mighty
branches. At the mission, where the cardons were very large and
abundant, to within a short distance of the mesquite thickets, this
Woodpecker delighted in making frequent forays into the lesser
growth, spending hours in hammering on the mesquite trunks and
hunting through their branches, always beating a precipitate retreat
to the cactus on the hillsides above at the first sign of danger."
I can find nothing further of consequence published on the habits
of the cardon woodpecker, which doubtless do not differ materially
from those of its Arizona relative.
258 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
The eggs are similar to those of the Gila woodpecker. The meas-
urements of 11 eggs average 23.59 by 18.30 millimeters; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure 25.6 by 18.1, 24.5 by 19.8, 21.9
by 17.8, and 22.1 by 17.3 millimeters. Grilling Bancroft has a still
larger egg, which measures 26.4 by 21.8 millimeters.
CENTURUS UROPYGIALIS BREWSTERI Ridgway
BREWSTER'S WOODPECKER
HABITS
In the Cape region of Baja California, we find this local race,
which Kidgway (1914) describes as "similar to G. u. uropygialis but
smaller, with relatively (often absolutely) larger bill, bars on back,
etc., averaging decidedly narrower (the white ones about 1.5-2 mm.
wide), black bars on lower rump and upper tail-coverts narrower
or more numerous, and white bars on lateral rectrices as well as black
ones on inner web of middle rectrices narrower."
William Brewster (1902) says: "In the Cape Region the Gila
Woodpecker has apparently much the same distribution as Dry abates
lucasanus. Neither Mr. Belding nor Mr. Frazar found it in the
higher mountains, but both note its abundance throughout the low
country, and Mr. Frazar obtained many specimens at Triunfo which
is within the lower edge of the oak belt."
Grilling Bancroft (1930) referred the woodpeckers of this species
that he found breeding in central Lower California to this southern
race. Probably they are intermediate between this and cardonensis.
He says of it :
The most abundant bird of its order, ranging througliout the territory exam-
ined. It is to be found in the suburban gardens of Santa Rosalia, among the
palms of San Ignacio, and everywhere through the desert cactus belt. Its
favorite choice of a home is a site high in a candelebra cardon ; but it will also
nest, even when not driven by necessity, in palms and tree yucca.
Its breeding season is quite long, fresh eggs being found from the latter part
of April until well into June. The number laid is irregular. About half the
sets are of two, but there are four's and even five's. Sixteen eggs taken in the
vicinity of San Ignacio average 24.0 by 18.9 mm.
The birds are quite tame and often cannot be flushed. More than once, on
opening cavities, we have lifted an adult from eggs or young, or even from an
empty hole. Repeatedly a bird has been seen flying into a nest, either to feed
young or to go onto eggs, while people were standing at the foot of the tree.
When their homes are being examined the birds often approach within a few
feet to voice their protests. Such fearlessness is unusual on this desert.
SOUTHERN FLICKER 259
COLAPTES AURATUS AURATUS (Linnaeus)
SOUTHERN FLICKER
Plate 35
HABITS
Tlie tj^pe name auratus is now restricted to the flickers of the
South Atlantic and Gulf States, from North Carolina to southern
Florida and central Texas north to extreme southern Illinois and
Indiana, southeastern Missouri, and southeastern Kansas, because the
above Linnaean name was based on birds described by Catesby, which
belonged to the smaller southern race.
The habits of the southern flicker are so similar to those of the
northern flicker that the following account given for the northern
race will serve very well for both. It is a common bird, widely dis-
tributed and well known throughout its range. In Florida we found
it rather partial to open, burned-over tracts in the flat pine woods,
nesting in the charred stiunps, but it was also common in more open
country in thinly settled regions, where we often found it nesting in
isolated trees or dead stubs of palmettos or pines.
W. J. Erichsen (1920) says of its haunts in Chatham County, Ga. :
"Wherever there are areas of cut-over lands on which remain an
abundance of dead trees this species will be found in large numbers.
At all seasons it exhibits a preference for open pine barrens, but,
particularly during the breeding season, is occasionally met with
about the edges of swamps if they contain suitable nesting sites. It
is abundant on all of the wooded islands, particularly Ossabaw
island, where I observed it in large numbers in May, 1915. Here it
is oftenest seen in the woods close to the salt marsh or adjoining the
beach, apparently not frequenting in any numbers the more heavily
forested interior of the island."
Nesting. — Capt. H. L. Harllee writes to me that southern flickers
raise two broods in a season in South Carolina and are not very
particular as to their nesting sites. They nest in holes of their own
excavation in dead trees of many species, 3 to 100 feet from the
ground, either in thick woods or in a lone dead tree in an open cul-
tivated field; they also nest in natural cavities in trees. He found
one pair of these birds nesting in a hole made by fire in an old
burned-out stump; the cavity was about two feet deep and eight
inches in diameter; "the opening was slightly arched over with
grass growing around it; a small quantity of pine straw was the
only lining."
Arthur H. Howell (1932) says: "The nests are placed in pines,
oaks, cabbage palms, or other trees, at heights varying from a few
feet to 60 feet above the ground. At Ponce Park, in May, 1925,
260 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
I observed a Flicker using a hole in a palmetto pile under the dock
on the shore of the Halifax River, only 2 feet above the salt water
at high tide. Nicholson found a nest 12 inches above the ground in
a sawed-off stump of a palmetto on a ditch bank."
Alexander Sprunt, Jr. (1931), mentions a concentration of hole-
nesting birds in a tree in a yard in Beaufort, S. C; the tree meas-
ured only 20 feet in height and contained nests of two pairs of
flickers, and one nest each of crested flycatcher, screech owl, and
downy woodpecker. "All five cavities were contained in a radius of
ten feet, and four were within six feet of each other."
A. F. Ganier (1926) writes:
While in the suburbs of Chattanooga, Tennessee, last spring, I noticed a
Flicker engaged in what appeared to be a hopeless task in the way of nest
excavation. An iron water tank, supported by steel columns forty feet high,
was fed by a large iron pipe through its bottom, and, to keep this pipe from
freezing in winter, it had been encased with a plank shaft two feet square
that was filled with cedar sawdust. Our friend Colaptes auratus had evidently
sounded the boards, and, sensing easy digging, had drilled a hole in the mid-
dle of one side about thirty feet up. When espied, he was enthusiastically
pitching out quantities of sawdust, which I presume caved in about as fast
as he dug, but during the half hour I was engaged near by there was no let
up in the work. About a month later I was again in the vicinity and made
it a point to go by the tank. On the ground below the hole was at least a
bushel of sawdust, and in a few minutes I had the pleasure of seeing a
Flicker enter the hole with food in its mouth, presumably to feed the young
that had come to reward his perseverance.
Eggs. — The southern flicker lays five to ten eggs, ordinarily, but
shares with its northern relative its reputation as a prolific egg
layer; it will continue to lay again and again after being robbed, as
many as 30 or 40 eggs and often three or four sets. The eggs are
similar to those of the northern flicker, except for a slight difference
in size. The measurements of 44 eggs from South Carolina average
28.57 by 22.01 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes
measure 30.15 by 24.56 and 24.13 by 20.32 millimeters. These seem
to run larger than eggs from farther north.
In all other respects, the habits of the southern flicker are similar
to those of the species elsewhere, w^ith due allowance for the differ-
ence in environment. Two items of interest, however, are worth
quoting. Charles R. Stockard (1904) writes from Mississippi:
On April IS a burrow of a Flicker containing only one fresh egg was found.
The egg was not disturbed. When visiting the nest again on April 28 a flying
squirrel was found in possession. On my arrival the bird was at the entrance
of the burrow peering in at the intruder. It was supposed that the squirrel
was eating the eggs, but on examining the nest it was found to contain one
spoilt egg. The squirrel had then probably been in possessioii for the ten days
since the nest was observed, so the bird had been unable to enter and lay.
* * * Tlie Flicker must then have remained about her nest for this lengtli
of time, and as soon as the squirrel was removed she iigain took charge. On
SOUTHERN FLICKER 261
visiting the nest May 5, seven days later, it contained seven fresh eggs and
the old one that had been left. * * * This was undoubtedly a case of
discontinuous laying unless she had dropped her eggs on the ground while
the squirrel was occupying the nest.
Mrs. Sanford Duncan (1932), of Nashville, Tenn., tells an interest-
ing story of a flicker that was captured by a bullsnake. She heard a
great commotion among the birds in her yard and went out to in-
vestigate the cause of the excitement. "The Flickers were leading the
battle, dashing and darting at a bundle of something on the ground.
Closer inspection with field glasses showed it was a snake, all tied
up in a curious knot. He was too big for me to attack with the hoe
I had, so I shot into the 'bundle' with a shotgun. As if by magic
the snake flung himself into the air and fell, straightened out, over
five feet long, and disclosed a full-grown Flicker that he had wrapped
himself around many times. The Flicker was still alive, but died
very shortly, probably from the gunshot that killed the bullsnake."
Lester W. Smith writes to me that he watched a southern flicker
digging white grubs out of a lawn and killing them by repeated blows
and shaking; meantime a loggerhead shrike was attempting to rob
the flicker of its prey.
DISTRIBUTION
Bange.— North America, chiefly east of the Kocky Mountains, and
from the limit of trees south to the Gulf coast.
Breeding range. — The breeding range of the flicker extends north
to Alaska (Circle) ; northwestern Mackenzie (probably Fort Mc-
Pherson, Fort Anderson, McVicar Bay, Fort Eae, and Hill Island
Lake) ; northern Saskatchewan (Eeindeer Lake) ; northern Manitoba
(probably Lake Du Brochet and Fort Churchill) ; Ontario (Lac Seul
and probably Moose Factory) ; Quebec (probably Fort George, prob-
ably Lake Mistassini, Godbout, and Mingan Island) ; and Labrador
(Cartwright). From this northeastern point the range extends
southward through Newfoundland, along the Atlantic coast to Key
West, Fla. The southern limits of nesting are the Gulf coasts of
Florida and Alabama, thence in the interior to Louisiana (St. Fran-
cisviUe and Genoa) ; and Oklahoma (Okmulgee and Norman). West
lo Oklahoma (Norman) ; central Kansas (Harper, Hay, and Stock-
ton) ; Nebraska (Red Cloud, Alda, and Chadron) ; eastern Wyoming
(Midwest and Newcastle) ; Montana (Terry, Fairview, and Great
Falls) ; Alberta (Morrin, Henry House, and Lesser Slave Lake) ;
nortliwestern British Columbia (Telegraph Creek and Atlin) ; Yukon
(Caribou Crossing and Selkirk) ; and eastern Alaska (Circle). This
species, more or less crossed with the red-shafted flicker {Colaptes c.
coUaris), also is found occasionally in eastern Colorado (Hallvale,
Denver, and Fort Morgan).
262 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Winter range. — During the winter season the flicker is found with
more or less regularity north to southeastern South Dakota (Yank-
ton, Vermillion, and Sioux Falls) ; southern Minnesota (Hutchinson
and Minneapolis) ; southern Wisconsin (North Freedom and Mil-
waukee) ; southern Michigan (Kalamazoo, Jackson, Ann Arbor, and
Detroit) ; southern Ontario (Plover Mills, Hamilton, and Toronto) ;
New York (Rochester, Syracuse, and Rhinebeck) ; and rarely Maine
(Waterville) . From this point it is found south along the Atlantic
coast to southern Florida (St. Lucie and Fort Myers). The south-
ern limits of the winter range are found on the Gulf coast from Flor-
ida (Fort Myers) to Texas (Brownsville). West to Texas (Browns-
ville, San Antonio, San Angelo, and Abilene) ; central Oklahoma
(Norman, Oklahoma City, and Tonkawa) ; Kansas (Wichita and
rarely Hay) ; Nebraska (Red Cloud and North Loup) ; and south-
eastern South Dakota (Yankton). It also has been taken or observed
at this season north to southern Saskatchewan (Eastend) ; Quebec
(Montreal) ; New Brunswick (St. John) ; and Nova Scotia (Bridge-
town).
The range as outlined is for the entire species, of which two sub-
species are currently recognized. The typical form, known as the
southern flicker {C. a. awatus), is found from southern Florida and
Texas north to southeastern Kansas, southeastern Missouri, southern
Illinois and Indiana, and North Carolina. It probably is non-
migratory. The rest of the range is occupied by the northern flicker
{C. a. luteus).
Spring migration. — Early dates of arrival in regions north of the
winter range as outlined, are: Nova Scotia — Wolfville, March 26;
Halifax, April 7. New Brunswick — Scotch Lake, April 5; Grand
Manan, April 12. Quebec — Quebec City, April 27 ; Godbout, May 2 ;
Paradise, June 5. North Dakota — Fargo, March 29 ; Charlson, March
30; Grand Forks, April 2. Manitoba — ^Winnipeg, March 30; Alex-
ander, April 14; Raeburn, April 15. Saskatchewan — Eastend, April
3 ; McLean, April 3. Wyoming — Cheyenne, April 7 ; Laramie, April
12. Montana — Great Falls, April 1; Terry, April 4; Jackson, April
14. Alberta — Banff, April 4; Flagstaff, April 13; Edmonton, April
17. Mackenzie — Fort Simpson, May 4; Fort Reliance, May 2.
Alaska — Fairbanks, April 25; Fort Yukon, May 1.
Fall migration. — Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska —
Wrangell, October 11; Craig, October 21. Mackenzie — near Mc Vicar
Bay, September 10 ; Great Slave Lake, September 11 ; Fort Simpson,
October 16. Alberta — Lac La Biche, September 25; Glenevis, Octo-
ber 2; Calgary, October 10. Montana — Bozeman, September 24;
Saskatchewan — Eastend, October 14. Manitoba — Alexander, October
22 ; Aweme, October 27. North Dakota— Arlington, October 19 ; Ar-
gusville, October 21 ; Fargo, October 21. Northern Michigan— Sault
SOUTHERN FLICKER 263
Ste. Marie, October 24. Quebec — Montreal, November 25. New
Brunswick — St. John, November 5 ; Scotch Lake, November 22. Nova
Scotia — ^Wolfville, November 19.
The records of flickers that have been banded and subsequently
recovered throv\^ much light upon the migrations of this species. In
the files of the Biological Survey there are long series of cases where
birds banded at their nests in the northern parts of the breeding
range (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Michigan, New York, and
Massachusetts) have returned to the same point one to four years
later. These birds probably all belonged to the subspecies lideus.
Similarly, similar data also are available for areas (Missouri, Ken-
tucky, Tennessee, and Florida) wdthin the range of C. a. auratus^
wdiich probably is nonmigratory.
Definite migrations of individual banded birds are indicated by
the records of flickers banded in Saskatchewan and recovered in
Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas; banded in Missouri and recovered
in Texas; banded in Iowa and recovered in Louisiana; banded in
South Dakota and recovered in Arkansas and Oklahoma (4) ; banded
in Illinois and recovered in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas
(2), and Louisiana (3); banded in Indiana and recovered in Mis-
sissippi ; banded in Michigan and recovered in Arkansas and Louisi-
ana; banded in Ohio and recovered in Alabama and Mississippi;
banded in Pennsylvania and recovered in Georgia; and banded in
Nova Scotia and recovered in North Carolina,
Casual records. — In southern British Columbia a specimen was
collected at Sumas on April 8, 1903, and two were seen at Vernon
on December 26, 1906 ; a specimen was taken at Orcas Island, Wash.,
on October 15, 1907 ; one was collected at Blaine, Oreg., on November
3, 1921; and one was taken at Cliff Spring, Nev., on September 29,
1931. There are several records for California as follows: Furnace
Creek, April 12, 1917; St. Geronimo, December 18, 1893, and Janu-
ary 14, 1895; Point Lobos, December 14, 1934; Los Angeles, Febru-
ary 20, 1901; San Diego, December 4, 1931; and Eldridge, January
4, 1913.
At least four occurrences well north of the breeding; rano-e in
Alaska have been recorded: St. George Island, fall of 1904; Cape
Etolin, September 14, 1927; Wainwright, a specimen in 1924; and
Cape Halkett, in the fall of 1927.
A specimen was collected on Okpatok Island in Hudson Strait
in October 1882, one was taken in Sandwich B;iy in August 1908,
and a specimen has been reported from Cape Wolstenholme on the
Ungava Peninsula. The species also has been recorded from Ber-
muda where at least one specimen was collected in 1871.
Egg dates. — Arctic America : 6 records, June 3 to 16.
264 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Florida: 18 records, March 25 to July 18; 9 records, April 16 to
May 18, indicating the height of the season.
Illinois: 22 records, April 30 to May 30; 11 records, May 13 to 21.
Michigan : 16 records, April 17 to June 24 ; 8 records, May 12 to 30.
New York: 15 records. May 13 to June 15 ; 8 records. May 25 to 29,
COLAPTES AURATUS LUTEUS Bangs
NORTHERN FLICKER
Plate 36
HABITS
I can remember as clearly as if it were only yesterday my boyish,
enthusiastic admiration for this beautiful bird, though it was between
50 or 60 years ago that my father first showed me a freshly killed
flicker. I was simply entranced with the softly blended browns, the
red crescent on the head, the black crescent and bold spotting on the
breast, and, above all, with the golden glow in the wings and tail.
Few birds combine such charming colors and pleasing contrasts. I
have never lost my admiration for it, and still consider it one of
nature's gems.
It, and its close relative, the red-shafted flicker, together are widely
distributed over nearly all the wooded regions of North America.
Consequently it is widely Imown and over most of its range is a com-
mon and familiar species. Its prominence and popularity are attested
by the long list of vernacular names by which it is locally known.
Franklin L. Burns (1900), in his monograph of the species, lists 123
such names ; and later he adds nine more, bringing the list up to 132
names. These are far too many to be quoted here, and many of them
are "very local or very slight orthographical or cacographical vari-
ants." I have always loved our local name "partridge woodpecker,"
suggestive of my boyhood days, when flickers, meadowlarks, and robins
were considered legitimate game. But now the name yellow-shafted
flicker seems appropriate to distinguish it from the red-shafted flicker.
The haunts of the flicker are almost everywhere in open country or
lightly wooded regions ; it can hardly be called a forest-loving species,
though I have often found it nesting in more or less extensive decidu-
ous woods; its favorite haunts during the summer seem to be in the
rural districts among the farms, orchards, and scattered woodlots ; it
seems to be at home, also, in villages and small towns, and even in some
of the smaller cities, where spacious grounds and gardens provide suit-
able surroundings. In fall and winter it is more apt to wander about
in open woodlands, fields, and meadows or seek shelter in coniferous
woods or swamps.
Spring. — ^Although many flickers remain all winter in the Northern
States, there is a decided spring migration of the great bulk of north-
NORTHERN FLICKER 265
ern-bred birds that have wintered in tlie Southern States. These
birds gather in flocks during the late winter, and the northward move-
ment starts with the first mild weather, the migration being largely
performed during the night. Mr. Burns (1900) says that at Berwyn,
Pa., the forerunners, consisting of solitary old males, appear "as early
as Feb. 2 or as late as April 6, according to the promises of the season,
correlating in a measure with the date at which the first frog is heard
peeping. * * *
"It becomes common soon after the liardy willow has unfolded its
leaves, and about the time the fragrant spicewood blossoms, when the
ants, spiders and beetles become active once more, and just in the
height of the arbutus season. The northward movement is far from
being steady or regular, being largely governed by weather condi-
tions; Mr. Burns calculates from his mass of data that the average
distance traveled daily is about 12 miles, ''varying according to season
and weather conditions from 7 to 48 miles per night. It is absolutely
certain that it does not move steadily night after night, but only as
the weather permits or necessitates and its physical condition allows."
Flickers often migrate in companies of considerable size, in loose,
scattered flocks, noisy and active, flying from tree to tree and calling
excitedly. Their arrival is announced by the loud challenge-call, given
from the top of some tall tree, luicker^ luicker^ laicker^ or wake-up^
wake-up^ vmhe-up^ as the male challenges his rivals or invites his pro-
spective mate to join him in courtship. This, one of the most welcome
sounds of early spring, is indeed a call to "wake up," for all nature
is awakening, buds are swelling on the trees, verdure is appearing in
the woods and fields, the early flowers are beginning to blossom, the
hylas are peei^ing in the warming pools, insects are becoming active,
and the songs of the early birds announce that spring is here. An-
other spring sound soon strikes our ears, a loud, far-reaching, vibrant
sound, the long, almost continuous roll of the flicker's drumming,
another challenge-call, a preliminary of the courtship performance;
at frequent intervals, often repeated over a long period in early morn-
ing, he beats his loud tattoo on some hollow, resonant limb.
Courtship. — The courtship of the flicker is a lively and spectacular
performance, noisy, full of action, and often ludicrous, as three or more
birds of both sexes indulge in their comical dancing, nodding, bowing,
and swaying motions, or chase eacli other around the trunk or through
the branches of a tree. From the time of Audubon to the present day,
many observers have noted and described the curious antics of this
star performer. But I prefer to quote first from some extensive notes
recently contributed by Francis H. Allen, as follows : "The courtship of
the flicker is an elaborate and somewhat puzzling performance. Two
birds face each other on the branch of a tree or cling side by side,
though at a little distance apart, on the trunk, and spread their tails
90801—39 18
266 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
and jerk tlieir heads about in a sort of weaving motion, frequently
uttering a note that is j)eculiar to this performance, a wick-wp or week-
up. The head motion is a series of backward jerks with the bill point-
ing up at an angle of perhaps 60° and the head at the same time
swinging from side to side. Sometimes a short, low wuck is uttered
from time to time during the performance. These bouts occur not
only between male and female, but frequently between two males
or two females.
"In April 1934, for more than a week I saw a trio of flickers about
my house. Invariably the two females went through courtship antics
together, while the male fed on the ground nearby, apparently com-
pletely indifferent to them. One of the females was much more active
than the other, which usually kept a stiff pose with head drawn in,
only occasionally responding with feeble head-waggings. At no time
did the active female use any other disf)lay than the head-wagging,
and there was never any suggestion of combat or intimidation.
"A year later, 1935, the flickers near my house behaved differently.
In the afternoon of April 24, the two males were singing loudly and
frequently in the woods, about an eighth of a mile away and at some
distance apart. By singing I mean, of course, the prolonged laughing
call of wick-wick-uyick^ etc. Presently they stopped singing, and one
flew toward the other, stopping about halfway. Very soon the other
joined him, and a long period of posturing and wick-up-mg ensued.
Both birds had the black mustaches of the male. The posturing was
the regular 'weaving' of the head and the fanning of the tail. The
notes, after the first at least, were much subdued in tone. There were
frequent intervals of quiet. The birds kept close together most of the
time, often with heads only tvvo or three inches apart, or perhaps less.
They flitted about frequently, sometimes clinging to the trunk of an
oak, sometimes perched on a horizontal branch, and once or twice they
alighted on the stems of underbrush. After a long period of postur-
ing, they met in a momentary tilt, and presently there was another
clash after more posturing, then a third clash, and after that they
separated. The same bird was the aggressor in at least two of the
clashes. As often in such encounters, the attacked bird stood his
ground and the attacker veered off. It was very mild warfare, if it
was really serious at all.
"Two days after the bout of the two males, I saw two females
engaged in the dance in one of our pear trees. It lasted only a few
minutes, and I heard no notes. Not long after the dance of the two
females a prolonged 'sexual flight' took place. It lasted five or ten
minutes, as nearly as I could tell, with a few short intervals of resting.
I could at no time determine the sexes of the two birds thus engaged,
but occasionally a snatch of faint song was heard (wick-ivick-ioick) ,
and I assume that they were male and female. They flew rather slowly
NORTHERN FLICKER 267
and kept only a few feet apart. It was evident that the spacing
was intentional and that the pursuer made no attempt to catch up
with the other. The flight covered a territory of several acres. It
was a graceful and interesting performance.
"I supposed at the time that this sexual flight indicated that the
affair Avas completed, but later that afternoon I several times saw
a male and two females together, the females posturing and wick-up-
ing, the male motionless. The females showed no enmity toward
each other and did not face each other, as the males of two days
before did. They kept rather farther apart. At one time a second
male appeared and stayed about for a time, but he disappeared,
apparently without becoming a serious factor in the situation.
"Three days later a pair of flickers, male and female, were feeding
peacefully together on the lawn in the morning and in the afternoon,
and I judged that the marital arrangements of at least two of my
flickers had been completed."
More active courtship on the part of a female flicker is thus de-
scribed in some notes from Lewis O. Shelley : "On April 24, co-
incident with a male flicker's message from the elm stub, a female
and a second male appeared. All three were later in the cherry tree
by our garden, perched on branches some three feet apart. The
female took the initiative in the following activities and, perched
crosswise of the branch, often bobbed and ducked up and down, then
crosswise of the branch jerked to left, right, left, right, head cocked
erect and with tail fully spread. At times the males, less actively,
did likewise, but for the most part perched noncommittally, silent and
still, giving but few calls. At one time, after the female had dis-
played intermittently several times, and when the males had been
still for some five miiuites, she sidled up to the nearest male and
again displayed with much wing-fluttering and tail-spreading and
sidewise twitchings; then the same to the other male who flew when
her actions of bobbing and bowing face to face commenced. Not to
be outdone, or so affronted, she flew after him, then the second male
followed."
C. W. Leister (1919) noticed an aerial courtship evolution of the
flicker, of which he says: "When first noticed, he was about fifty
feet from the ground and ascending in peculiar, bumpy, and jerky
spirals. This was maintained until a height of about 350-400 feet
was reached, when, after a short pause, a reverse of practically the
same performance was gone through. The Flicker {Colaptes auratus
luteus), for as such he was identified by this time, then alighted in a
cherry tree, just above a female that we had previously failed to
notice, and completed the performance by going through his more
familiar courting antics."
268 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
A recrudescence of the amatory instinct is sometimes seen in fall.
On September 22, 1933, a clear, warm morning, a pair of flickers,
male and female, were watched for some time as they performed
their courtship dance on the top of one of my chimneys, where there
might have been some warmth remaining from a fire that had since
died out. They danced around on all four sides of the chimney,
always facing each other, both of them bowing and swaying the
head and neck, or whole body, from side to side, with the neck ex-
tended and the bill pointing alm.ost straight upward. Sometimes
they stopped for a few seconds, holding the upright posture, or one
performed while the other posed. There was no wing or tail display
that I could see. Lewis O. Shelley tells me that he has seen flickers
in courtship display while the young were just leaving the nest.
Nesting. — Soon after mating is accomplished the choice for a nest-
ing site is made, and often the selection is made during courtship,
especially if a nesting cavity of the previous year is to be used.
Probably the female usually makes the final decision, though there
is some evidence to indicate that in many cases the male selects the
site and persuades his mate to accept it.
Miss Althea R. Sherman (1910) made some very thorough studies
of the nesting habits of the northern flicker at National, Iowa, in
some boxes so arranged on her barn that she could observe the home
life of the birds at close range. The male and the female had been
occupying two different boxes as roosting places, and the eggs were
laid in the box occupied by the male, from which it became evident
"that the male bird chose the nesting place, and persuaded his mate
to lay her eggs there, even when she was inclined to nest elsewhere,
and when she had a box quite as good as his."
Often the male "stakes out his claim," so to speak, in the vicinity
of an old nest, where, during the courtship period, he utters his
loud mating call for several days, or even weeks, before the female
answers the invitation. Then, after mating is accomplished, his
chosen mate may or may not accept his choice of a nesting site. The
desirability of the nesting site may in such cases influence the female's
choice of a mate, for she is as much interested in having a com-
fortable and safe home as in choosing a handsome husband.
Having chosen the site, the pair set about repairing the old cavity
or excavating a new one, at which both birds work diligently for any-
where from a week to three weeks, depending on the conditions they
find. Mr. Shelley tells me that, in his experience with several nests,
rhe nesting cavity is completed from a week to a fortnight before
the eggs are laid. The chips are usually, but not alv/ays, carried
away to some distance from the nest tree, but often chips are merely
scattered about the base of the tree. William Brewster (1936) gives
NORTHERN FLICKER 269
the following account of rather peculiar behavior of a flicker while
excavating its nest:
Found a Flicker at work excavating a hole in an apple-tree in Bensen's
orchard. I was passing the tree within six feet when I heard a low tapping,
accompanied by a continuous muffled whining sound. Turning, I at once saw
the bird's tail projecting from the hole, which was not over five feet above
the ground. For a minute or more the pecking and whining continued unin-
terniptedly, the tail wriggling violently the while. Evidently the bird had
carried in the hole to just that point where she had less room to work than
she had had before or would have afterwards. In other words, she had just
about reached the point where the entrance hole must begin to be expanded
into a chamber and to turn downward. It seemed to me that the whining sound
expressed rage or impatience. Perhaps it was the Flicker's form of swearing !
The northern flicker seems to show no very decided preference
for any one species of tree in its choice of a nesting site, though I
believe it does prefer a dead tree, or a dead stub on a living tree, or
a tree that has a soft or partially decayed heart. It has always
seemed to me that in New England we find more nests in large apple
trees in old orchards than elsewhere, the nest being excavated in the
main trunk, or large upright branch, at no great height from the
ground. Such trees may have a hard outer shell, but the interior is
often more or less soft. Old orchards are becoming scarce in my
vicinity, which forces the flickers to look elsewhere. Next in im-
portance here as a common nesting site is the trunk or stub of a dead
white pine tree. Mr. Burns (1900) mentions one dead pine "per-
forated with 25 or 30 holes, most of which were in use at one time
or another." He lists, as favorite trees in the Middle and Eastern
States, "apple, sycamore, oak, butternut, cherry, elm, chestnut, maple,
poplar, beech, ash, pine, hickory, etc." In Pennsylvania, he says that
J. Warren Jacobs has "found the sycamore to be the favorite, with
the apple and maple second, the beech and locust third, oak and
cherry fourth, and all other varieties fifth."
Mr. Burns continues: "From Ohio westward the apple orchard
is a favorite with the poplar, willow, maple, oak, elm, walnut, cot-
tonwood, etc., more or less resorted to, according to availability. It
very seldom nests in a living coniferous tree, though it has been
known to nest in a living red cedar and in dead hemlocks and spruces."
Telegraph, telephone, and other tall poles, as well as fenceposts,
are favorite nesting sites in the prairie regions and other parts of
the West, where trees are scarce. Frank L. Farley writes to me that
in the timbered country of northern Alberta, "where there are many
suitable nesting trees and stubs, the telephone and telegraph poles
are frequently used for nesting. These poles are usually cedar and
it is assumed that the birds prefer these for nesting, because of the
ease with which they can excavate."
270 BULLETIISr 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Flickers quite often nest in boxes erected for that purpose and
in buildings, much to the annoyance of the owners. I have frequently-
seen nests in icehouses ; these have double walls, the intervening space
being filled with sawdust; the birds drill through the outer walls
and make their nests in the sawdust. The cornices and walls of
many buildings on the farms, as well as the towers of churches and
schoolhouses, are perforated, and the eggs laid on the beams or
boarding within. Mr. Burns (1900) records the following interesting
case: •
Mr. Burke H. Sinclair found a nest containing eggs in the garret of the
town high school. The birds obtained entrance to this large three-story brick
building by means of a displaced brick. As in all infloored lofts it consists
of nothing but the parallel rafters, with attached lath and plaster, which forms
the ceiling of the room below. This frail floor is about ten inches below the
entrance hole, and the nest was situated about one foot from and directly
in front of the entrance. The place had evidently been used for several years,
there being at least a peck of wood chippings, some fresh, but a large quantity old
and discolored with age. The nest was placed between two of the parallel
rafters and composed of these chippings, being about six inches thick by eighteen
inches in diameter. This material had been all cut from the rafters on the
floor and the roof overhead.
A number of other unusual nesting sites have been recorded.
F. A. E. Starr tells me of a nest that "was in an old stump two
feet high; the six eggs were on a bed of rotten wood at ground
level." Dr. Jonathan Dwight, Jr. (1893), reports a nest that he
found on Prince Edward Island ; the "nest with fully fledged young
was examined in tlie top of a hollow fence post. No excavation had
been made by the bird, and the young were entirely exposed to the
weather." Flickers occasionally nest in natural cavities in trees,
where no excavation is needed beyond enlarging the opening, if neces-
sary, or cleaning out the interior. Ned Hollister (1918) reports that
a pair of flickers and a pair of house wrens nested in holes in an
old stump in a lion's cage in the National Zoological Park in Wash-
ington. Mr. Burns (1900) writes: "It has been found breeding far
out on the prairie in an old wagon hub, surrounded by weeds; also
in barrels, and one instance of an excavation of the regulation size
in a hay stack is on record ; another nested in a crevice of an unused
chimney for several years; and stranger yet it has been found more
than once occupying Kingfisher's and enlarged Bank Swallow's
burrows."
The haystack nest is reported by Major Bendire (1895), on the
authority of William A. Bryant, of New Sharon, Iowa, as follows :
On a small hill, a quarter of a mile distant from my home, stood a haystack
which had been placed there two years previously. The owner, during the
winter of 1889-90, had cut the stack through the middle and hauled away
one portion, leaving the other standing with the end smoothly trimmed. The
following spring I noticed a pair of yellow-shafted flickers about the stack
NORTHERX FLICKER 271
showing signs of wanting to make it a fixed habitation. One morning a few
days later I was amused at the efforts of one of the pair. It was clinging to
the perpendicular end of the stack and throwing out chipped hay at a rate
to defy competition. This work continued for nearly a week, and in that
time the pair had excavated a cavity 20 inches in depth. The entrance was
located 8V2 feet above ground, and was 2Y2 inches in diameter and dug back
into the stack for 6 inches, where it turned sharply downward and was
slightly enlarged at the bottom. On May 28 I took a handsome set of seven
eggs from the nest, the eggs lying on a bed of chipped hay. The birds lingered
about the stack and by June 14 had deposited another set of eggs. * * *
I never could quite understand the philosophy of their peculiar choice of this
site, as woodland is abundant here. A well-timbered creek bottom was less
than half a mile distant, while large orchards and groves surround the place
on every hand.
Kumlien and HoUister (1903) and J. A. Farley (1901) record
instances of flickers nesting on hay; in each case the birds bored
a hole through the walls of a barn and laid their eggs in a hollow
in a pile of hay near the entrance hole. William Brewster (1909)
published an account of a flicker's nest on the open ground, found by
some ladies on Cape Cod and seen by him. Beside a sandy road,
"fully a quarter of a mile from the nearest house and bordered on
both sides by dense woods of pitch pines, the ladies found five eggs
of the Flicker lying together in a hollo^v in the ground wdthin a few
feet of the deeply rutted wagon track." The nest "was a circular,
saucer-shaped depression, measuring 21% inches across the top, by
3 inches in depth. Dry yellowish sand mixed with fine gravel and
wholly free from vegetation of any kind, living or dead, formed its
bottom and the gently sloping sides, as well as the surface of the
level ground about it for two or three yards in every direction, but
a little further back there were weeds and grasses growing sparingly,
in slightly richer soil." Photographs of two nests similarly located
may be seen in Bird-Lore, volume 18, page 399, and volume 36, page
105.
Mr. Burns's data show that the height of the nest from the gi'ound
varies in middle and eastern States from 2 to 60 feet, and in central
western States from ground level to 90 feet. His accumulated data
on the measurements of nesting cavities show that the depth of the
excavation is "greatest in Ne-sv York and Ne^v England (10 to 36
inches), Illinois (14 to 24 inches), Pennsylvania (10 to 18 inches),
and Minnesota (9 to 18 inches)." Probably the depth of the cavity
depends on the quality of the wood and the age of the nest ; when an
old cavity is used, it is usually deepened somewhat. Dr. H. C. Ober-
holser (1896) gives the measurements of four Ohio nests; the total
depth varied from 7 to 18 inches ; the diameter of the entrance varied
from 2.00 by 2.00 to 4.00 by 4.00 and averaged 2.94 by 2.72 inches.
Mr. Burns (1900) says the diameter of the cavity near the bottom
varies from 4.50 to 10.00, and averages 7.67 inches. No nesting mate-
272 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
rial is taken in from outside, but enough fine cliips are left in the
bottom of the hole to make a soft bed, in which the eggs are partially
buried. Carl W. Buchheister tells me that he once found a nest "the
bottom of which was 6 inches below the ground level and 12 inches
below the opening, a round hole which was 6 inches above the ground.
There was but one egg."
Eggs. — The flicker is notorious as a prolific egg layer, but under
ordinary circumstances, when not disturbed, the average set consists
of six to eight eggs. Incubated sets of as few as three or four have
been found, sets of nine and ten are not very rare, and as many as
17 have been found in a nest at one time ; the large numbers may be
products of two females. Mr. Burns (1900) records the contents of
169 sets of the northern flicker as 11 sets of four, 16 sets of five, 35
sets of six, 34 sets of seven, 38 sets of eight, 17 sets of nine, 13 sets of
ten, 3 sets of twelve, and one each of thirteen and fourteen. Major
Bendire (1895) states that Steward Ogilby, of Staten Island, N. Y.,
reports "finding a brood of not less than nineteen young Flickers in
one nest, all alive and ai3parently in good condition."
If robbed of its eggs, the flicker will continue to lay new sets for
a long time. Dr. Barton W. Evermann (1889) "obtained thirty-seven
eggs in forty-nine days from a 'yellowhammer' which had its nest
near my house. The eggs were in seven sets, five, five, five, six, seven,
four, and five eggs respectively." J. Parker Norris (1888) took five
sets of six eggs each from a nest in Pennsylvania between May 16
and June 18. Several other similar cases of persistent laying have
been reported, all of which indicate that an egg is laid each day and
that the birds begin at once to replace the lost set. Mr. Burns (1900)
lists a number of such cases, where no nest ^^g w-as left to induce the
bird to keep on laying; the largest number rej)orted w^as 48 eggs in
65 days. My neighbor, Charles L. Phillips, tried the experiment of
taking one ^g'g each day, leaving one as a nest ^g'g\ he holds the
extraordinary record of having taken 71 eggs from one nest in 73 days ;
the poor bird rested only two days in the long strain of over two
months.
Eggs of the flicker have sometimes been found in the nests of other
birds. In an old orchard, not far from my home, I once found a
flicker's ^g'g in a bluebird's nest, with five eggs of the latter; and in
another cavity in the same tree was a tree swallow's nest containing
five eggs of the swallow and an egg of the flicker. As this was in a
remote locality, it is hardly likely that the eggs were placed there
artificially, and the chances are that the flicker's nest had been de-
stroyed and she was forced to lay in the nearest available cavity.
Mr. Burns (1900) says : "A similar instance is recorded by E. G. Elliot,
Bradford, Mass., May 10th, '84, of a set of five eggs of bluebird and
one of flicker, nest of grass and feathers. Records of European house
NORTHERN FLICKER 273
sparrow and red-headed woodpecker eggs in freshly excavated quarters
with one or more eggs of the Flicker are not uncommon, and upon
investigation the latter proved to be the aggrieved party in every
instance." He also tells of a flicker that laid an egg in a mourning
dove's nest.
The eggs of the flicker are pure lustrous white, with a brilliant
gloss; the shell is translucent, and, when fresh, the yolk shows
through it, suffusing the egg with a delicate pinkish glow, which is
very beautiful.
The shape is quite variable, but the majority are ovate; some are
short-ovate or elliptical-ovate, some nearly oval, and some rarely
somewhat pointed. The measurements of 57 eggs average 26.85 by
20.58 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure
30.48 by 22.86, 28.19 by 24.38, 24.45' by 21.34, and 27.68 by 19.05
millimeters.
Young. — The period of incubation of the flicker has been said to
be from 14 to 16 days. Miss Sherman's (1910) careful observations
on marked eggs, laid on known dates, indicate a shorter period.
From some former nests she had learned "that sometimes the eggs
hatched in nine days, but more frequently in ten days after the laying
of the last eggJ^ In these cases, incubation may have begun before
the set was complete, or the eggs may have received some heat from
tlie body of the male, for she said that, in at least one case, "while the
eggs were being laid, and before incubation began the male roosted
in the box with the eggs." According to a later observation, "the
exact time for incubation had been twelve days, three hours and
fifty-two minutes. The seventh egg hatched four hours later making
its period of incubation eleven days and eight hours nearly." After
another similar experience with the hatching of nine marked eggs,
which extended over a period from 5:40 a.m. one day until 10:48
a.m. the next day, she says : "Eoughly speaking, then, the time that
our Flickers take for incubation is from eleven to twelve days."
Her observations showed that the duties of incubation are shared
by both sexes, that the male usually incubates during the night, but
"by day the duties of incubation seem to be shared about equally
between the two birds, who are close sitters, the eggs seldom being
found alone. Of the length of the sittings no adequate record has
been kept, but those lasting from one hour and a half to two hours
have been noted."
Miss Sherman (1910) noted that "the usual time for depositing the
eggs in the nest appears to be the hour between five and six o'clock
in the morning," though in one case an egg was laid between 11 a.m.
and 4 p. m.
274 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Some of her observations on the young follow :
Until the young are about eleven days old, they lie in a circle in the nest,
their long necks stretched over each other, then for nearly a week they press
against the side of the nest. At seventeen or eighteen days of age, their claws
having acquired a needlelike sharpness, they begin to cling to the wall of the
nest, and when three weeks old they are able to climb to the hole and be fed
while the parent hangs outside.
Although the eyes of the nestlings are not open until they are ten days old
yet these organs are by no means dormant. An easy proof of this is made by
placing the hand noiselessly over the entrance hole when tliey are no more
than three or four days old, and are lying apparently asleep; up comes every
head and they beg for food, getting none they soon sleep, when the experiment
may be repeated, gaining from the young the same response that is given
when a parent darkens the hole.
That cry of the young which is so often described as a hissing sound, begins
very soon after they are hatched. At first exceedingly faint it soon grows
stronger, and is uttered day and night for two weeks. A parent upon taking
its place to brood these wailing nestlings begins to croon a lullaby and con-
tinues this musical murmur until it falls asleep, which is often quite soon. It
has no effect in lessening the noise of the youngsters, yet the parent faithfully
renders its cradle song until the young cease to make this noise which is about
the time they begin to show fear. Of other cries that they make, there is
the chuckling noise uttered w^hen the little one is in the act of seizing the
food-bearing bill, and there is a cry that sounds like a whine. Still another
one is a note of alarm given when the young are disturbed by some such thing
as the opening of the trap door. This uttered in unison has a very theatrical
effect strongly suggesting the chorus of the stage. After they have commenced
to move about freely in the nest they make much of the time a pleasant
sound like a chatter or quack, as if talking to each other. And lastly comes
the grown-up Flicker "pe-ap", which they begin to call as soon as they climb
to the hole. * * *
Some broods are much more quarrelsome than others. Their battle ground
is in the vicinity of the hole. The one in possession of the hole maintains his
supremacy there by occasional withdrawals of his head from the hole in order
to deliver vigorous blows on the heads of all within his reach. This is the
case with the stronger ones, the weaker ones frequently are driven from the
vantage place. When the hole is large enough for two to thrust out their
heads together, they draw within after the serving of a meal and fight furi-
ously, while a waiting third may slip up and gain the coveted hole. But all
their fighting days seem to be confined to a few in the fourth week of their lives.
* * * In very early life a meal is served to baby Flicker with many in-
sertions of the parent's bill, as many as thirty-four have been counted, but
from eight to twenty are the ordinary number, decreasing to three or four
before the young leave the nost. A record made during a continuous watch of
six hours and thirty-two minutes shows that each parent fed five times ; that
the father delivered his supply with eighty-two insertions of the bill, while
the mother used but forty-one. Probably the father brought more food since
on every count he proved himself the more devoted parent. In grasping the
bill the point of the youngster's bill is at right angles with that of the parent's,
thus the opening between the food-bearing mandibles is covered after the
young have attained a few days of age, and any over-dropping of food is
prevented. This accident frequently happens in the early days of the nest,
then the mussed up ants that fall are carefully picked up by the frugal parent
when the feeding is over. * * *
NORTHERN FLICKER 275
Experiments show that to a nestlmg weighing 743 grains was given a break-
fast that weighed 7G grains, to one weighing 1,430 grains a dinner of 118 grains,
and to another that tipped the scales at 1,530 grains a supper of 103 grains.
Probably the weight of the average load is not far from one hundred
grains. * * *
When the young were eighteen days old during a watch of four and
one-half hours twenty-five meals were given to five nestlings that wore dis-
tinguished marks. Three of these are positively known to have received five
meals apiece, and two received four apiece. * * * At this age the young
Flickers every hour partake of food to the amount of one-sixteenth of their
own weight, or in one day consume their full weight of food.
She says that flickers are A'^ery solicitous to keep a clean nest; for
the first nine or ten days the parents eat the excrements, but after
that the dejecta are carried out in the tough white sacks in which they
are enclosed. If no sacks of excrement are found in the nest after
feeding, the parent solicits them; "this is done by biting the heel
joints sometimes, but more often the fleshy protuberance that bears
that budding promise of the tail."
She says that the male "staid with the young every night until
they were three weeks old, brooding all of them until nearly two
weeks of age, when they began pressing their breasts against the side
of the nest, and he could cover the tails of two or three only, after
which for two or three nights he sat upon the bottom of the nest
apart from the young; then for four nights he hung upon the wall
of the nest near the hole ; thereafter he staid with them no more."
Her records show that the young remained in the nest nearly or
quite four weeks, or from 25 to 28 days. During the last three or four
days nearly all of them lost weight; this may have been due to the
period of the heaviest feather growth, or because the parents may
have let up on the feeding to induce the young to leave the nest.
Miss Sherman's statements, as to the period of incubation and the
length of time that the young remain in the nest, are quite at variance
with statements made by others, but her observations were so care-
fully and thoroughly made under such favorable circumstances that
they are more convincing than less accurate observations of others.
Some others have also described the method of feeding the young
by regurgitation in a manner that differs from that observed by
Miss Sherman. Mr. Brewster (1936), for example, says:
Standing on the edge of the hole, the parent would select one — usually the
nearest, I thought — and bending down would drive his bill to its base into
the gaping mouth which instantly closed tightly around it, when the head
and bill of the parent was worked up and down with great rapidity for from
one to one and one-half seconds (timed with a stop watch), the young mean-
while holding on desperately and appai-ently never once losing its grasp, although
its poor little head was jerked up and down violently. The first, or entering
downward thrust of the parent's bill looked like a vicious stab, the bird ap-
parently striking with all its force and as if with the design of piercing his
offspring to the vitals. The subsequent up and down motion was invariably
276 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAI. MUSEUM
rapid and regular and resembled the bill movement of a woodpecker while
"drumming." It also suggested the stroke of a piston.
In this case the top of the stump had been broken off, leavmg the
nest open and exposed, so that every motion could be clearly seen
from a distance of not over 15 feet. After the young had left the
nest, he discovered that "the nest was left in a terribly foul state,
the bottom being a disgusting mass of muddy excrement alive with
wriggling worms. * * * These young, however, managed to keep
very clean and all, so far as I could discover, were perfectly free
from vermin." Apparently the old birds find it difficult to clean
the nest after the young reach a certain size.
W. I. Lyon (1922) tells an interesting story of a screech owl that
adopted and brooded a family of young flickers, after its own nest
in the same tree had been broken up twice; the owl even brought
in part of a small bird, perhaps intending to feed it to the young
flickers, which were all the time being fed by their parents and were
successfully raised.
Plumages. — Miss Sherman (1910) gives a very good description
of the naked and blind nestling, as follows : "The pellucid color of the
newly hatched Flicker resembles that of freshly sun-burned human
skin, but so translucent is the nestling's skin that immediately after
a feeding one can see the line of ants that stretches down the bird's
throat and remains in view two or three minutes before passing
onward. This may be witnessed for several days while the skin
assumes a coarser red, until it begins to thicken and become a bluish
hue, before the appearance of the pin-feathers. These may be de-
tected under the skin on the fifth day at the same time that bristle-
like projections about one-sixteenth of an inch long announce the
coming of the rectrices and remiges."
Mr. Burns (1900) says: "It is not known when the white mem-
branous process which extends from either side of the base of the
lower mandible disappears, but it probably goes at a very early age.
This formation is apparently peculiar to all young woodpeckers,
as suggested by Frank A. Bates, in the Ornithologist and Oologist^
Vol. XVI, p. 35, but its use is unknown." A photograph, published
by E. H. Forbush (1927), shows that this does not wholly disappear
until the young bird is nearly fledged; its function is probably to
help guide the regurgitated food from the mouth of the adult into
the throat of the young bird during the feeding method noted by
Miss Sherman (1910).
The young flicker is fully fledged in its ju venal plumage when
it leaves the nest ; and, contrary to the rule among birds, this plumage
more nearly resembles the plumage of the adult male than that of
the old female, as the young of both sexes have the black malar
patches. The black bands on the upper parts are much broader, the
NORTHERN FLICKER 277
vinaceous portions of the head and neck are more tinged with gray,
the malar patches are duller black, and the lower parts are paler
with duller and larger black spots than in the adult. The crown
is usually more or less suffused with dull red, especially in young
males, and sometimes the red nuchal crescent is somewhat wider or
more extensive; the crescent on the breast is usually smaller; the
yellow on the under sides of the wings and tail is duller and more
greenish; the black tips in the tail are duller and not so sharply
defined against the yellow ; and the upper tail coverts are black with
white spots, instead of being white and boldly barred with black, as
in the adult. The plumage is soft and loose in texture and the bill
is small and weak.
This plumage is worn but a short time, as a complete molt begins
in July and is usually finished in September or October, producing
a first winter plumage that is practically adult. Adults have a
complete postnuptial molt at about the same time of year. A detailed
account of the progress of the molt of young birds is given by
William Palmer (1901) and one of the adults by Burns (1900) ;
both accounts are too long to be quoted here. Fall adults in fresh
plumage are very handsome birds, more deeply and richly colored
than spring birds; the upper parts are deeper brown and the lower
parts are suffused with yellowish buff; wear and fading produce
a more contrasted plumage in the spring in which the dark mark-
ings are less obscured and the soft suffusion has disappeared.
The interesting and extensive hybridizing with the red-shafted
flicker will be discussed under the latter species.
Food. — The flicker is more terrestrial in its feeding habits than
any of our other woodpeckers. It is a common sight to see one of
them hopping about on a lawn, or in an open place in the woods
and fields, probing in the ground for ants or picking up ground
insects or fallen berries. It is one of our most useful birds, worthy
of the fullest protection. Professor Beal (1911) has shown that
GO. 92 percent of its food consists of animal matter and 39.08 percent
of vegetable matter. About 75 percent of the animal food, or 45
percent of the entire food, consists of ants. The flicker eats more
ants than any other bird ; ants were found in 524 of the 684 stomachs
examined, and 98 stomachs contained no other food; one stomach
contained over 5,000 ants, and two others held over 3,000 each.
If it had no other beneficial habit, the flicker would deserve protec-
tion for the good it does in keeping in check these injurious and
annoying insects. Ants protect plant lice of various species, which
may become very injurious to many kinds of cultivated plants, in-
flicting serious losses for the agricultural interests; the plant lice,
or aphids, secrete a sweet honey-dew juice, of which the ants are
very fond; consequently these tiny insects are herded by the ants
278 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
and milked like cows. The ants take good care of their honey-pro-
ducing "cattle," driving them avraj' from ladybugs and other enemies,
leading them to new pastures, if the old ones dry up, sheltering the
aphid eggs in their nests, and carrying the young aphids out onto
the plants to feed. Mr. Forbush (1927) also says: "Ants riddle
posts set in the ground or any timber or lumber resting upon or
in contact with the ground. They destroy the sills of buildings set
close to the ground and often ruin livmg trees, especially such as
have a few dead roots. They infest lawns and buildings, destroying
grass on the lawns and food in the house, and are difficult to eradi-
cate. They sometimes eat alive the young of certain ground-nesting
birds. They are very prolific and require a severe check on their
numbers. Otherwise they would become unbearable pests."
The flicker explores the ground, often scratching away leaves or
rublDish, to locate the ant nests, digs into the nest with its long bill,
and, as the ants come pouring out, it laps them up in quantities or
inserts its long, sticky tongue deep down into the nest to get the
young and eggs. Early in spring it digs into the large mounds of
the mound-building ants, while the ants are less active, or tears open
some rotten stump to uncover a nest. Only a few days ago, I dug
into an old apple-tree stump for. some rotten wood to put on some of
my wildflowers and uncovered a large nest of ants; within a very
few minutes my pair of flickers were on the job cleaning up the ants
and their pupae.
Other insect food of the flicker includes a variety of beetles, wasps,
grasshoppers, crickets, mole crickets, chinch bugs, wood lice, cater-
pillars, grubs, and various flying insects, which it sometimes catches
on the wing, darting after them like a flycatcher (Burns, 1900).
According to Beal (1911), 39.08 percent of its food is vegetable
matter. Most of this consists of wild fruits and berries, such as the
berries of the dogwood {Cornus) and Virginia creeper, hackberries,
blueberries, huckleberries, pokeberries, serviceberries (AmeJanchier) ,
elderberries, barberries, mulberries, blackberries, wild grapes, wild
black cherries, choke cherries, cultivated cherries, and the berries of
the black alder, sour gum, black gum, greenbrier (Smilax), spicebush
(Bemoin), red cedar, hawthorn, mountain ash. and woodbine. Har-
old H. Bailey (1913) says that while the fall migration is at its
height in Virginia, about October first, "they are particularly fond
of the blue berry of the black-gum tree, and after once finding a tree
with fruit, will continue to come to it until every berry is gone, even
though continually shot at. I remember a case a few years back, when
a local gunner killed fifty-seven flickers from one black-gum tree
in one iorenoon. After the gumberries are gone, they take to the
dogwood berry for their main article of food, a fine red berry and
always plentiful in Tidewater."
]SrORTHERN FLICKER 279
The flicker feeds freely on the seeds of the poison ivy and poison
sumac and perhaps does some harm in distributing the seeds of these
noxious plants. Professor Beal (1S95) also includes the seeds of other
sumacs, clover, grasses, pigweed, mullein, ragweed, and other uniden-
tified seeds, and the seeds of the magnolia and knotweed. Mr. Burns
(1900) adds wild strawberries, dewberries, raspberries, and wild
plums, also acorns, beechnuts, corn from shocks, and oats, wheat, and
rye from stacks.
The birds that Miss Sherman (1910) watched in their nesting box
ate considerable sawdust. "That at one time the male ate three
tablespoonfuls is deemed a modest estimate. An attempt to measure
the amount both ate by a fresh supply daily showed the consumption
of three or more handfuls. The sawdust came from sugar maple,
white and red oak wood." She seemed to think that flickers have
"little use for water," having seen them drink only twice, during
many hours of watching from a blind, "all of which taken together
would amount to weeks." Owen Durfee speaks in his notes of having
seen three flickers drinking, or eating, snow on a cold day in winter ;
he saw one drop down onto a patch of snow on a stone wall and begin
eating the snow. "His motions were just like a chicken drinking
water — the partly closed bill was dipped into the snow and then
held up in the air and the mandibles worked as though chewing or
dissolving it, when another dip would be made. Soon two other
flickers flew down in the same manner and secured some snow water.
On approaching, I found the footprints and several little round holes
somewhat smaller than a pencil."
I have often seen them drinking water and so have other observers :
perhaps they drink copiously but not often.
Francis H. Allen says in his notes : "I have seen one feeding in the
manner of a chickadee among the twigs of a tree, perching crosswise
of the twig and flitting about actively, gleaning some minute food.
Mr. Brewster told me that he had seen a flicker feeding this way."
Joseph J. Hickey tells me that he has seen a flicker feeding after
the manner of an Arctic three-toed woodpecker, deliberately scaling
oif the bark in search for food ; this bird had denuded about half the
bark of a hemlock.
Behavior. — In ordinary short flights, the flicker proclaims its
relationship to the other woodpeckers by its rhythmic bounding
flight, the wings beating more rapidly on the rises and much less
so on the dips, which are usually followed by a short sail on motion-
less wings. Mr. Burns (1900) noted that the dips occur about every
15 or 20 feet and that the bird drops about 3 feet on each dip. On
more prolonged flights the flight is steadier, more direct, strong, and
fairly swift. It does not ordinarily fly at any great height, except
when migrating. Wlien alighting on a tree trunk, there is a graceful
280 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
upward glide, the trunk is grasped with the feet, and the tail is used
as a prop in true woodpecker fashion ; but the flicker is more apt to
alight on a horizontal branch than other woodpeckers, when there
is less upward glide and an upright posture is assumed, as balance
is acquired.
On the ground, the flicker proceeds slowly by short hops, but some-
times it runs rapidly for a few steps and then stops; it seems con-
tent to confine its foraging to a rather limited area and does not
appear very active.
Spring drumming on a resonant limb, or inside a nesting cavity,
is an essential part of the call to courtship or mating, and perhaps a
signal call for other purposes ; but it is used at other times, perhaps
for sheer amusement. This habit sometimes becomes a nuisance,
since the bird has discovered that the tin roof of a house serves as
the best kind of a drum ; here he comes morning after morning while
we are enjoying our slumbers, from which we are rudely awakened
at an unseemly hour. Mr. DuBois writes to me that, on an afternoon
in June, "a flicker was drumming on the lid of a large galvanized
iron ash or garbage can at the corner of the back porch of a residence ;
he stood on the top of the lid and, at intervals, after looking around,
he beat an extremely rapid roll on this metallic drum; the effect was
startling."
As to the roosting habits of flickers. Miss Sherman (1910) writes:
"Of all our birds the flickers are the earliest to retire at night, some-
times going to their lodgings an hour before sundown, the customary
time being about a half hour before sunset. Generally they go out
soon after sunrise, but on cool autumn mornings they have been
known to linger much longer. During a rainstorm in the middle of
the day they have been seen to seek their apartments, also in fine
weather they have been found there enjoying the seclusion thus
afforded."
Frank K. Smith, of Hyattsville, Md., sends me the following note,
dated February 28, 1936 : "For some nights, a flicker has been roost-
ing in the shell of a dead tree, from v/hich one side has decayed
away, leaving a troughlike section of its trunk standing. He roosts
about 12 feet from the ground. This morning it was cloudy and
he left the roosting place at 7 : 25, although official sunrise is at 6 : 37."
Mr. Shelley tells me that he flushed a male from the nest tree, "where
he clung each night about 3 feet above the nest hole, with the female
brooding the young within." Flickers will roost in any open cavity
in a tree, or even in a partially sheltered spot on the open trunk;
they often drill holes in barns or under the eaves of houses for winter
roosts; a favorite winter roosting place is in the sawdust between
the double walls of icehouses. Sometimes they dig a hole into a
vacant building and fail to find their way out ; I once found one dead
NORTHERN FLICKER 281
inside the p;ara2:e at my summer cottage, which had been closed all
^yilltel^ Mr. Forbush (1927) says that "during one winter at Ware-
ham one apparently slept on the wall of my summer cottage under
the eaves, clinging to one of the ornamental battens in an upright
position as it would cling to a tree trunk. This bird for some unac-
countable reason chose the north side of the cottage. He was there
night after night at dusk and also at daylight each morning. Mr.
R. F. Carr tells of a flicker that was accustomed to pass winter nights
in a chimney of an unoccupied dwelling in a thickly settled neighbor-
hood which undoubtedly was a more comfortable roosting place
than the north side of my cottage."
Dr. Lynds Jones told Mr. Burns (1900) that "at Oberlin College
a single bird roosted between the vertical water pipe and Avail of
Spear Library for two successive winters, and another occupied the
cupola of the Theological Seminary the succeediuir winter."
Flickers are generally regarded as peaceful harmless birds, but the
following two quotations indicate that they are sometimes otherwise.
O. P. Allert (1934) writes from Giard^ Iowa: "On June 4, 1933,
while in the yard of my home, I was attracted by the cries of a
pair of Robins and saw a female Flicker in the act of killing the
two young that the Robins' nest contained. One was killed in the
nest, and the other either fell or was tliroAvn to the ground, where
the Flicker followed and dispatched it."
Dr. Dayton Stoner (1932) writes: "AAliile the flicker is not habit-
ually belligerent, it does on occasion show some aggressiveness. This
most frequently occurs during the breeding season. For example,
on July 11, 1929, in the Parker woods south of Lake]3ort. I came
upon several flickers and two or three crows that were tormenting a
red-shouldered hawk. The flickers were pecking excitedly on the
limbs of the tree on which the hawk perched, and clamoring loudly
at it. Wlien the hawk flew off the flickers darted after it, pecking
it unmercifully until it lit again, when they were cautious about ap-
proaching close to the harassed hawk. This quarrel was continued
for more than half an hour."
Voice. — The flicker has an elaborate vocabulary; no other wood-
pecker, and few other birds, can produce a greater variety of loud
striking calls and soft conversational notes. A number of its many
vernacular names are based on a fancied resemblance to some one of
its notes, and in most cases these names give a very fair idea of the
note. A few of such names are "flicker," "yucker," "wacup," "hit-
tock," "yarrup," "clape," and "piute"; and there are other modifica-
tions of these in different combinations of letters.
The commonest and most characteristic note is the loud spring
call, of which Eugene P. Bicknell (1885) says: "Its long rolling
90801— ;;o 19
282 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
call may be taken as especially representative of song, and is a char-
acteristic sound of the empty woodland of early spring. It is usually
given from some high perch, and has a free, far-reaching quality,
that gives it the effect of a signal thrown out over the barren country,
as if to arouse sleeping nature. This call continues irregularly
through the summer, but then loses much of its prominence amid the
multitude of bird voices. It is not infrequent in September, but later
than the middle of October I have not heard it."
This is a sharp, penetrating note, which can be heard at a long
distance; the syllables loich^ wich^ mick, wick^ or yuck^ yuck, yuck^
yuck, are very rapidly uttered and repeated in long series. Dr. Elon
H. Eaton (1914) says that "it may be heard for more than half a
mile and has been variously syllabized, usually written as ^cuK-
cuh-cuh-cuJi\^'' which hardly represents my idea of the song.
A softer note, heard during active courtship and display, sounds
like wake-up, wake-up, wake-up, or yarrup, yarrup, yarrup, given
more deliberately in subdued tones and not so prolonged. This has
been referred to as the scythe-sharpening, or rollicking, song and has
also been written as yucker, yucker, yucker, or wicker, wicker, wicker,
or hixik-up, hick-up, hick-up, or flicker, -flicker, flicker. Mr. Bicknell
(1885) has recorded these notes from April 8 to September 5; there
seems to be no seasonal regularity about them, as they are probably
affectionate notes of greeting. Mr. Burns (1900) "heard an ap-
parently rare variation, a metallic Ka-ioick-wick-wick-ioick-ioick-
wick-wick-wick-wick-iDick-ka by the male while close to the nest."
He gives as conversational, or soliloquizing notes, "commonly a
scanny, gurgling, almost involuntary chur-r-r-r as danger seems to
threaten it when on the wing, or when flushed from the ground or
just before a-lighting, which may be interpreted as a note of warning
or aimouncement of arrival according to the circumstances. I have
heard a low guttural loho-del as it endeavored to balance itself on a
slender branch immediately after arrival." A bird on a house
roof, in December, "uttered an odd guttural call of huck-a-uwo-ah or
again only woo woo evidently for his own edification." Other soft
conversational notes sound like owit-ouit, or puir-puir, or a cooing
yu-cah-yu-cah.
Dr. Eaton (1914) says : "When the flicker flies up from the ground
and alights on a stub or fence post, he frequently bobs and bows
to an imaginary audience and immediately thereafter jerks his head
high upward giving voice to a sharp note like the syllable 'clape.' "
This is a loud, explosive note and may indicate defiance or surprise.
A common note, oftenest heard during summer and fall, is a
plaintive call suggesting one of the notes of the blue jay or the red-
shouldered hawk. It is a loud and rather musical note, which has
been variously interpreted as pee-ut, ye-a-up, pee-up, que-ah, kee-yer,
NORTHERN FLICKER 283
etc., given singly or repeated two or three times, as a ringing call of
considerable carrying power.
Field marhs. — While hopping about on the lawn, the flicker may
be recognized as a brown bird somewhat larger than a robin and
with a rather long bill; if facing the observer, tha black crescent
on the spotted breast is rather conspicuous, but the red crescent on
the nape does not show up nmch except at short range, nor does the
black malar patch of the male. The most conspicuous field mark is
the white rump, wliich shows plainly as the bird rises from the
ground and flies away; this probably serves as a direction mark, or
a warning to the companions with which it is often associated. Then,
of course, the flash of bright yellow in the wings and tail marks
the bird in flight, chiefly when high in the air, but somewhat also
in straightaway flight.
Enemies. — Wlien I was a boy, 50 or 60 years ago, flickers, meadow-
larks, and robins were considered legitimate game, and they were
very good to eat. Bunches of these birds were often seen hanging
in the game dealers' stalls. During our fall vacations on the coast,
when the weather was unfavorable for coot shooting, my father and
uncle used to resort to the uplands to shoot "partridge woodpeckers"
and "brown backs" (robins) among the bayberry bushes and sumacs.
And flickers were slaughtered in large numbers in the South. Man
was then the flicker's worst enemy, but that is now all ancient history,
as these birds are now protected. But a new enemy has been intro-
duced, which is probably worse than the old one. The European
starling has come to compete with the flicker in its search for a food
supply. The starlings are now so abundant that they swoop down
in flocks on the formerly plentiful supply of wild fruits and berries,
stripping the trees and bushes clean of the fruits on which the
flickers and robins depended for their summer and fall food. They
also compete for nesting sites, fighting for or usurping every avail-
able cavity, even driving the flickers from the homes that they had
made. Lester W. Smith writes to me: "For several years after the
starling became common in Connecticut, other birds, especially the
flicker, were seldom ejected, or not until all available nesting possibil-
ities about buildings were used and filled up. Never have I seen
the flickers actually fight to retain their hole or bird house. On
the sanctuary they were exceptionally noisy whenever starlings at-
tempted to take or had taken possession. On one occasion tliree
starlmgs took part; one remained in the entrance hole of the box
and took dry grass that a second brought to it; the third chased off
either of the pair of flickers, as it flew near the nest box, which was
about 8 feet from the ground on a sawed-off tree in a white-pine
grove. On shooting one of the starlings, the other four birds flew
away temporarily, and, on examination, I found a thin layer of
284 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
grass over the flicker's eggs. In 15 minutes the starlings returned
and a second was shot. I removed the grass, and. hiding nearby,
I saw nothing more of tlie third starling; but the flickers returned
soon, took possession of the box, and later raised the five young."
Sydney K. Taber (1921) tells an interesting story of a battle be-
tween a male flicker and a pair of starlings for the possession of the
flickers' nest. The flicker had once pulled one of the starlings out
of the hole, but, during his absence, both of the starlings entered the
hole.
On this second occasion, despairing of being able to pnll the two out at long
range, so to speak, the Flicker also plunged into the hole. Then followed a
battle royal, lasting for what seemed minutes. It was rather ghastly to imagine
the blows that were being dealt at closest quarters; not a sound was emitted,
but one could imagine what was going on within the hole by the feathers that
flew from it. The first bird to emerge — that is, to be pushed out, by fractious of
an inch — was one of the Starlings, which then flew away. The fight between
the other two birds then continued out of sight until something appeared at the
mouth of the hole. This proved to be the tail of the Flicker. When he had
backed out of the hole into view once more, it appeared that he and the remain-
ing Starling had clinched in a desperate grapple. With the latter gripping
one of the wings of the Flicker, they fell, fluttering and fighting, a distance of
nearly 40 feet; but just before touching the ground, they parted and flew in
dilTerent directions. * * *
The above events occurred a fortnight ago. Since then the Starlings have
been in full possession of the hole of c<intention.
Flickers figure largely in the food of duck hawks; their brightly
colored feathers are often found about the aeries. Other hawks take
their toll. O. A. Stevens sends me the following note on a sharp-
shinned hawk attacking a flicker, perhaps only in sport : "The hawk
settled in a partially dead, spreading pine tree, some 8 feet from the
top. A flicker perched about 6 feet above him, apparently from
curiosity. For some time they remained, the hawk sitting quietly,
preening, occasionally casting a glance at the flicker. The latter
teetered about on his perch, craning his neck at the hawk and even
dropping down a foot or so. After at least 10 minutes, the hawk
suddenly darted at the flicker and away they went, the flicker
twisting and escaping. It seems odd that an apparently heavy flier
like a flicker would escape so easily."
Mr. Burns (1903) adds the broad-winged hawk to the flicker's
enemies; "a nest of lusty young hawks examined in July, '01, con-
tained the primaries and rectrices of one or two young Flickers, prob-
ably just out of the nest. * * * To the above Mr. Benj. T. Gault
adds the Blacksnake — one having been killed and cut open by a farm-
er's lad at a place he was stopping at in Reynolds county, Missouri,
contained the body of one of these woodpeckers." I have positively
recorded flickers in the food of the marsh hawk, Cooper's hawk, and
red-shouldered hawk; probably they are killed by all the larger hawks
NORTHERN FLICKER 285
and owls. Taverner and Swales (1907) say that the sharpshin flights
at Point Pelee discommoded the flickers less than any other species
of small birds. "Though at times they seemed uneasy and restless,
they were perfectly able to take care of themselves and easily made
their escape when attacked. * * * The usual course of procedure
of the Flicker, when attacked by a hawk, was to wait until the last
minute, when the hawk, in its swoop, was just about to seize its
victim, and then dodge quickly to the other side of the limb. In
every case observed the ruse worked perfectly, and we found only
once the feather remains vrhich proved that once in a while the hav.k
was a little too quick for the Flicker."
Mr. Burns (1900) says that the eggs and young are sometimes
destroyed by squirrels, weasels, mice, crows, jays, and the red-headed
vroodpecker. Fred. H. Kennard records in his notes that a pair of
flickers, nesting in one of his boxes, were robbed of their eggs by
some red squirrels, who ate the eggs in the box, built their own nest
in the box, and brought in their young from another nest.
Fall. — As soon as the young are strong on the wing and the molting
season is over, the flickers, old and young, begin to gather into loose
flocks or scattered parties, perhaps family parties, late in summer
and early in fall. On cold, windy autumn days they may be found
in close companionship in hollows and sheltered localities in woodland
clearings, protected from the cold winds, and feeding in the bayberry
patches and clumps of staghorn sumac. At such times, they lie close
and can be easily approached.
In southern Canada and the Northern States, the gi'eat bulk of the
flickers start to migrate in September, continuing to pass southward
during October. Mr. Burns (1900) says of the fall migration : "While
the retrograde movements are conducted in larger numbers, being re-
cruited by great numbers of birds of the year, it is scarcely as notice-
able, lacking the noise and bustle of Spring arrivals. Like the Robin,
its whole nature seems to have undergone a change. It no longer solic-
its notice by song or display, but becomes shy and suspicious, and while
gregarious to a great extent, in flight every one is capable of looking
out for itself. The mature birds are the most AA'ary, and by example
prepare the young for the dangers of migration and Winter residence
in the South, where it is constantly menaced by hunters."
During migration, they fly rather high, well above the treetops, in
widely detached flocks, often far apart, but keeping more or less in
touch with each other and sometimes fairly close together; hundreds
may be counted, as they pass in a steady stream for hours at a time.
Taverner and Swales (1907) report heavy flights across Lake Erie
from Point Pelee : "During September it has ahvays been one of the
most abundant birds of the Point. Keays reports a flight in 1901 when
he noted four hundred September 21." Long Point, which extends
286 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
well out from the north shore of Lake Erie, is another favorite crossing
place; here, according to L. L. Snyder (1931), "the flight observed by
Mr. James Savage on September 30, 1930, was very remarkable, indi-
viduals estimated to be from one to two hundred yards apart, form-
ing a scattered and straggling flock, passed in an almost steady stream
throughout the morning hours."
Mr. Burns (1903) writes:
In south New Jersey, in the region of the Upper Delaware Bay. which runs
due south, some time in October of every year the migrating Flicliers are found
flying north just previous to and during a northwest storm. At this time the
wind is generally high and the birds fly against it. This peculiarity of flight
affects a large territory extending inland from the east shore of the bay some
fifteen or twenty miles. While the birds prefer to breast a wind, it is also prob-
able that they are reluctant to cross the lower part of the bay during such a storm
which would tend to drive them seaward, rather preferring to return northwad
to the more narrow river where they could cross in comparative safety.
Winter. — ^Winter finds most of the flickers gone from the northern
States and southern Canada. Most of the birds wintering in New
England seek the milder climate of the seacoast, where they feed in
the extensive bayberry patches and on the semidormant insect life in
the rows of drift seaweed along the beaches. The few that remain in-
land during mild winters are usually to be found in sheltered hollows
or along the sunny sides of the woods, feeding on the ground or on
what berries and dry fruits still remain on the bushes, often in com-
pany with merry little winter parties of j uncos, tree sparrows, chicka-
dees, nuthatches, and perhaps a downy or hairy woodpecker. Favor-
ite resorts at that season are the southern slopes of the hills overgrown
with thick stands of red cedars, mixed with staghorn sumacs, barber-
ries, and other berry-bearing bushes. They probably seek shelter at
night in the dense cedar swamps or in the holes excavated for that
purpose in icehouses or other buildings, or in hollow trees.
L. H. Walkinshaw, of Battle Creek, Mich., writes to me that there,
"in deep winter, flickers can be found in the deep tamarack swamps,
coming to the edge during periods of the day. They often flush, even
when snow is deep, from mounds on the ground or from dead or dying
stubs along the border."
O. A. Stevens says in his notes : "At my farm home in Kansas, the
flickers caused some annoyance by seeking entrance to the barn for
winter nights. They enlarged other openings for this purpose and
sometimes started openings which would not lead them inside. One
bird at least, enlarged the opening about the hayfork track and
roosted on the iron track just inside the door."
Dr. Paul L. Errington (1936) writes an interesting story on the
winter-killing of flickers in central Iowa. By a careful study of the
droppings of the three birds that he studied, it appeared that they were
much weakened by improper food, too large a proportion of indigest-
RED-SHAFTED FLICKER 287
ible seeds, mainly those of the sumac, and not enough animal food,
which ordinarily amounts to mere than half of the average food
supply.
M. P. Skinner (1928), writing of the Sandhills of North Carolina,
says: "Flickers stay in the Sandhills all winter, but the infrequent
snowstorms cause them lots of trouble in finding food. On January
10, 1927, 1 found quite a little coterie of birds had scratched the leaves
under a dogwood tree until they had a space twelve feet in diameter
more or less cleared of snow. Here, among other species of birds,
were two Flickers foraging among the leaves for fallen dogwood ber-
ries. These berries were probably eaten until weather conditions
became better for insect catching. Even during winter, ants are
fairly plentiful for the Sandhill Flickers, especially on warm days."
COLAPTES CAFER COLLARIS Vigors
RED-SHAFTED FLICKER
Plate 37
EtABITS
This western representative of our well-known eastern flicker is
so closely related to it and so similar to it in all its habits that
practically all that has been written about the northern flicker would
apply equally well to the red-shafted species. The two differ strik-
ingly in coloration, but the color pattern is similar in both, and the
fact that they interbreed so freely and extensively where their ranges
come together shows their close relationship. The only differences
in their habitats, nesting, and feeding habits are due to the differences
in enviroimaents.
The red-shafted flicker is a wide-ranging species through many
types of open country or sparsely wooded regions, from the Rocky
Mountains to sea level on the Pacific coast. It is a common bird near
human habitations in thinly settled towns and villages and in agricul-
tural regions, as well as in the wilder foothills and mountain slopes
up to timberline, but not on the treeless plains or deserts. The Weyde-
meyers (1928), referring to its haunts in northwestern Montana, give
a good idea of its habitat there, which would doubtless apply equally
well throughout its range elsewhere ; they say : "The Flicker is most
abundant about farms and in cut-over woods, nesting commonly near
barnyards and in pastures. An observer will note fewer and fewer
individuals as he passes from cultivated farms into stiunp-lands ;
from there to virgin forests of fir, larch, and yellow pine ; thence into
the lodgepole pine and white pine woods of the lower part of the
Canadian zone ; and onward into denser forests of alpine fir, spruce,
and arborvitae. But he will find the birds increasing in numbers on
288 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
the rocky mountain slopes and npward tlirongli the Hudsonian zone,
where the species ranges to timberline."
Milton P, Skinner says in his Yellowstone Park notes: "This bird
is found at all elevations from the lowest at 5,300 feet to timberline
at 9,500 feet, and in practically all kinds of habitat except the largest
opens, and even there I have seen it flying across from side to side. It
is in the sagebrush areas, in the borderland between forest and open,
in detached groves, and even in heavy forest.
"They are often seen on the ground, especially in May, but also in
June and July. Sometimes they are in the road. I have seen them
frequently in the grass and perched on a bowlder or a prostrate log.
In addition to these treeless and brushless localities, I often see flick-
ers on the ground imder sagebrushes and greasewood ; on the ground
in a grove of cedars and limber pines ; under aspens, willows, cedars,
firs; and on the ground amid the stumps of a former fir forest. I
have seen them in groves of mixed lodgepole pines and aspens and in
meadow^s where there w^ere only groves of willow bushes."
Courtship. — In the same notes Mr. Skinner says: "On April 29,
1915, I saw^ a pair of flickers 'dancing.' They were on a dead lodge-
pole, and although there w^as not much movement of the feet, the
body w^as bent from side to side and there was a constant 'juggling'
or 'jigging' motion. The head was tilted back and the bill pointed
up at an angle of sixty degrees, with tlie neck outstretched. The neck,
head, and bill were in constant motion; the motion of the bill re-
minded me of a musical director's baton. Intervals of rest alternated
with periods of motion ; the whole thing lasted perhaps 5 minutes."
Nesting. — Major Bendire (1895) says on this subject:
Its favorite nesting sites are old rotten stubs or trees, sueli as cottonwoods,
willows, sycamores, junipers, oaks, and pines. It nests also in holes iii banks,
In the sides of houses, in sate posts, etc. * * *
Among some peculiar nesting sites of this species the following deserve
mention :
Mr. Walter E. Bryant gives the following: "One of these was in a bridge
bulkhead, a few feet above the Carson River, Nevada. The interior of the
structure was filled with gravel and large stones, among which the eggs were
deposited. Another pair Tised a target butt, at a much-frequented range, as a
substitute for a stump. A tliird nest v/as in a sand banlv, 3 feet from the
top and 10 from the creek. This hole was apparently specially prepared, and
not one made by a ground squirrel, such holes being sometimes used by
these birds."
Mr. Cliarles A. Allen, of Nicasio, Calif., found a pair of red-shafted flickers
nesting in a similar situation in a creeli bank, the burrow containing seven
eggs, whicli he took. About ten days later, happening to pass tlie same spot,
he examined the hole again and found it occupied by a California Screech Owl,
whicli in the meantime had deposited four eggs. Some two weeks subsequently
he examined it for a third time, and on this occasion the tenant proved to be a
Sparrow Hawk, which was setting on five liandsome eggs, lliere was no
nesting material present on any occasion, the eggs lying on some loose dirt.
RED-SHAFTED FLICKER 289
Others have noted the bank-nesting habit of this flicker, whicli
seems to be rather common. Most of the nests, however, are exca-
vated in trees or stnbs, at heights varying from ground level to 100
feet above the ground. We found them nesting connnonly in the
Huachuca Mountains, Ariz., in the sycamores in the canyons and in
the tall pines near the summits at 9,000 feet. A large majority of the
nests will be found between 8 and 25 feet above the ground. Dawson
(1!):l>3) mentions a nest "in a stump only two feet high, and its eggs
rested virtually upon the ground." Walter P. Taylor (1912) men-
tions a nest in a cavity in a haystack, in the desert regions of Hum-
boldt County, Nev., where there were practically no trees. This
flicker also nests frequently in telegraph and other poles, also far
too often in buildings, where it drills a hole through the outer wall
and lays its eggs on a beam or other flat surface, accumulating
enough chips to keep the eggs from rolling.
Florence A. Merriam Bailey (1896) watched a red-shafted flicker
excavating its nest-hole, of which she says: "The flicker hung with
claws planted in the hole, and with its tail braced at an angle under
it, leaned forward to excavate. Using its feet as a pivot, it grad-
ually swamg in farther and farther; and w^hen it had gone so far
that it had to reach back to throw out its chips, it swung in and out
on its feet like an automatic toy wound up for the performance.
When it had been building for a week, only the tip of its tail pro-
truded from the nest hole as it worked."
Mrs, Irene G. Wheelock (1904) says: "The site having been chosen,
the male clings to the surface and marks with his bill a more or less
regular circle in a series of dots, then begins excavating inside this
area, using his bill, not with a sidewise twist, as do many of the
woodpecker family, but striking downwards and prjdng off the chips
as with a pickaxe. When his mate has rested and wishes to share
in the labor, she calls from a near-by tree and he instantly quits his
task."
Dr. and Mrs. Grinuell (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1930) made
the following observations on this species, while excavating its nest-
hole :
The bird entered the hole, entirely out of view, at 8 : 54, reappeared from
within at 9:05, when it rested a minute with the head partly out; then it
proceeded to bring out from within load after load of chips, which showered
down as if of fine, almost sawdust-like size. Forty-five such loads were counted
lo 9 : 10, delivered with striking regularity. Twelve loads delivered were
counted in one sixty-second period. At 9 : 10 the bird disappeared again till
9 : 15, when its head appeared and twenty-seven loads were tlippod out in three
minutes ; then after a long pause, till 9 : 19, the other flicker arrived, with
scythe-whetting note, and both birds flew off. One of them returned at 9 : 29,
flipped out several loads of chips and left at 9:31. Digging in this particular
stump must have been easy and hence rapid.
290 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Eggs. — The red-shafted flicker lays five to twelve eggs to a set.
Probably, if the experiment were tried, it would prove to be as
prolific an egg layer as its eastern relative, though I have found
no evidence to that effect. The eggs are indistinguishable from
those of the northern flicker. The measurements of 57 eggs average
28.18 by 21.85 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes
measure 35.56 by 20.32, 27.94 by 24.89, 25.40 by 20.83, and 27.68 by
19.30 millimeters.
Young. — Mrs. Wheelock (1904) says of the young: "For nearly
three weeks they are fed by regurgitation, and after that time the
insects brought are masticated by the parents. * * *
"After they are old enough to leave the nursery, they follow their
parents about for nearly two weeks, begging to be fed and gradu-
ally learning to hunt for themselves. This lesson is wisely taught
by the parents, who place the food under a crevice in the bark, in
full sight of the young, who must pick it out or go hungry. The
baby cocks his head wisely, looks at it, and proceeds to pull it out
and dine."
Plumages. — The sequence of plumages and molts, from fledgling
to adult, in the red-shafted flicker is similar to that of the northern
flicker, but there is one marked difference in the color pattern in
the Juvenal plumage; whereas in auratus young birds of both sexes
have black malar i^atches, in cafer only the young male has the red
malar patches. Ridgway (1914) describes the juvenal male of the red-
shafted flicker as "similar to the adult male, but coloration duller,
gray of throat, etc., duller, more brownish, black jugular patch
smaller and less sharply defined, black spots on under parts less
sharply defined, less rounded, feathers of pileum indistinctly tipped
with paler, and red malar stripes less bright, less uniform, and black
terminal area on under side of tail not sharply defined." The young
female is similar to the young male, but the malar region is grayish
brown instead of red. The juvenal plumage is worn through sum-
mer, and a complete molt during fall produces a first-winter plumage
that is practically adult. Adults have a complete annual molt late
in summer and fall.
A most interesting and unique case, among American birds at
least, of hybridizing on an extensive scale over a wide region occurs
between Colaptes auratus and Gola'ptes cafer. We found this most
beautifully illustrated in southwestern Saskatchewan, where pure-
blooded birds of both species were taken, together with quite a series
of hybrid birds showing all the intermediate grades of plumage.
Almost all the males showed some traces of the red malar stripes of
cafer., and nearly all showed some traces of the red nuchal crescent
of auratus- the other characters seemed to be less constant. I col-
lected a pure-blooded male auratus and a nearly pure-blooded cafer
RED-SHAPTED FLICKER 291
female, which were apparently mated. And two young in juvenal
plumage, one almost pure cafer and the other equally near auratus,
were taken from the same family.
Although the general color fattems of the two species are strik-
ingly similar, or parallel, the characters that separate them are radi-
cally qualitative rather than quantitative, so that the numerous
hybrids cannot by any means be considered as intermediates between
subspecies. No two species of a genus could well present more strik-
ing contrasts in coloration in such similar patterns.
In one species the quills are red, in the other yellow ; the male has
a red malar stripe in one and a black stripe in the other ; neither sex
in cafer has the red nuchal crescent, while both sexes have it in
auratu^s; cafer has the throat and fore neck gray and the top of the
head and hind neck brown, while these colors are reversed in aura-
tu^. These contrasting colors may be blended or mixed in an almost
endless variety of patterns in the hybrids ; and the patterns are often
asymmetrical, the opposite sides of the bird being quite different.
Some specimens of cafer show the first traces of auratus blood by the
presence of a few black feathers in the malar stripe, or traces of the
red nuchal crescent. Slight traces of cafer blood in auratus appear
with a mixture of red in the black malar strip, or with a tinge of
orange or reddish in the wings or tail. Between these two extremes
there is every degree of blending or mixture of the characters.
For many years after these interesting hybrids were discovered and
described by Baird (1858), they were known only from the upper
Missouri and Yellowstone Eiver region. Later they were found to
be widely distributed fi^om the western border of the Great Plains
westward to the Pacific coast, and from Texas to southern Canada.
While the center of abundance of birds showing thoroughly mixed
characters seems to lie between the Great Plains and the Kooky
Mountains, evidence of hybrid blood is much more widely dispersed
in a gradually diminishing degree, more strongly westward and to
a lesser degree eastward. Dr. J. A. Allen (1892), in his excellent
paper on this subject, says : "Specimens with a slight amount of red
in the malar stripe are represented in the material I have examined
from Massachusetts, Long Island, New Jersey (five specmiens),
Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida (several), Louisiana (several), Ten-
nessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois (several), Michigan (two), and Minne-
sota. They seem to be quite as frequent along the Atlantic seaboard
as at any point east of the Mississippi Eiver."
Food. — Professor Beal's (1910) study of 118 stomachs of the two
western races of the red-shafted flicker showed that 54 percent of the
food was animal and 46 percent vegetable matter. Of the animal
food, beetles constituted 3 percent, most of which were harmful;
there were only a few predatory carabids ; ants made up 45 percent of
292 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
the year's food; other Hymeiioptera totaled 1 percent, and miscel-
hmeoiis items, such as caterpillars, crickets, and spiders, amounted to
5 percent of the food.
Of the vegetable food, acorns formed 10 percent of the yearly
food; grains, including rye, corn, barley, and oats, amounted to 4
percent; fruits, averaging 15 percent, included pears, apples, grapes,
cherries, and prunes; and the other 17 percent was made up of wild
fruits, such as pepperberries, elderberries, and gooseberries and the
seeds of the poison oak and sumac and of a few weeds. He says of
the poison-oak seeds :
The consumption of these seeds would he a decided benefit to man if tliey
were ground up and destroyed in the stomachs. Unfortunately they are either
regurgitated or pass through the intestinal tract uninjured and ready to
germinate. The action of the stomach simply removes the outer covering, a
white, wax-like substance, which is probably very nutritious, and is evidently
relished by many birds. Birds are proliably the most active agents in the
dissemination of these noxious shrubs. On the other hand, these seeds, which
are wonderfully abundant, afford food for thousands of birds during the winter,
when other food is hard to obtain, and thns enable the birds to tide over the
cold season to do their good work of destroying insects the next summer.
Johnson A. Neff (1928) says that "in a great many instances they
are known to feed on the larvse of the codling moth" ; and that "ants
were the largest item of food for the year, averaging 40.307o, taken
during every month; several stomachs held over 2,000 each, and many
of them contained over 500." Among the vegetable food he lists
manzanita berries and seeds and such wild fruits as madrona, dog-
wood, haw, serviceberry, elderberry, Oregon crab, and huckleberry;
seeds of poison oak averaged 7.5 percent, but in December the per-
centage was 33.3.
Referring to the fruit-eating habits of this flicker in Los Angeles
County, Calif., Robert S. Woods (1932) writes:
Fortunately for the grower, and perhaps for the l)irds as well, the rind of an
orange is impervious to the attacks of any ordinary bird, though when once
opened the fruit is well liked by many of them. Only the Red-shafted Flicker
{Colaptcs cafer collaris) is able to chisel through the tough skin; after making
a round opening large enough for the insertion of its bill, it scoops out a large
portion of the pulp with its tongue. Examples of this sort of damage, however,
are infrequent and usually, as it seems, in oranges which have fallen to the
ground, where they are more easily reached.
The flicker's attacks on avocados appear more serious, though this is partly
due to the smaller numbers of the fruit available. Avocados which hang near
a convenient perch are often found to have a roughly circular hole extending
through to the seed. In a few of the fruits these holes have been considerably
enlarged, but usually they are not much larger than the base of the bird's bill.
Jack C. von Bloeker, Jr. (1935), saw three red-shafted flickers
capture scarab "beetles in flycatcher fashion. In each case, the bird
attained a position behind its intended victim, then, taking up the
RED-SHAFTED FLICKER 293
erratic zigzag course of the beetle, suddenly swooped down and cap-
tured it in mid-air."
Major Bendire (1895) also says: "Besides the usual insects and
larvae upon which this species feeds, I have seen it catch grass-
hoppers, both on the ground and on the wing, and it is likewise very
fond of wild strawberries."
Behavior. — I can find nothing in the behavior or general habits
of the red-shafted flicker that is essentially different from the habits
of the northern flicker. It has the same annoying habit of drum-
ming on the resonant parts of dwellings at early hours in the morn-
ing, which is quite disturbing to sleepers. It also does considerable
damage to buildings by drilling holes in the eaves or walls for nest-
ing or roosting places, spending winter nights or even stormy days
in such sheltered retreats. John G. Tyler (1913) says on this subject :
Unfortunately these handsome birds have fallen into disfavor among a
large number of both city dwellers and country residents, on account of their
habit of drilling holes in the gable ends of buildings. When once a house has
been selected it seems that nothing short of death will cause them to cease
their drilling operations until one, and in some cases three or four, holes have
been cut through the outer wall of the building. Whether these holes, which
are generally made in the winter, are excavated for roosting places or simply
through a sort of nervous energy seems a matter of doubt ; but certain it is
that the birds spend much time in them as soon as they succeed in completing
their work. It is a common sight, on rainy days, to see a Flicker's head peer-
ing out from his open doorway.
The speed in flight of tlie red-shafted fliclver has been recorded as
from 25 to 27 miles an hour, as measured with the speedometer of
an automobile.
Grinnell and Storer (1924) write of its habits:
The tramper in almost any part of the Yosemite region can hardly fail to
at least hear one or more Red-shafted Flickers in a half-day's circuit. Al-
though these birds are never seen in true flocks, he may flush from favorable
places as many as G of them within a few yards. This is particularly true
on the floor of Yosemite Valley during the autumn months. This omnivorous
woodpecker then almost completely forsakes the timber and forages in the brush
patches, eating berries of various sorts, especially cascara ; it often seeks the
open meadows where it gathers ants and grasshoppers.
The birds flush one or two at a time, often not until the observer is almost
upon them ; then the sudden flapping of broad pinkish-red wings, the view
of the white rump patch fully displayed, leave no doubt in the observer's mind
as to the identity. A bird seldom flies far before alighting, not against an
upright tree trunk as with most other woodpeckers, but perching on a branch,
to bow deeply this way and that and perhaps utter its exp]o.sive claip.
Voice. — The notes of the red-shafted flicker are almost identical
with those of the northern flicker, though George F. Sinunons (1925)
evidently thinks that the voice is "much coarser, rougher, and
heavier, * * * easily distinguished when the two are heard
calling near each other."
294 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Field marks. — The white rump is the most conspicuous recognition
mark for both species, and the color pattern is similar for both, but
the flashing colors in the wings and tail, as well as the other contrast-
ing colors, will serve to distinguish the red-shafted from the yellow-
shafted species.
Winter. — Durmg the winter that I spent in Pasadena, flickers were
common or abundant all winter in an arroyo on the outskirts of the
city. I could always find them picking up food among the dry leaves
on the ground, or flying about among the large sycamores and live
oaks. On a bright, sunny morning, after a frosty night, they could
be seen perched in the tojDmost branches of the tallest trees, which
were the first to catch the warmth of the rising sun. On February
14, 1929, I saw two males perched close together facing each other,
bowing and nodding, or bobbing up and down, as if beginning to
feel the urge of spring.
DISTEIBUnON
Range. — ^Western North America south to the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec.
Breeding range. — The red-shafted flicker breeds north to south-
eastern Alaska (Sitka and Portage Cove) ; central British Columbia
(158-mile House and Horse Lake) ; west-central Alberta (Jasper
House) ; southern Saskatchewan (Cypress Hills) ; and North Dakota
(Fort Union, Oakdale, and Fort Clark). East to central North
Dakota (Fort Clark) ; South Dakota (Eeliance and Yankton) ;
northwestern Nebraska (Chadron) ; Colorado (Fort Morgan, Den-
ver, Colorado Springs, and Beulah) ; extreme western Oklahoma
(Kenton) ; central New Mexico (Santa Fe, Cloudcroft, and Mesilla) ;
western Chihuahua (San Luis Mountains and Pinos Altos) ; Durango
(Rio Sestin, Arroyo del Buey, and Durango City) ; Tamaulipas
(Ciudad Victoria) ; Hilaygo (Real del Monte) ; Vera Cruz (Jalapa
and Orizaba) ; and eastern Oaxaca (Villa Alta and Totontepec).
South to Oaxaca (Totontepec) ; Guerrero (Omilteme) ; and Jalisco
(Zapotlan and Volcan de Colima). From this southwestern point
the species ranges north through the mountains of western Mexico,
including northern Baja California and (formerly) Guadalupe
Island, California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, to
southeastern Alaska (Sitka).
Winter range. — The red-shafted flicker is a resident species over
most of its range, withdrawing from the more northern parts only
during severe winters. At this season it is found north regularly
to southern British Columbia (Comox, Okanagan, and Edge wood);
northern Montana (Fortine and Great Falls) ; eastern Wyoming
(Midwest); and rarely southeastern South Dakota (Yankton).
RED-SHATTED FLICKER 295
The range as outlined applies to the entire species, of which four
subspecies or geographic races are now recognized. The typical
form, known as the northwestern flicker {Golaptes c. cafer)^ is found
in the northern Pacific coast regions from southeastern Alaska and
western British Columbia south to northern California. The red-
shafted flicker {C. c. collaris) occurs over all the remaining parts of
the range except for certain mountainous areas in northern Baja
California and Guadalupe Island, occupied by the San Pedro flicker
{C. c. martirensis) and the now extinct Guadalupe flicker {C. c.
rufipileus) .
Migratio7i. — Such migratory movements as are made by this spe-
cies cannot be satisfactorily portrayed by the use of dates. The
most conspicuous migration is vertical rather than lateral, for dur-
ing fall and winter in the eastern part of the range there is a more
or less well-defined movement east from the Rocky Mountain re-
gion onto the Great Plains. At these seasons the species may travel
eastward to Iowa (Forest City, Boone, and Des Moines) ; Missouri
(Kansas City) ; Arkansas (Van Buren) ; southeastern Oklahoma
(Caddo) ; and eastern Texas (Gainesville, Waco, Somerset, and
Brownsville).
Spring migration. — In the northern part of the breeding range,
from which the species appears to withdraw in winter with more or
less regularity, the following are early dates of spring arrival:
South Dakota — White River, March 28; Yankton, April 1. North
Dakota — McKenzie County, March 31; Arnegard, April 11. Al-
berta — Banff, April 3; Warner, April 24; Edmonton, April 29.
Alaska — Kupreanof Island, April 12.
Fall migration. — Late dates of departure from northern areas are :
Alaska — Wrangeil, November 26. Alberta — Jasper, September 8;
Henry House, September 22. North Dakota — Grafton, October 7
(one was collected in the Red River Valley on December 6, 1924).
South Dakota — Faulkton, October 15.
Although red-shafted flickers have been banded in considerable
numbers, the Biological Survey files do not contain any data indica-
tive of an extensive flight from the point of banding. There are,
however, many cases of recapture in succeeding seasons at the band-
ing station.
Casual records. — Among the few records where this species has
been collected or observed outside its normal range are the follow-
ing : One was taken at Grafton, N. Dak., April 19, 1925, and another
was shot near Winnipeg, Manitoba, September 30, 1904. There are
two records for northern Alberta, one at Fort Chipewyan, May 21,
1893, and the other at Smiths Portage, June 8, 1908. Other records,
some of which are from points farther east (as Minnesota), are for
hybrids between this species and C. auratus.
296 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Egg dates. — British Columbia: 13 records, May 8 to June 7; 7
records, May 14 to 26, indicating the height of the season.
California: 75 records, April 9 to July 2; 38 records, May 3
to 28.
Colorado : 22 records, May 5 to July 1 ; 11 records. May 22 to 31.
Guadalupe Island : 6 records, April 8 to June 8.
Oregon: 33 records. May 3 to June 12; 17 records. May 12 to
June 1.
Washington: 17 records, April 29 to June 10; 9 records, May 12
to 24.
COLAPTES CAFER CAFER (Gmelin)
NORTHWESTERN FLICKER
Plate 38
HABITS
The northwestern flicker was formerly known as Cohtptes cafer
naturatioT Ridgw^ay, type locality Neah Bay, Wash. But it has since
been learned that Gmelin's name Piciis cafer was based on a bird
taken at Bay of Good Hope, Nootka Sound, British Columbia. As
this locality is well within the range of the northwestern flicker,
Gmelin's name has priority over Ridgway's saturatior.
This larger and more richly colored race of Colaptes cafer in-
habits the humid Northwest coast region, from Sitka, Alaska, to
northern California, Humboldt County, including most of southern
British Columbia east to the Kootenay district. It is not only larger
than Colaptes cafer coUaris^ but its upper parts are browner and its
under parts are more strongly suffused with vinaceous.
D. E. Brown writes to me that this "is the common woodpecker
of vrestern Washington. It will outnumber all the other woodpeckers
tw^o to one." Referring to its haunts on Mount Rainier, Taylor and
Shaw (1927) say: "As the noisiest and most conspicuous, adaptable,
and broadly distributed woodpecker in the park, the flicker is bound
to achieve some notoriety. It avoids the dark woods, and undoubtedly
prefers the tracts of dead stubs wdiich are encountered at fairl}^ fre-
quent intervals around the mountain; for here both nesting sites
and food are present in great abundance."
Major Bendire (1895) says that "in western Oregon, and probably
also in northwestern California, it appears to be found only on the
summits of the different mountains between the Cascades and the
coast during the breeding season, where the same moist climate
prevails as is found in the immediate vicinity of the coast, while
in the drier lowlands, such as the Umpqua, Rogue, and Willamette
river valleys, it is replaced by" Colnptef< cafer collaris.
Nesting. — The nesting habits of the northwestern flicker do not
seem to differ materially from those of its close relati^^e farther south.
NORTHWESTERN FLICKER 297
D. E. Biwvn tells me that this bird "will nest anywhere where there
is room to dig out a cavity large enough for the nest. I have found
them in large stumj^s and in fenccposts and from 18 inches from tho
ground to 100 feet up. They will nest in birdboxes of suitable size and
will use them for winter homes. The eggs are from 5 to 10 in
munber and may be found May 1 to August. Both birds incubate
and, when incubation is advanced, sit very close ; sometimes they are
removed by hand."
Harry S. Swarth (1911a) reports a nest, found at Portage Cove,
Revillagigedo Island, Alaska, that "was in a dead stub, some fifty
feet from the ground. The stump was so rotten that an attempt to
climb it brought down the whole upper portion, including the nest,
in a mass of disintegrated punk. * * * ^pj^g j^^g^ ^^.^^ ^^,,^g j^^ ^
valley bordering a stream, in fairly open country, with clumps of
scattered timber interspersed between the open meadows."
Eggs. — The eggs of this race are indistinguishable from those of
the red-shafted flicker, except for a slight average difference in size.
The measurements of 47 eggs average 29.37 by 22.37 millimeters:
the eggs showing the four extremes measure 32.0 by 23.4, 30.0 by
24.3, and 26.4 by 20.8 millimeters.
Food. — What has been said about the food of the red-shafted flicker,
and to a large extent that of the northern flicker, would apply equally
well to the northwestern. D. E. Brown says in his notes : "It puts in
most of its time feeding on the ground and becomes quite tame around
houses. I once placed some cornmeal on the back porch for some
small birds. A flicker lit on the porch and, approaching the meal,
laid its head sideways nearly on the floor and ran its long tongue
through the meal several times; it then turned its head over and re-
peated the operation from the other side, leaving a checkered effect
on the meal."
Theed Pearse writes to me from Vancouver Island that he has seen
"a flicker picking up grains of rolled-oats off a flat surface by a side-
ways action of the beak." Flickers at his feeding station fed on
apples, but seemed to prefer suet or fat.
S. F. Kathbun, of Seattle, has sent me the following interesting note :
"On one occasion in November I watched a northwestern flicker for
more than an hour feeding on a closely cut lawn in our yard. At
different times it had visited the spot, and I became somewhat curious
to know what the food represented that the bird found. This time as
soon as the woodpecker alighted it commenced tapping rapidly with
its beak the surface of the lawn, from time to time driving its bill into
the earth. Then when this was withdrawn oftener than not it held
an earthworm or some large grub, which at once was eaten and then
the tapping recommenced. On two occasions I could plainly see that
90801— ;59 20
298 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
its j)rey was cutworms. But what was of particular interest was the
painstaking way in which the flicker worked over every inch of the
small space to which it confined its attentions, for the spot was not
larger than 10 by 15 feet, and this was gone over again and again.
During the time I watched the flicker it captured more than a dozen
earthworms, all of which were of good size, and also eight cutworms.
Another action of the bird while it was hunting caught my attention.
At odd times it would vigorously scratch the surface of the lawn as if
to uncover some prey, and I noticed that each time this took place, a
worm would be pulled from the earth by the bird."
He says further, in a letter, regarding this observation : "At the time
we watched it, the bird was so close we had difficulty at times in using
the field glasses, so could readily see what it obtained. Sometimes it
would pull an angleworm from the ground very much as a robin does,
the worm stretched out to quite an extent."
Behavior. — There is nothing peculiar in the behavior of this flicker
that would not apply to its close relatives equally well. But J. Hooper
Bowles (1926) had his attention called in an interesting way to the
regularity of its habits in going to roost. He was callmg on a friend
one afternoon in the fall of 1924, of which he writes : "I happened to
remark that it v/as half past three, when my friend answered quickly,
'In five minutes it will be bedtime for our Flicker.' This somewhat
astonished me, but we went outside the house and took a station where
we could command a good view of a certain section of the eaves of
the house. Sure enough, in about five minutes a Northwestern Flicker
swooped up and hung itself woodpecker-fashion against a board under
the eaves, where it composed itself for spending the night. The bird
had been doing tliis with absolute regularity for some time, although it
was of course broad daylight and bright sunshine."
COLAPTES CAFER MAETIRENSIS Grinnell
SAN PEDRO FLICKER
HABITS
Under the above name. Dr. Josej)h Griimell (1927b) has separated
and described the red-shafted flicker of the Sierra San Pedro Martir
region of northern Baja California. He describes it as follows:
Similar iu general characters to Colaptes cafcr collaris Vigors (topotypes
from Monterey, California), but averaging slightly smaller, bill more attenu-
ated (especially more compressed in terminal half), and tone of ground color
on head and on upper and lower surfaces in fresh plumage much more gray
(rather than brown or vinaceous). * * *
The relative depth and clearness of the gray on the throat and sides of
head and neck in martirensis is a nearly constant character, as is also the
deep fuscous (of Ridgway, Color Standards and Color Nomenclature, 1912,
pi. XL VI) tone of the back and of the top of the head, in fresh, new plumage;
CAPE GILDED FLICKER 299
on the sides of the body, and on the chest surrounding the big black bar, there
is little hint of the bright vinaceous tinting that characterizes collaris from
throughout upper California. Weathering of the plumage toward spring tends
to rob martirensis of its most characteristic color tones, especially on the top
of the head which then becomes warmer brown, but not, however, to the degree
of brightness seen in rttfipileus. The latter is even browner than collaris.
He gives, as its range: "Sierra San Pedro Martir (San Jose, 2,500
feet, near La Grulla at 7,200 feet, and near Vallecitos at 7,500 feet)
and Sierra Juarez (Laguna Hanson, 6,200 feet)." Elsewhere
(1928b), he calls it a "common resident on the western slopes of the
Sierra Juarez and Sierra San Pedro Martir; in winter invading
westwardly to the seacoast. Breeds in Upper Sonoran and Transi-
tion zones."
Its habits are probably similar to those of the species elsewhere.
Grilling Bancroft has sent me the measurements of a set of eight
eggs, which average 26.87 by 22.16 millimeters; the eggs showing
the four extremes measure 28.2 by 22.0, 26.8 by 22.8, and 26.2 by 20.7
millimeters.
COLAPTES CHRYSOIDES CHRYSOmES (Malherbe)
CAPE GILDED FLICKER
HABITS
Because Malherbe's name was given to the first gilded flicker to
be described, and because his type came from the Cape region of
Baja California, this race becomes the type race of the species. Its
range extends from about latitude 28° N. to the southern extremity
of Baja California. It is about the same size as its nearest relative
to the northward, brufinesceTis, but is decidedly lighter in colora-
tion. It is smaller than meannsi and somewhat darker in coloration.
William Brewster (1902) says of its haunts: "Mr. Belding and Mr.
Frazar agree as to the rarity of the Gilded Flicker on the higher
mountains, where only a few individuals were seen by the former,
and but two (both females, taken on the Sierra de la Laguna, April
29) obtained by the latter. The bird's true home is evidently at
the bases of the mountains, and among the foothills extending thence
to the shores of the Pacific on the south and west, and to the Gulf
on the east. Throughout this region it is a common species, although
not so numerously represented as Melanerpes uropygialis. On the
arid plains near the coast it breeds in the stems of the giant cactus."
Grifiuig Bancroft (1930) says of this si)ecies in central Baja Cali-
fornia, south of latitude 28° :
The birds are extremely wild, often flushing from a distance of a quarter
of a mile. They lay in old cavities and, probably, also in those that are new;
scarred sahuaro dries so rapidly that a definite determination on this point
was not possible. The nests are usually twenty feet or more above the ground
300 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
and the cavities are generous ; an eight-inch diameter and a two-foot depth are
not unusual. Occasionally they will use natural openings in the cardon or
holes that have been chopped open by honey gatherers.
The flickers lay from early April until well into June. The number of eggs in
a clutch is normally three. With the single exception of one set of five we foimd
none larger, and none smaller in which incubation had commenced.
The eggs of the Cape gilded flicker are apparently similar to
those of other flickers, except in size. Mr. Bancroft (1930) gives the
measurements of 18 eggs as averaging 26.3 by 20.9 millimeters. The
measurements of 8 other eggs average 28.49 by 21.15 millimeters; the
eggs, in this series, showing the four extremes measure 31.35 by 21.83,
30.15 by 22.22, 25.90 by 20.70, and 26.70 by 20.00 millimeters.
Its habits in general are apparently similar to those the gilded
flicker of Arizona, on v.hich more has been published, and the reader
is referred to the following account of CoJaptes chnjsoides mearnsi.
DISTRIBUTION
Range. — Southern Arizona, southeastern California, and northwest-
ern Mexico; nonmigratory.
The range of the gilded flicker extends north to extreme south-
eastern California (Duncan Flats) ; and southern Arizona (Ante-
lope Peak, Bigbug, and the Salt River Bird Reservation). East to
southeastern Arizona (Salt River Bird Reservation, Desert Wells,
Picacho, Oracle, and Tombstone) ; central Sonora (Magdalena,
Opodepe, Hermosillo, Cedros, and Camoa) ; and central Sinaloa
(Culiacan). South to Sinaloa (Culiacan) ; and southern Baja Cali-
fornia (Cape Sail Lucas). West to Baja California (Cape San Lucas,
Todos Santos, Triunfo, Santa Margarita Island, San Javier, San
Quintin, and the Alamo River) ; and southeastern California
(Duncan Flats).
The range as outlined is for the entire species, Avhich has been sep-
arated into three geographic races. The typical race, known as tlie
Cape gilded flicker {O. c. chrysoides) ^ is found in the Cape district
of Baja California and north to about latitude 28° N. The San
Fernando flicker {C. c. hjmnnescens) occurs only within a range of
two degrees latitude in Baja California (lat. 28° to 30° N.). Mearns's
gilded flicker {C. c. mearnsi) is the race found in the southwestern
United States, northwestern Baja California, and the mainland of
Mexico.
Egg dates. — Arizona : 24 records, April 1 to June 11 ; 12 records,
April 21 to May 20, indicating the height of the season.
Baja California: 16 records, April 6 to May 20; 8 records, April 10
to May 17.
MEAEISrS'S GILDED FLICKER 301
COLAPTES CHRYSOIDES MEARNSI Ridgway
MEARNS'S GILDED FLICKER
Plate 39
HABITS
Mearns's gilded flicker is the best known of the three races of this
handsome species. Its range is along our southwestern border in
southwestern Arizona, extreme southeastern California, and in So-
nora, Mexico. It is confined almost entirely, especially in the breed-
ing season, to the giant cactus region in this area; its distribution
seems to be mainly governed by the distribution of this cactus, on
which it seems to depend for most of the necessities of life. M.
French Gilman (1915) puts it very well, as follows: "The giant cactus
is to this Flicker and the Gila Woodpecker, what the bamboo is to
the inhabitants of some of the eastern islands. * * * The cactus
furnishes the birds with home, shelter, food and possibly drink. They
roost in the holes and seek them as retreat from rain storms." But
he says that this flicker is also "found in cottonwood and willow-
groves as well as wherever the giant cactus grows."
W. E. D. Scott (1886) writes: "A rather common resident where-
ever the giant cactus occurs throughout the region, but is much more
common in the giant cactus of the southern part of the area under
consideration [southern Arizona] than to the northward. They are
common all about Tucson in such localities as I have indicated, but
are more rare in the San Pedro Valley. I have met with the species
in early spring and fall on the San Pedro slope of the Catalinas as
high up as 3,000 feet. I have now and then seen single individuals
in the mesquite timber, far from any giant cactus. All that I have
ever met with breeding have been in giant cactus."
Nesting.— Wq spent three days, ISIay 21, 22, and 23, 1922, col-
lecting on the giant-cactus plains near Tucson, Ariz., between the
mesquite forest to the southward and the Catalina Mountains to
the eastward from Tucson. Here we found ISIearns's gilded flicker
very common; we climbed to and examined seven nests and prob-
ably passed by a number of others. The nests were all in the
giant cactus, at heights ranging from 12 to 20 feet from the ground;
the only cavity measured was about 24 inches deep. We were rather
too late for eggs of this species, as many of the nests held large
young, two in each nest examined, never more nor fewer. On May 22
we found a nest containing two fresh eggs and another nest with four
addled eggs, probably deserted. At one of the first nests that I
examined I was surprised, when I inserted my hand, to feel some-
thing cold and clammy; my hand was quickly withdrawn and the
hole was chopped out, revealing a large gopher snake that had killed
302 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
and half swallowed, head first, one of the large young. At another
nest, containing two large young, I shot the adult male for a speci-
men, after which I found the female dead in a nearby hole, which
necessitated taking the two young also. After I had left for home,
my companion, Frank C. Willard, took a set of three fresh eggs on
June 11, from a nest 14 feet up in a small giant cactus; this was
probably a second laying.
Mr. Oilman (1915), who has had considerable experience with this
species, writes:
The nests are found in giant cactus, cottonwood and willow, and in that
order as to frequency, the giant cactus leading. Nests are in the giant cactus
or Saguaro as it is called, far from water, and in cottonwood and willow along
the river, on banks of the canals, or even standing in stagnant water pools.
Of twenty-seven nests examined, containing eggs or young, twenty-one were in
the Saguaro, four in wiUow, and two in cottonwood. Others were seen in
cottonwood but too difficult of access, and many in the cactus were out of
reach. If careful count were made I believe about ninety per cent would be
found in the cactus. Nests in cottonwood and willow ranged from five to
twenty-five feet from the ground, and in Saguaros from eleven to twenty-five
or thirty feet. * * *
The entrance to the nest holes varies much, as may be seen from the figures
given. The smallest entrance measured 2% inches and the largest 4% inches.
The shallowest hole was ten inches, and the deepest eighteen inches. * * *
The entrance to the eighteen inch hole was three and one-half inches in
diameter, and while the ratio is not constant, the shallower holes tend to
have smaller entrances, and the deeper holes have larger entrances. * * *
From the few measurements taken it may be stated that the bottom of the nest
hole is from four and one-half to six inches in diameter. It is hardly correct
to use the term diameter, as many of the bole bottoms were not nearly cir-
cular, one I measured being four inches one way and six the other. This
variation seemed to be governed by the size of the cactus, as in the smaller
plants there was not room to excavate a large circular bottom, and it had
to be stretched one way.
In the lower Colorado Valley, Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1914) found
that "at least two pairs were nesting in dead cottonwood stumps in
the drowned-out area of the river bottom. A nesting hole located
here was eighteen feet above the ground, in a large stub." He also
mentions the following nests found in the saguaro belt: "On the
Arizona side, April 22, excavation sixteen and one-half feet above
ground in cactus thirty-one feet high, contained two fresh eggs;
April 24, excavation twenty feet above the ground, not investigated.
On the California side, April 23, excavation ten and one-third feet
above the ground, in cactus twenty-eight feet high, contained on
infertile egg and two small young."
Major Bendire (1895) writes:
It nests at varying distances from the groimd from 8 to 40 feet, generally
at heights of about 15 feet. I have the indurated form of a nesting cavity
of this species now before me, showing its exact shape. The hardened walls
MEARNS'S GILDED FLICKER 303
are about oue-fourth of au iucb thick, and show the inner contour of the
cavity perfectly. The entrance is nearly 3 inches in diameter; inside it is
about 7 by 4 inches wide and 5^2 inches deep. The sides and bottom of the
cavity are quite smooth, considering the nature of the substance (the soft
inner pulp of the cactus) out of which it is excavated. It occupied only one-
half of the trunk of one of these giant cacti, and the rear of the cavity did
not quite reach the center of the plant. The eggs lay on the hardened floor,
and not, as usual, on a layer of chips. I am inclined to believe that a freshly
excavated nesting site is not habitable for some weeks, as it must require
some time for the exuding sap to harden. The mold before me somewhat
resembles a wasp's nest, both in color and shape, and if suspended from the
limb of a tree might easily be mistaken for one.
E^(/8. — As to the number of eggs laid by the gilded flicker, Mr.
Gilman (1915) writes: "Of the twenty-seven nests examined, eight
had five eggs, or young plus eggs, to make count of five for the
set; eleven had four eggs or young, or young plus eggs; six nests
contained three eggs or three young; and two nests had two young
each. In no case did I find five young in a nest, and from the fact
that infertile eggs were found with three and four young in a nest,
it may be inferred that in many of the nests containing two, three
or four young, more eggs had been laid. In no nest did I find more
than five eggs, and I conclude that the set is from three to five eggs."
The gilded flicker evidently lays fewer eggs than its northern and
eastern relatives, and the surprising thing is that there are so many
cases of infertile eggs, often one and sometimes two in a set. I have
had sets of six and seven eggs reported in collections, but these may
have been products of two females, where nesting holes were scarce
or the region overcrowded by the many birds that use these holes.
The few eggs that I have seen are like other flickers' eggs but either
dull white or only slightly glossy ; this may not be the universal rule,
however. The measurements of 50 eggs average 27.86 by 21.34 milli-
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 32.0 by 22.0,
27.78 by 22.22, and 24.61 by 20.04 miUimeters.
Plumages. — Mr. Gilman (1915) says: "The young when first
hatched are not very prepossessing to any one, except perhaps the
parents. At first glance they remind one of the pictured restoration
of the Plesiosaurus, with their long twisting naked necks. The lower
mandible was more than an eighth of an inch longer than the upper,
and on the tip of each was the hard white growth used in opening
the shell."
In the Juvenal plumage, which is acquired before the young bird
leaves the nest, the young male is similar to the adult male, but the
forehead is usually tinged with dark red ; the red malar patch is duller
and less uniform ; the upper parts are grayer, less brownish, and more
heavily barred; the primaries are tipped with brownish white; the
under parts are grayish white, more profusely, but less distinctly,
spotted; the black patch on the breast is smaller and more central;
304 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
the yellow in the v/ings and tail is duller; the black tips on the under
side of the tail are duller and not so well defined; and the bill is much
smaller and weaker. The young female is similar to the young male,
but there is no red in the crown or in the malar patches, the latter
being pale brown.
I have not seen enough material, taken at the proper seasons, to
work out the molts, but these are probably the same as in other
flickers.
Several apparent hybrids with cafer have been reported. Dr. Grin-
nell (1914), who has made a study of this subject, seems to doubt if
there is any hybridizing between these species ; he writes :
The salient fact shown by this comparative examination is that in aU other
characters the specimens aberrant in colors of wing and tail, are perfectly
typical of chrysoides (that is, of its subspecies mcarnsi). None of the phenom-
ena consequent upon hybridization is evidenced in other particulars, such as gen-
eral size, proportional dimensions, extent of dorsal barring, colors of body and
head. In all these characters there is no nearer approach of the red-shafted
chrysoides to collar is, than of the yellow-shafted chrysoides.
My conclusion is that the strain of chrysoides occurring at the present time
in the lower Colorado Valley shows proneness to replacement of yellow by red,
without there having been any interbreeding with another species. This may be
accounted for chemico-physiologically, as in the case of the linnet of the
Hawaiian Islands, where, however, the change has been from red to yellow.
* * * It is quite evident that the aberrant examples described by Brewster
and Swarth from central Arizona, as referred to above, are of the same nature
as the Colorado Valley specimens. The chances are that they were not hybrids.
So far as shown by the literature at hand, no unquestioned hybrids have been
found between chrysoides (or any of its subspecies) and collaris or cafer.
Food. — The food of Mearns's gilded flicker seems to be much like
tliat of the other flickers, including ants and various other insects and
such wild fruits and berries as are available in its territory. Dr.
Grinnell (1914) reports that the stomachs of two birds, taken in the
Colorado Valley, "had their gullets distended with a mass of small
l)lack ants and ant larvae." Mr. Oilman (1915) says:
They resort regularly to the Indian corncribs and are seen in corn fields
though I have never noticed them actually engaged on an ear of green corn as
I have the Gilas. They probably attack the green corn but are quiet about the
work instead of advertising their presence. They eat largely of the cactus fruit
and possibly of the pulp at certain lean seasons. They are very fond of water-
melon, and eat freely of it when it is placed on bird tables or on the ground
in shade of tree or shed. They appear to feed frequently on the ground in
the way the red-shafted does, and are probably after ants most of the time.
I have seen them at work on an ant hill and even pecking into the ground
after the insects.
Behavior — The same writer says on this subject :
The Gilded Flickers are much quieter than the Gilas, and are not so much
in evidence around homes, though they do not appear to be very timid. They
are simply less sociable I presume. * * *
SAN FERNANDO FLICKER 305
They are peaceable and impress me as being eminently practical and matter of
fact. Each one minds his own business and seems willing to live and let live.
They do not assemble in numbers as the Gilas do sometimes, but are solitary
or in pairs. They have the same habit of pecking the walls of buildings as have
the red-shafted flickers, and one has worked spasmodically at the shingled
gable of the school hoi;se here for the past three years. I take it to be the
same individual, for he is rather tame and roosts each night above one of the
window casings. * * *
They are not close sitters, and usually leave the nest before the tree is reached
or the ladder placed against the trunk. As soon as an intruder's footsteps be-
conae audible the landlady pokes her head from the entrance, and soon after
departs, never giving opportunity for capturing her on the nest.
Voice. — The gilded flicker apparently possesses as good a vocabu-
lary as any other flicker, uttering practically all the varied notes
common to the genus, but evidently it is not quite so noisy as its
relatives. ]\Ir. Gilman (1915) thinks that its notes are "not so fre-
quent nor quite so loud" as those of the red-shafted flicker.
Field marks. — The gilded flicker can be recognized easily as a
flicker by the characteristic markings of the genus, by its flight and
by its voice. It looks like an eastern flicker with a red malar patch
(in the male) instead of a black one, and with no red crescent on
the nape in either sex. It looks like a pale red-shafted flicker with
yellow, instead of red, in the wings and tail. Its smaller size is
hardly noticeable in the field.
COLAPTES CHRYSOIDES BRUNNESCENS Anthony
SAN FERNANDO FLICKER
HABITS
The gilded flicker of middle Baja California, between latitude
28° and latitude 30° N., is a well-marked subspecies. A. W. Anthony
(1895b), naming it, characterized it as "differing from C.
chrysoides in darker upper parts and slightly smaller size." He says
further : "It would be quite natural to expect specimens of CoJaptes
from the northern half of Lower California to be more or less inter-
mediate between those of Arizona and Cape St. Lucas. They are,
however, further removed from the type form from the Cape than
are those from Arizona and northern Mexico, and in the series I
have examined the Arizona skins are exactly intermediate in the
color of the upper parts betwen a series from Cape St. Lucas and
my skins from San Fernando,"
RidgAvay (1914) describes hrunnescens as "similar to C. c. chry-
soides, but coloration decidedly darker and browner, color of pileum
more rufescent (russet, or between russet and mars brown, in typical
specimens), immaculate area of rump more restricted (sometimes
whole rump spotted with black), wing and tail averaging shorter,
and bill longer."
306 BTJLLETIIT 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL, MUSEUM
Mr. Anthony wrote to Major Bendire (1895) : "The Gilded Flicker
is rather common in the heavy growth of giant cactus, Cerens
'pHnglei., but not adverse to the candlewood forests which cover a
large part of the peninsula between latitudes 28° and 30°." The
general habits of this flicker do not seem to differ from those of the
species elsewhere.
The eggs of the San Fernando flicker are similar to those of the
preceeding subspecies. GrifRng Bancroft (1930) gives the average
measurements of 24 eggs as 27.1 by 21.3 millimeters. I have the
measurements of 5 others, which average 28.9 by 22.1 millimeters.
COLAPTES CAFER RUFIPILEUS Ridgway
GUADALUPE FLICKER
HABITS
This insular race of the red-shafted flickers is another member of
the unique avifauna of that interesting island that has followed the
Guadalupe caracara, and other species peculiar to Guadalupe Island,
into extinction. It was discovered by Dr. Edward Palmer in 1875 and
was described and named by Eobert Eidgway (1876) as Colaiptes
mexicannis ruiipUeus. In his description of it, he remarks: "In the
closed tail, only about half an inch of red is exposed on the under
surface beyond the lower coverts, the remaining 2.50 being uniform
black. The main differences from the continental form consist in the
longer bill, more pinkish rump, and bright tawny forehead. In the
latter feature, the resemblance is closer to C. chrysoides^ the crown
and nape having about the same gradation from bright cinnamon-
tawny anteriorly to dull grayish-cinnamon posteriorly." Although
it has a decidedly longer bill than the mainland forms, it has a much
shorter wing and tail. The collector's notes state that, even then, it
was "rare, and apparently only found in the pine-woods of the north
end of the island."
Walter E. Bryant (1887), who visited Guadalupe in 1885 and 1886,
gives us the best account we have of this little-known bird. He says
of its status and haunts at that time : "Comparatively speaking, this
bird was not rare in the restricted area of the large cypress grove,
but apart from this locality less than a dozen were seen. Three
specimens were taken among some palms within a short distance from
the beach on the eastern side of the island. One only was heard
among the pines at the northern portion, and in the vicinity of the
large palm grove on the northwestern slope they were occasionally
seen." He collected ten specimens, whereas Dr. Palmer took only
three.
In the spring of 1906, W. W. Brown, Jr., with two assistants, col-
lected for two months on the island for the Thayer Museum, of which
GUADALUPE FLICKER 307
Thayer and Bangs (1908) say: "This well-marked island form is in
all probability doomed to speedy extinction, and will be the next of the
Guadalupe birds to go. Brown and Marsden found in all not more
than forty individuals in the island. In the small cypress grove near
the cabins there were four and in the large cypress woods about
thirty-five.
"Mr. Brown tells us that in the breeding season, at least, the species
is wholly confined to the cypresses, none being seen in the pine woods.
The bird is very tame and unsuspicious and falls an easy prey to the
cats."
Courtship. — Mr. Bryant (1887) noted Guadalupe flickers in court-
ship antics in January and in February. According to his descrip-
tion of their actions and their notes at such times, these performances
are evidently similar to those of other flickers elsewhere.
Nesting. — Apparently Dr. Palmer found no nests and collected no
eggs of this flicker, but Mr. Bryant (1887) has this to say about its
nesting habits :
By March 16, the birds were invariably found in pairs, and my wish to secure
a setting of eggs before departing seemed in a fair way of being fulfilled.
Strolling among the cypresses on the 27th of March, I found four trees upon
which the birds were at work or had been recently, and in such cases the birds
themselves were always to be found in the immediate vicinity. Passing a half-
dead tree I heard the sounding taps of a woodpecker at work, and as I neared
the spot, the slight noise which I made as I carefully picked my way over the
rock-strewn ground caused a handsome male bird to suddenly appear at an
opening about four feet high. With a foot grasping either side of the entrance
he gazed upon the intruder. Having comprehended the situation, he flew to
another tree, where he quietly awaited my inspection and departure. The hole
was then down about fifteen inches. By AprU 7, it had reached a depth of
about twenty inches and contained six fresh eggs, upon which the female was
then sitting,
Mr. Brown collected, for the Thayer Museum, six sets of eggs, one
set of five, two sets of four, one set of three, and two single eggs, all
of which are now in the Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cam-
bridge, Mass. The eggs were collected on dates ranging from May 8
to June 8, 1906; the nests were all in cypresses, mostly old or dead
trees or stumps, at heights ranging from 4 to 20 feet above the ground,
and at altitudes of from 3,700 to 4,500 feet above sea level; one of
the cavities was only 2 inches deep, but some of the others were 18
or 20 inches deep and from d^o to 4 inches in diameter.
Eggs. — The number of eggs laid by the Guadalupe flicker ap-
parently ranged from four to six. The eggs that I have seen, in Cam-
bridge, are ovate, pure white, and decidedly glossy, like other flickers'
eggs. The measurements of 23 eggs average 27.8 by 21.7 milli-
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 30.2 by 21.1.
28.0 by 22.5, and 26.8 by 20.5 millimeters.
308 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Food. — Mr. Bryant (1887) says: "The food of this species during a
portion of the year consists largely of smooth-skinned caterpillars,
besides numerous beetles and ants; the latter are always obtainable
and growing to a large size figure as an important item of their diet."
Behavior. — He also remarks: "Of all the species of this family I
have ever met with, none have been so tame and unsuspicious or less
frightened by the report of a gun."
Voice. — The notes of the Guadalupe flicker are also similar to those
of the mainland forms, for Mr. Bryant (1887) says: "In addition to
the familiar scythe-whetting notes they have the peculiar Svake-up'
call and its rapid prelude of monosyllables. By imitating this call I
decoyed a distant female to within short range, the bird coming
through the thickest of the cypress grove, stopping at short intervals to
call and listen for a reply."
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LITERATURE CITED 317
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MoBTiMEE D. [=B. (Benjamin)].
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318 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
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1938. The California woodpecker and I.
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1932. The birds of Minnesota, vol. 1.
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1934. Downy goes visiting. Bird-Lore, vol. 36, pp. 356-^360.
Saunders, Aretas Andrews.
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LITERATURE CITED 319
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1915. On the nesting of certain birds in Texas. Auk, vol. 32, pp. 317-331.
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621-622.
320 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Steabns, Winfeid Ajlden.
1883. New England bird life. (Edited by Elliott Coues.)
Steele, Edward Simon.
1926. A three-cornered fight. Condor, vol. 28, p. 272.
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Stoddard, Herbert Lee.
1917. Notes on a few of the rarer birds of Sauk and Dane Counties, Wis-
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Stone, Witmer.
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1860. The natural history of Washington Territory and Oregon.
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Thoms, Craig S.
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1906. Journal, 1857, edited by Bradford Torrey.
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1925. Notes on the nesting habits of the northern pileated woodpecker.
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VAN Rossem, Adriaan, and Pierce, Wright McEwan.
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1930. Red-cockaded woodpeckers on corn. Bird-Lore, vol. 32, pp. 127-li!».
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1912. Some north-central Colorado bird notes. Condor, vol. 14, pp. 81-104.
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1910. Birds of South Caruliii:t. Contributions frt.m the Charleston Museum,
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90801—39 22
322 BULLETIN 174, TJNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Weydemeyer, Winton.
1926. Sapsuckers feeding sap to young. Auk, vol. 43, p. 236.
Weydemeyer, Winton, and Weydemeyer, Donald.
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1912. The summer of fire and bird adaptation. Cassinia, no. 15, pp. 2&-34.
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Whittle, Charles Livy.
1920. A (polony of throe toed woodpeckers. Bird-Lore, vol. 22, pp. 351-352.
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1912. A week afield in southern Arizona. Condor, vol. 14, pp. 53-63.
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Wilson, Alexander.
1832. American ornithology, vol. 1. (1811 edition also cited.)
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1905. Some nesting sites of the hairy woodpecker {Dnjohates villosus).
Wilson Bull., vol. 17. p. 66.
Woods, Robert S.
1932. Acquired food habits of some native birds. Condor, vol. 34, pp.
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Wright, Albert Hazen, and Harper, Francis.
1913. A biological reconnaissance of Okefiuoke Swamp : The birds. Auk,
vol. 30, pp. 477-505.
Wright, Horace Winslow.
1911. The birds of the Jefferson region in the White Mountains, New
Hampshire. Proc. Manchester Inst. Arts and Sci., vol. 5. pt. 1.
1912. Morning awakening and even-song. Auk, vol. 29, pp. 307-327.
Wright, Howard W.
1908. A death struggle. Condor, vol. 10, p. 93.
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 1
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 2
Louisiana, April 12, 1935.
IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKERS AT THEIR NEST.
A. A. Allen.
U. S. NATIONAU MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 3
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 4
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 5
Oregon.
W. L. Finley and H. T. Bohlmar
Young Harris's Woodpecker.
Duval County, Fla., Ma\ l.!, T'!!, S. A. (.".rimes.
Young Southern Hairy Woodpeckers.
U. S NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 6
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 7
:,ni Ciinit>-, 111., jinu' !(1. l''l.'.
Nestling looking out and adult with food.
Northern downy woodpecker.
A. D. DuBois.
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE
Ithaca, N. Y. A. A. Allen.
Eggs and Young of Northern Downy Woodpecker.
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 9
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 10
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U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 11
San Diego County, Calif., April 9, 1929.
A. C. Bent.
Nesting site.
\\ . 1,. and Irene Finley.
Adult at nest.
NuTTALL"s Woodpecker.
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 12
U. S NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 13
"■■^^
• W'k'
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 14
Tuolumne County, Calif., June 28, l''.i6. L , i . Smith.
YOUNG Northern White-headed Woodpeckers.
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 15
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 16
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U- S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 17
U S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE U
Nesting site.
Lake Winnipegosis, Manitoba, June 1, I'.'li.
H. K. Jub.
Adult at nest.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
U. S NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 19
New Brunswick.
B. S. BowJish.
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 20
.I'P
:X
CarvcT C-unty, Minii., M,i> 2'', l'2(.. A. D. DiiBois.
NESTING SITE OF NORTHERN PILEATED WOODPECKER
U S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 21
Carver County, Minn., May 8, 1936.
Work of Northern Pileated Woodpecker.
D. DiiBois.
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 22
c^ IS'
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 23
Near Belvidere, Alberta. June 19, 1924.
Adult at nest.
R. H. Rauch.
Coos County, N. H., May 18, 1903. Owen Durfee.
Nestini.; site.
Northern pileated Woodpecker.
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 24
Ithaca, N. Y,
Approaching the nest.
ity, Minn., June 9, 1929
Young.
Northern Pileated Woodpeckers.
S. A. Grimes
U S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 25
U S NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 26
Ithaca, N. Y. A. A. Allen
Nesting of Red-headed Woodpecker.
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 27
Baltimore County, Md., June 26, 1936.
M. B. Meanley, Jr.
Duval County, Fla., July 6, 1925. S. A. Grimes.
Young Red-headed Woodpeckers.
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 28
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 29
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U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 30
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 31
Red-bellied Woodpecker.
U- S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 32
.»''**y •'
*»»>»•'
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 33
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 34
Oracle, Ariz., December 9, 1903.
K. R. Forrest
Adult male.
Adult female.
Gila Woodpecker
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 35
F. N. Irving.
Adult male.
St. Cloud, Fla
Nest in palmetto stub.
Southern Flicker.
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 36
Brunswick, Maine, June lH. 1932.
R. S. Palmer
Nestling 26 hours old.
Illinois.
Cordelia J. Stanwood.
Nestling almost ready to leave tlie nest.
Northern Flickers.
U S NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 37
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 38
U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
BULLETIN 174 PLATE 39
INDEX
abieticola, Ceophloeus pileatus, 164, 165,
170, 171, 191.
Achilles, Laurence, on Arctic three-toed
woodpecker, 106, 108, 110, 113.
aculeata, Balanosphyra formieivora,
211, 212, 223, 226.
Agersborg. G. S.. on red-headed wood-
pecker, 196. 200.
Alaska three-toed woodpecker, 122.
albolarvatus, Dryobates albolarvatus, 97.
Xenopicus, 101, 105.
albolarvatus albolarvatus, Dryobates, 97.
albolarvatus gravirostris, Dryobates,
104, 105.
Alderson, V. A., on eastern hairy wood-
pecker, 18.
Allen, A. A., viii, 179.
on ivory-billed woodpecker, 1.
on northern downy woodpecker, 57,
62, 64.
Allen, A. A., and Kellogg, P. P., on ivory-
billed woodpecker, 3-6, 8, 10, 12.
Allen, C. A., 288.
on Cabanis's woodpecker, 34.
on northern red-breasted sapsucker,
153.
on willow woodpecker, 70.
Allen, F. H., on Arctic three-toed wood-
pecker, 113.
on eastern hairy woodpecker, 13, 20.
on northern downy woodpecker, 53,
64.
on northern flicker, 265-267, 279.
on northern pileated woodpecker,
174-175.
Allen, J. A., on hybrid flickers, 291.
on Lewis's woodpecker, 229.
Allen, R. P., on southern pileated wood-
pecker, 169.
Allert, O. P., on northern flicker, 281.
Alpine three-toed woodpecker, 124.
Amadon, Dean, viii.
American three-toed woodpecker, 116.
americanus, Picoides, 108, 119.
Anderson, A. H., on Gila woodpecker,
254.
Anderson, M. P., and Grinnell, Joseph,
on Gairdner's woodpecker, 50.
angustifrons, Balanosphyra formieivora,
211, 212, 222.
Melanerpes, 82.
Ant-eating woodpecker, 211.
Anthony, A. W., on cardon woodpecker,
257.
on San Fernando flicker, 305, 306.
90801—39 23
Arctic three-toed woodpecker, 106.
arcticus, Picoides, 106, 118, 119.
Arizona woodpecker, 91.
arizonae, Dryobates arizonae, 91.
Picus, 91.
arizonae arizonae Dryobates, 91.
arizonae fraterculus, Dryobates, 97.
Arthur, E. W., on northern pileated
woodpecker, 174.
Asyndesmus lewis, 226.
Attwater, H. P., on golden-fronted wood-
pecker, 246.
Audubon, J. J., 30.
on Gairdner's woodpecker, 49.
on ivory-billed woodpecker, 2, 4, 5,
8, 10.
on northern downy woodpecker, 53,
57.
on pileated woodpecker, 172, 188.
on red-bellied woodpecker, 244.
on red-cockaded woodpecker, 73.
on red-headed woodpecker, 199, 203,
205.
on southern hairy woodpecker, 28.
on southern pileated woodpecker,
167, 169.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 127,
133.
auduboni, Dryobates villosus, 23, 27.
auratus, Colaptes, 290, 291, 295.
Colaptes auratus, 259.
auratus auratus, Colaptes, 259.
auratus luteus, Colaptes, 262-264.
aurifrons, Centurus, 245.
bacatus, Picoides tridactylus, 116.
Bachman, John, on southern pileated
woodpecker, 169.
Bacon, 0. C, on red-headed woodpecker,
197.
Bagg, C. L., 207.
Bailey, A. M., viii.
Bailey, C. E., 22.
on northern downy woodpecker, 63.
Bailey, Mrs. Florence M., on alpine
three-toed woodpecker, 126.
on cactus woodpecker, 85.
on Mearns's woodpecker, 225.
on Natalie's sapsucker, 162.
on northern pUeated woodpecker,
187.
on northern white-headed wood-
pecker, 101, 103.
on Nuttall's woodpecker, 90.
on red-shafted flacker, 289.
§28
324 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Bailey, Mrs. Florence M., on southern
red-breasted sapsucker, 147;
on white-breasted woodpecker, 45.
on Williamson's sapsucker, 159.
Bailey, H. B., 200.
Bailey, H. H., on northern flicker, 278.
on southern downy woodpecker, 46.
on southern hairy woodpecker, 27.
Bailey, Vernon, 9.
Baird, S. F., on hybrid flickers, 291.
Baird, S. F. ; Brewer, T. M. ; and Ridg-
way, Robert, on Williamson's sap-
sucker, 155.
Baird, S. F. ; Cassin, John ; and Law-
rence, G. N., on Williamson's sap-
sucker, 155.
bairdi, Balanosphyra foi-micivora, 211,
212, 223, 226.
Dryobates scalaris, 79, 80, 82, 83.
Balanosphyra formicivora aculeata, 211,
212, 223, 226.
formicivora angustifrons, 211, 212,
222.
formicivora bairdi, 211, 212, 223,
226.
formicivora formicivora, 211, 222.
formicivora martirensis, 212, 226.
Bancroft, Grifiing, on Brewster's wood-
pecker, 2r)S.
on capa gilded flicker, 299, 300.
on San Fernando flicker, 306.
on San Fernando woodpecker, 87.
on San Lucas woodpecker. 82, 83.
Bangs, On I ram, on American three-toed
woodpecker, 116.
on Florida pileated woodpecker, 190.
on northern pileated woodpecker,
171.
on pileated woodpecker, 164.
on western pileated woodpecker,
191.
Bangs, Outram, and Thayer, J. E., on
Guadalupe flicker, 307.
Batchelder, C. F., on Newfoundland
woodpecker, 38.
on Batchelder's woodpecker, 51.
Batchelder's woodpecker, 51.
Bates, F. A., 276.
Beal, F. E. L., on alpine three-toed wood-
pecker, 126.
on American three-toed woodpecker,
118.
on Arctic three-toed woodpecker,
111.
on California woodpecker, 218.
on eastern hairy woodpecker, 17, 18.
on ivory-billed woodpecker, 9.
on Lewis's woodpecker, 232.
on northern downy woodpecker, 58,
59.
on northern flicker, 277-279.
on northern pileated woodpecker,
183, 184.
on northern white-headed wood-
pecker, 101.
on Nuttall's woodpecker, 89, 90.
on red-bellied woodpecker, 240.
Beal, F. E. L., on red-headed wood-
pecker, 198, 199.
on red-shafted flicker, 291, 292.
on southern pileated woodpecker,
168.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 133.
Belding, Lyman, 222, 258, 299.
on Cabanis's woodpecker, 34.
Bondire, C. E., on Alaska three-toed
woodpecker, 123.
on Arctic three-toed woodpecker,
109, 112.
on Arizona woodpecker, 93.
on Batchelder's woodpecker, 51.
on Cabanis's woodpecker, 34.
on cactus woodpecker, 84, 86.
on California woodpecker, 213, 218,
220, 221.
on Chihuahua woodpecker, 40.
on eastern hairy woodpecker, 16,
20.
on Florida pileated woodpecker,
191.
on Gila woodpecker, 252, 253, 255.
on golden-fronted woodpecker, 246,
247.
on Harris's woodpecker, 29, 32.
on ivory-billed woodpecker, 5. 6.
on Lewis's woodpecker, 227-230,
233.
on IMearns's gilded flicker, 302.
on Mearns's woodpecker, 224.
on Modoc woodpecker, 42, 43.
on northern flicker, 272.
on northern pileated woodpecker,
171, 188.
ou northern red-breasted sapsucker,
151-154.
on northern white-headed wood-
pecker, 98, 99, 103.
ou northwestern flicker, 296.
ou Nuttall's woodpecker, 87.
on red-bellied woodpecker, 237-240,
243.
on red-headed woodpecker, 196-
200, 205.
on red-naped sapsucker, 143-145.
on red-shafted flicker, 288, 293.
on Rocky Mountain hairy wood-
pecker, 36.
on southern hairy woodpecker, 28.
on southern pileated woodpecker,
167.
on western pileated woodpecker,
192.
on Williamson's sapsucker, 157.
on willow woodpecker, 70.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 129, 136,
137.
Beyer, G. E., on ivory-billed woodpecker,
2, 4, 6.
Bicknell, B. P., on northern flicker, 281,
282.
Biolosical Survey, U. S. Bureau of, viii,
9, 48, 183, 210, 263.
Blackwelder, Eliot, on northern pileated
woodpecker, 173.
INDEX
325
Blincoe, B. J., on red-bellied woodpecker,
242.
Bolles, Frank, on yellow-bellied sap-
sucker, 130, 131, 133, 136.
borealis, Dryobates, 72.
Bowdish, B. S., and Philipp, P. B., on
Arctic three-toed woodpecker, 107.
on northern hairy woodpecker, 26.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 129.
Bowles, J. H., on northwestern flicker,
298.
Bowles, J. H., and Dawson, W. L., on
Gairdner's woodpecker, 49.
on Harris's woodpecker, 30, 31, 33.
Brasher, Rex, on eastern hairy wood-
pecker, 14, 19.
Brewer, T. M. (See under Baird, S. F.)
Brewster, William, on American three-
toed woodpecker, 116, 117, 119, 120.
on Brewster's woodpecker, 258.
on cape gUded flicker, 299.
on downy woodpeckers, 45.
on narrow-fronted woodpecker, 222.
on northern downy woodpecker, 54,
61, 67.
on northern flicker, 269, 271, 275,
279.
on red-bellied woodpecker, 241.
on red-cockaded woodpecker, 73.
on San Lucas woodpecker, 82.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 61, 129,
133, 137.
brewsteri, Centurus uropygialis, 257,
258.
Brewster's woodpecker, 258.
Brooks, Allan, on Alaska three-toed
woodpecker, 124.
Brooks, Maurice, on northern pileated
woodpecker, 181, 185, 186, 189.
Brown, D. B., on Gairdner's wood-
pecker, 49.
on Harris's woodpecker, 31, 32.
on northwestern flicker, 296, 297.
Brown, Herbert, on Lewis's woodpecker,
231, 233, 235.
Brown, W. W., Jr., 306, 307.
brunnescens, Colaptes chrysoides, 299,
305.
Bryant, H. C, on California woodpecker,
218.
on western pileated woodpecker, 194.
Bryant, W. A., on northern flicker, 270.
Bryant, W. E., on Guadalupe flicker,
306-308.
on red-shafted flicker, 288.
Bryens, O. M., on northern pileated
woodpecker, 182.
Buchheister, C. W., on northern flicker,
272.
Burleigh, T. D., on northern pileated
woodpecker, 178.
Burns, F. L., on northern downy wood-
pecker, 57.
on northern flicker, 264, 265. 269,
270, 272, 277-279, 282, 28-^286.
on northern pileated woodpecker,
178.
Burrows, D. B., on golden-fronted wood-
Ijecker, 246, 248.
Burtch, Verdi, on eastern hairy wood-
pecker, 21.
Cabanis's woodpecker, 33.
cactophilus, Dryobates scalaris, 80, 81,
83.
cafer, Colaptes, 290, 291, 296, 304 (hy-
brids ) .
Colaptes cafer, 295, 296.
Picus, 296.
cafer cafer, Colaptes, 295, 296.
cafer collaris, Colaptes, 261, 287, 295,
296, 298.
cafer martirensis, Colaptes, 295, 298.
cafer ruflpileus, Colaptes, 295, 299, 306.
cafer saturatior, Colaptes, 296.
California woodpecker, 212.
Campephilus principalis, 1.
Cape gilded flicker, 299.
Car don woodpecker, 257.
cardonensis, Centurus uropygialis, 257,
258.
carolinus, Centurus, 237.
Carr, R. F., on northern flicker, 281.
Carriger, H. W., 88.
Carriger, H. W., and Wells, Gurnie, on
western pileated woodpecker, 192, 193.
Cassin, John, on Williamson's sapsucker,
155.
(See also under Baird, S. F.)
Catesby, Mark, 164, 259.
on ivory-billed woodpecker, 1.
on pileated woodpecker, 171, 184.
Centurus aurifrons, 245.
carolinus, 237.
uropygialis brewsteri, 257, 258.
uropygialis cardonensis, 2-57, 258.
uropygialis uropygialis, 250, 257,
258.
Ceophloeus pileatus abieticola, 164, 165,
170, 171, 191.
pileatus floridanus. 165, 170, 189.
pileatus picinus, 170, 171, 191.
pileatus pileatus, 164, 171, 189, 192.
Chihuahua woodpecker, 39.
Christy, B. H., viii.
on northern pileated woodpecker,
171.
on red-bellied woodpecker, 239.
chrysoides, Colaptes, 304 (hybrids).
Colaptes chrysoides, 299, 305.
chrysoides brunnescens, Colaptes, 299,
305.
chrysoides chrysoides, Colaptes, 299, 305.
chrysoides mearnsi, Colaptes, 299-301.
Colaptes auratus, 290, 291, 295.
auratus auratus, 259.
auratus luteus, 262-264.
cafer, 290, 291. 296, 304 (hybrid).
cafer cafer, 295, 296.
cafer collaris, 261, 287, 295, 296, 298.
cafer martirensis, 295, 298.
cafer ruflpileus, 295. 299, 306.
cafer saturatior, 296.
chrysoides, 304 (hybrids).
chrysoides brunnescens, 299, 305.
326
BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Colaptes chrysoides chrysoides, 299,
305.
chrysoides mearnsi, 299-301.
collaris, Colaptes cafer, 261, 287, 295,
296. 298.
Cooper, J. G., on Williamson's sapsucker,
155.
Cooper, J. G., and Suckley, George, on
Lewis's woodpecker, 235.
Coues, Elliott, on Williamson's sap-
sucker, 160.
Currier, E. S., on Lewis's woodpecker,
228.
daggetti, Sphyrapieus varius, 140, 146.
Dawson, W. L., on Cabanis's wood-
pecker, 34.
on cactus woodpecker, 84, 86.
on California woodpecker, 215, 218,
219, 222.
on Gila woodpecker, 254.
on northern red-breasted sapsucker,
151, 154.
on northern white-headed wood-
pecker, 97, 103.
on Nuttall's woodpecker, 87-89, 91.
on red-headed woodpecker, 205.
one red-naped sapsucker, 145.
on red-shafted flicker, 289.
on southern red-breasted sapsucker,
149, 150.
on southern white-headed wood-
pecker, 105.
on western pileated woodpecker,
193.
on Williamson's sapsucker, 157.
on willow woodpecker, 70.
Dawson, W. L., and Bowles, J. H., on
Gairdner's woodpecker, 49.
on Harris's woodpecker, 30, 31, 33.
Denton, S. W., on Lewis's woodpecker,
230.
Dice, L. R., on Batchelder's woodpecker,
52.
Dingle, Edward, on red-cockaded wood-
pecker, 76.
Dixon, J. S., 88.
on Arctic three-toed woodpecker,
114.
on Sitka hairy woodpecker, 41.
(See also under Grinnell, Joseph.)
Doe, C. E., viii.
dorsalis, Picoides tridactylus, 122, 124.
Dorsey, G. A., on red-headed wood-
pecker, 202.
Downy woodpecker, Nelson's, 68.
northern, 52.
southern, 45.
Dryobates albolarvatus albolarvatus, 97.
albolarvatus gravirostris, 104, 105.
arizonae arizonae, 91.
arizonae fraterculus, 97.
borealis, 72.
homorus, 51.
nuttalli, 87.
Dryobates pubescens gairdneri, 48, 49,
69.
pubescens leucurus, 48, 51.
pubescens medianus, 46, 48, 50, 52,
68.
pubescens nelsoni, 48, 51, 68.
pubescens oreoecus, 51.
pubescens pubescens, 45.
pubescens turati, 48, 49, 69.
scalaris bairdi, 79, 80, 82, 83.
scalaris cactophilus, 80, 81, 83.
scalaris eremicus, 81-83, 86.
scalaris lucasanus, 81, 82, 86, 87.
scalaris scalaris, 81.
scalaris symplectus, 79, 83.
stricklandi, 91, 94.
villosus auduboni, 23, 27.
villosus harrisi, 24, 29, 33, 37, 40,
41.
villosus hyloscopus, 24, 29, 30, 33,
39, 41, 44.
villosus icastus, 24, 39, 44.
villosus leucomelas, 38.
villosus leucothorectis, 24, 33, 39,
41, 44.
villosus monticola, 24, 25, 33, 35, 38,
40, 41, 44.
villosus orius, 24, 33, 39, 41.
villosus picoideus, 24, 37, 40, 41.
villosus scrippsae, 24, 44.
villosus septentrionalis, 23, 25, 35,
40.
villosus sitkensis, 24, 40.
villosus terraenovae, 23, 38.
villosus villosus, 13, 25, 38.
DuBois, A. D., on northern downy wood-
pecker, 56-59, 61.
on northern flicker, 280.
on red-headed woodpecker, 196-198,
200, 203, 204.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 131.
Duncan, Mrs. Sanford, on southern
flicker, 261.
Durfee, Owen, on eastern hairy wood-
pecker, 14.
on northern flicker, 279.
Dwight, Jonathan, Jr., on northern
flicker, 270.
Eastern hairy woodpecker, 13.
Eaton, E. H., on American three-toed
woodpecker, 117, 118.
on northern flicker, 282.
on red-headed woodpecker, 195.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 127.
Eckstorm, Fannie H., on red-headed
woodpecker, 202.
Eifrig, C. W. G., on Arctic three-toed
woodpecker, 113.
Elliot, E. G., 272.
Emerson, W. O., on southern red-
breasted sapsucker, 149.
eremicus, Dryobates scalaris, 81-83, 86.
Erichsen, W. J., on southern flicker, 259.
Errington, P. L., on northern flicker, 286.
iin)EX
327
erythrocephalus, Melanerpes, 195.
Evermann, B. W., on northern flicker,
272.
Farley, F. L., on northern flicker, 269.
Farley, J. A., on northern flicker, 271.
fasciatus, Picoides tridactylus, 122, 124.
Fisher, A. K., 93.
Fisher, W. H., on red-bellied wood-
pecker, 238, 244.
Fisher, W. K., on willow woodpecker,
69.
Flanagan, J. H., on alpine three-toed
woodpecker, 125.
on red-naped sapsucker, 145.
Fleming, J. H., on Arctic three-toed
woodpecker, 108.
Flicker, cape gilded, 299.
Guadalupe, 306.
Mearns's gilded, 301.
northern, 264.
northwestern, 296.
red-shafted, 287.
San Fernando, 305.
San Pedro, 298.
southern, 259.
Florida pileated woodpecker, 189.
floridanus, Ceophloeus pileatus, 165,
170, ]89.
Forbush, E. H., 276.
on American three-toed woodpecker,
119.
on Arctic three-toed woodpecker,
111, 114, 115.
on eastern hairy woodpecker, 13,
19, 20, 22.
on northern downy woodpecker, 53,
59 63
on northern flicker, 278, 281.
on red-bellied woodpecker, 240.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 131.
formicivora, Balanosphyra formicivora,
211, 222.
formicivora aculeata, Balanosphyra, 211,
212, 223, 226.
formicivora angustifrons, Balanosphyra,
211, 212, 222.
formicivora bairdi, Balanosphyra, 211,
212, 223, 226.
formicivora formicivora, Balanosphyra,
211, 222.
formicivora martirensis, Balanosphyra,
212, 226.
formicivorus, Melanerpes, 223.
Forrest, E. R., viii.
Fowler, F. H., on Arizona woodpecker,
95.
fraterculus, Dryobates arizonae, 97.
Frazar, M. A., 222, 223, 258, 299.
on San Lucas woodpecker, 82.
Fritz, Emanuel, on southern red-breasted
sapsucker, 149.
Frost, Allen, viii.
gairdneri, Dryobates pubescens, 48, 49,
69.
Gairdner's woodpecker, 49.
Gale, Denis, 36, 51.
on Natalie's sapsucker, 164.
on red-naped sapsucker, 145.
Ganier, A. F., on southern flicker, 260.
Gault, B. T., on eastern hairy wood-
pecker, 21.
on northern flicker, 284.
on Nuttall's woodpecker, 87.
Gibbs, Morris, on eastern hairy wood-
pecker, 20.
Gignoux, Claude, on California wood-
pecker, 218.
Gila woodpecker, 250.
Gilded flicker, cape, 299.
Mearns's, 301.
Gillin, J. R., viii.
Gilman, M. F., on Gila woodpecker, 250-
256.
on Mearns's gilded flicker, 301-305.
on red-naped sapsucker, 145.
Golden-fronted woodpecker, 245.
Goldman, E. A., on white-breasted wood-
pecker, 45.
Goodpasture, A. V., on red-headed wood-
pecker, 201.
Grant, E. O., on American three-toed
woodpecker, 119.
gravirostris, Dryobates albolarvatus,
104, 105.
Grimes, S. A., on red-bellied woodpecker,
239.
on red-cockaded woodpecker, 75.
on southern hairy woodpecker, 27.
Grinnell, Joseph, 41.
on Alaska three-toed woodpecker,
123, 124.
on Cabanis's woodpecker, 33.
on California woodpecker, 218.
on cardon woodpecker, 257.
on Mearns's gilded flicker, 302, 304.
on red-naped sapsucker, 144, 145.
on San Pedro flicker, 298.
on southern red-breasted sapsucker,
146.
on southern white-headed wood-
pecker, 105.
on Williamson's sapsucker, 156, 158.
on willow woodpecker, 71.
Grinnell, Dr. and Mrs. Joseph, on red-
shafted flicker, 289.
Grinnell, Joseph, and Anderson, M. P.,
on Gairdner's woodpecker, 50.
Grinnell, Joseph ; Dixon, J. S. ; and
Linsdale, J. M., on Arctic three-toed
woodpecker, 112.
on California woodpecker, 212, 219.
on Modoc woodpecker, 41-43.
on northern white-headed wood-
pecker, 99, 100, 102, 103.
on Nuttall's woodpecker, 90.
on western pileated woodpecker,
192.
on willow woodpecker, 70.
Grinnell, Joseph, and Storer, T. I., on
Arctic three-toed woodpecker, 109.
on California woodpecker, 214, 219.
on Modoc woodpecker, 41, 43.
on northera white-headed wood-
pecker, 98, 99, 101, 102, 104.
on red-shafted flicker, 293,
328
BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Grinnell, Joseph, and Storer, T. I., ou
southern red-breasted sapsueker, 146,
150.
on Williamson's sapsueker, 159, 160.
on willow woodpecker, 71.
Grinnell, Joseph, and Swartb, H. S., on
San Pedro woodpecker, 226.
Griscom, Ludlow, on northern pileated
woodpecker, 173.
Guadalupe flicker, 306.
Hairy woodpecker, eastern, 13.
Lower California, 44.
northern, 25.
Rocky Mountain, 35.
Sitka, 40.
southern, 27.
Hamilton, Caroline E., on American
three-toed woodpecker, 119.
Hanna, W. C, viii.
Hardy, Manly, ou Arctic three-toed
woodpecker, 112.
Hargitt, Edward, on Arizona wood-
pecker, 91.
Harllee, H. L., viii.
on red-cockaded woodpeckei', 74.
on southern flicker, 259.
Harlow, R. (1, viii, 123.
on northern pileated woodftecker,
178.
Harper, Francis, and Wright, A. H., on
southern pileated woodpecker, 165.
Harris, Edward, 30.
harrisi, Dryobates villosus, 24, 29, 33,
37, 40, 41.
Harris's woodpecker, 29.
Hartlaub, C. J. G., 51.
Hasbrouck. E. M., on golden-fronted
woodpecker, 245, 248.
Helme, A. H., on red-headed wood-
pecker, 206.
Helton, John, Jr., on red-headed wood-
pecker, 196.
on southern downy woodpecker, 46.
Hembree, D. V., on red-cockaded wood-
pecker, 78.
Henderson, Junius, on southern red-
breasted sapsueker, 149.
Henshaw, H. W., on Arizona wood-
pecker, 92, 95.
on California woodpecker, 220.
on Mearns's woodpecker, 223.
on Williamson's sapsueker, 155.
Her.sey, F. S., viii.
Hickey, J. J., viii.
on eastern hairy woodpecker, 23.
on northern flicker, 279.
Hill, S. D., on Lewis's woodpecker, 232.
Hoffmann, Ralph, on Arctic three-toed
woodpecker, 113.
on cactus woodpecker, 86.
on California woodpecker, 222.
on Lewis's woodpecker, 234.
on Nuttall's woodpecker, 90.
on southern red-breasted sapsueker,
150.
Holland, H. M., on red-headed wood-
pecker, 204.
HoUister, Ned, on northern flicker, 270.
HoUister, Ned, and Kumlien, Ludwig, on
northern flicker, 271.
on red-headed woodpecker, 196.
homorus, Dryobates, 51.
Howard, O. W., 93, 224.
Howell, A. H., on Florida pileated wood-
pecker, 190, 191.
on red-bellied woodpecker, 237, 238.
on red-cockaded woodpecker, 77.
on red-headed woodpecker, 195.
on southern downy woodpecker, 46.
on southern flicker, 259.
on southern hairy woodpecker, 27.
on southern pileated woodpecker,
168.
Hoyt, R. D., on ivory-billed woodpecker,
2, 5, 6, 10, 12.
Huey, L. M., on Lower California hairy
woodpecker, 44.
hyloscopus, Dryobates villosus, 24, 29,
30, 33, 39, 41, 44.
icastus, Dryobates villosus, 24, 39, 44.
Ingersoll, A. M., 88.
Ivory-billed woodpecker, 1.
Jacobs, J. W., 269.
Jauiec, Joseph, viii.
Jenks, Randolph, on alpine three-toed
woodpecker, 125.
Jensen. J. K., on Rocky Mountain hairy
woodpecker, 36.
Johansen, Melvin, viii.
Jones, Howard, on red-headed wood-
pecker, 200.
Jones, Lynds, on northern flicker, 281.
Kalm, Pehr, 164.
Keays, J. E., on northern flicker, 285.
Kellogii', P. P., and Allen, A. A., on
ivory-billed woodpecker, 3-6, 8, 10, 12.
Kellogjjc. R. T., 45.
Kennard, F. H., on Arctic three-toed
woodpecker, 114.
on northern flicker, 285.
on yellow-bellied sapsueker, 139.
King, J\ H., on eastern hairy wood-
pecker, 18.
Klugh, A. B., on yellow-bellied sap-
sucker, 128.
Knight. O. W., on northern pileated
woodpecker, 174, 183.
Kuhn, J. J., on ivory -billed woodpecker,
6, 11.
Kumlien, Ludwig, and HoUister, Ned,
on northern flicker, 271.
on red-headed woodpecker, 196.
Kyler, Mrs. J. F., on red-headed wood-
pecker, 205.
Laing. H. M., and Taverner, P. A., on
Alaska three-toed woodpecker, 123.
Latham, John, on pileated woodpecker,
171.
Law, J. E., on Lewis's woodpecker, 231.
Lawrence, G. N., 79. (See also under
Baird, S. F.)
Leach, F. A., on California woodpecker,
215, 220, 221.
INDEX
329
Leister, C. W., on northern flicker, 267.
leucomelas, Dryobates villosus, 38.
leucothorectis, Dryobates villosus, 24,
;53, 39, 41, 44.
leucurus, Dryobates pubesceus, 48, 51.
Picus, 51.
lewis, Asyudesmus, 226.
Lewis, H. F., on Arctic tliree-toed wood-
pecker, 107, 112.
Lewis's woodpecker, 226.
Ligon, J. S., 225.
on white-breasted woodpecker, 45.
Lincoln, F. C, viii.
Linnaeus, C, 164, 171.
Linsdale, J. M. (See under Grinnell,
Joseph. )
Lloyd, Hoyes, on northern pileated
woodpecker, 189.
Lower California hairy woodpecker, 44.
lucasanus, Dryobates scalaris, 81, 82, 86,
87.
luteus, Colaptes auratus, 262-264.
Lyon, W. I., on northern flicker, 276.
iMacFarlane, Roderick, 123.
on northern hairy woodpecker, 26.
Macoun. John, on Arctic three-toed
woodpecker, 109.
on northern hairy woodpecker, 26.
Malherbe, Alfred, on Natalie's sap-
sucker, 162.
Marsden, H. W., 307.
niartirensis, Balanosphyra formicivora,
212, 226.
Colaptes cafer, 295, 298.
Maynard, C. J., on northern pileated
woodpecker, 191.
on red-bellied woodpecker, 244.
on red-cockaded woodpecker, 77.
Mcxitee, W. L., on red-naped sapsucker,
144.
on southern red-breasted sapsucker,
148.
on vellow-bellied sapsucker, 132,
134, 135, 138.
McGregor, R. C, on red-headed wood-
pecker, 197.
McGuire, N. M., on red-bellied wood-
pecker, 241.
Mcllhenny, E. A., on ivory -billed w'ood-
pecker, 4, 5, 8, 11.
on red-cockaded woodpecker, 74.
McMulleu, T. E., on eastern hairy w^ood-
pecker, 15.
INIeanley, M. B., Jr., viii.
Mearns, E. A., on alpine three-toed
woodpecker, 125.
on Batchelder's woodpecker, 51.
on Mearns's woodpecker, 223, 225.
on Natalie's sapsucker, 162.
on white-breasted woodpecker, 44.
raearnsi, Colaptes chrysoides, 299-301.
Mearns's gilded flicker, 301.
Mearns's woodpecker, 223.
medianus, Dryobates pubescens, 46, 48,
50, 52, 68.
Melanerpes angustifrons, 82.
erythrocephalus, 195.
formicivorus, 223.
thyroideus, 155.
Meredith, R. L., viii.
Merriam, C H., on Arctic three-toed
woodpecker, 108.
on American three-toed woodpecker,
117, 120.
on red -headed woodpecker, 207.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 137.
Merriam, R. O., on northern downy
woodpecker, 62.
Merrill, J. C, on Batchelder's wood-
pecker, 52.
on northern white-headed wood-
pecker, 101, 103.
on Williamson's sapsucker, 157, 159.
Michael, C. W., on California wood-
pecker, 217.
on Lewis's woodpecker, 231.
on southern red-breasted sapsucker,
148.
on western pileated woodpecker,
194.
on Williamson's sapsucker, 156, 158,
160.
on willow woodpecker, 71.
Miller, W. DeW., 173.
Minot, H. D., on northern downy wood-
pecker, 60.
Modoc woodpecker, 41.
monticola, Dryobates villosus, 24, 25, 33,
35, 38, 40, 41, 44.
Morrell, C. H., on northern pileated
woodpecker, 174, 178, 179.
Morse, G. W., on red-cockaded wood-
pecker, 73.
Mortimer, D., on red-bellied woodpecker,
241.
Moseley, E. L., 9.
Mousley, Henry, on northern hairy
woodpecker, 26.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 129.
Munro, J. A., on Alaska three-toed wood-
pecker, 123.
on Rocky Mountain hairy wood-
pecker, 37.
on western pileated woodpecker,
192, 194.
Murphey, E. E., viii.
on red-cockaded woodpecker, 72.
Myers, Harriet W., on California wood-
pecker, 214.
Narrow-fronted woodpecker, 222.
nataliae, Picus, 162.
Sphyrapicus thyroideus, 162.
Natalie's sapsucker, 162,
National Association of Audubon So-
cieties, 12.
Nauman, E. D., on red-headed wood-
pecker, 201, 203.
Neff, J. A., on Gairdner's woodpecker,
50.
on Harris's woodpecker, 30. 32.
330
BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Neff, J. A., on Lewis's woodpecker, 227,
232, 233, 235.
on northern red-breasted sapsucker,
151, 153, 154.
on red-shafted flicker, 292.
Nehrling, Henry, on red-cockaded wood-
pecker, 74.
Nelson, A. L., 183.
Nelson, E. W., on Alaska three-toed
woodpecker, 122.
on Nelson's downy woodpecker, 68.
nelsoni, Dryobates pubescens, 48, 51, 68.
Nelson's downy woodpecker, 68.
Newberry, J. S., on Williamson's sap-
sucker, 155.
Newfoundland woodpecker, 38.
Norris, J. P., on northern flicker, 272.
Northern downy woodpecker, 52.
Northern flicker, 264.
Northern hairy woodpecker, 25.
Northern pileated woodpecker, 171.
Northern red-breasted sapsucker, 151.
Northern white-headed woodpecker, 97.
Northwestern flicker, 296.
nuchalis, Sphyrapicus varius, 140, 141,
146, 151.
Nuttall, Thomas, 62.
on northern downy woodpecker, 53.
on pileated woodpecker, 172.
nuttalli, Dryobates, 87.
Nuttall's woodpecker, 87.
Nye, A. G., viii.
Nye, Harriet A., on yellow-bellied sap-
sucker, 139.
Oberholser, H. C, 30, 175.
on Chihuahua woodpecker, 39.
on Dryobates scalaris group of
woodpeckers, 79, 83.
on Modoc woodpecker, 41.
on Nelson's downy woodpecker, 68.
on northern flicker, 271.
on red-headed woodpecker, 196.
on San Fernando woodpecker, 86.
on white-breasted woodpecker, 44.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 128.
Ogilby, Stewart, on northern flicker.
272.
oreoecus, Dryobates pubescens, 51.
orius, Dryobates villosus, 24, 33, 39, 41.
Orr, R. T., viii.
Osgood, W. H., on Queen Charlotte
woodpecker, 37.
Owen, V. W., 93.
Palmer, Edward, 306, 307.
Palmer, R. S., viii.
Palmer, WlUiam, on northern flicker,
277.
Pearse, Theed, on Harris's woodpecker,
30.
on northwestern flicker, 297.
Pearson, T. G., on red-cockaded wood-
pecker, 74. ,
Pennant, Thomas, on northern pileated
woodpecker, 188.
Peterson, R T., on northern pileated
woodpecker, 173.
Phelps, F. M., on red-bellied wood-
pecker, 239.
Philipp, P. B., 193.
on Arctic three-toed woodpecker,
109.
Philipp, P. B., and Bowdish, B. S., on
Arctic three-toed woodpecker, 107.
on northern hairy woodpecker, 26.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 129.
Phillips, C. L., 272.
Phinizy, Irving, on red-cockaded wood-
pecker, 77.
Picidae, 1.
Piciformes, 1.
picinus, Ceophloeus pUeatus, 170, 171,
191.
PicoTdes americanus, 108, 119.
arcticus, 106, 118, 119.
tridactylus, 106.
tridactylus bacatus, 116.
tridactylus dorsalis, 122, 124.
tridactylus fasciatus, 122, 124.
picoideus, Dryobates villosus, 24, 37, 40,
41.
Picus arizonae, 91.
cafer, 296.
leucurus, 51.
nataliae, 162.
pileatus, 164.
pubescens, 45.
querulus, 72.
williamsonii, 155.
Pierce, W. M., on southern red-breasted
sapsucker, 147.
Pierce, W. M., and Van Rossem, A. J., on
northern white-headed woodpecker,
102.
Pileated woodpecker, Florida, 189.
northern, 171.
southern, 164.
western, 191.
pileatus, Ceophloeus pileatus, 164, 171,
189, 192.
Picus. 164.
pileatus abieticola, Ceophloeus, 164, 165,
170, 171, 191.
pileatus floridanus, Ceophloeus, 165, 170,
189.
pileatus picinus, Ceophloeus, 170, 171,
191.
pileatus pileatus, Ceophloeus, 164, 171,
189, 192.
Pinkley, Frank, on Gila woodpecker,
254.
Potter, J. K., on red-headed woodpecker,
197, 198, 204.
principalis, Campephilus, 1.
pubescens, Dryobates pubescens, 45.
Picus, 45.
pubescens gairdneri, Dryobates, 48, 49,
69.
pubescens leucurus, Dryobates, 48, 51.
pubescens medianus, Dryobates, 46, 48,
50, 52, 68.
pubescens nelsoni, Dryobates, 48, 51, 68.
pubescens oreoecus, Dryobates, 51.
INDEX
331
pubescens pubescens, Dryobates, 45.
pubescens turati, Dryobates, 48, 49, 69.
Purdy, J. B., on red-headed woodpecker,
207.
Queen Charlotte woodpecker, 37.
querulus, Picus, 72.
Quillin, R. W., on golden-fronted wood-
pecker, 248, 249.
Ralph, W. L., on Florida pileated wood-
pecker, 191.
Rathbun, S. F., on Harris's woodpecker,
31.
on Lewis's woodpecker, 227, 230, 234.
on northwestern flicker, 297, 298.
Red-bellied woodpecker, 237.
Red-breasted sapsucker, northern, 151.
southern, 146.
Red-cockaded woodpecker, 72.
Red-headed woodpecker, 195.
Red-naped sapsucker, 141.
Red-shafted flicker, 287.
Reid, John, 171.
Richardson, John, and Swainson, Wil-
liam, on Nelson's downy woodpecker,
68.
Ridgway, Robert, on Alaska three-toed
woodpecker, 122.
on Alpine three-toed woodpecker,
124.
on Batchelder's woodpecker, 51.
on Brewster's woodpecker, 258.
on Cabanis's woodpecker, 33.
on cactus woodpecker, 83.
on Florida pileated woodpecker, 189.
on Gairduer's woodpecker, 49.
on Guadalupe flicker, 306.
on Harris's woodpecker, 30.
on ivory-billed woodpecker, 2, 7.
on Lewis's woodpecker, 233.
on narrow-fronted woodpecker, 222.
on northern red-breasted sapsucker,
151.
on northern white-headed wood-
pecker, 100.
on Nuttall's woodpecker, 89.
on red-bellied woodpecker, 245.
on red-headed woodpecker, 208.
on red-naped sapsucker, 142.
on red-shafted flicker, 290.
on Rocky Mountain hairy wood-
pecker, 35.
on San Fernando flicker, 305.
on southern pileated woodpecker,
164.
on southern red-breasted sapsucker,
146.
on Williamson's sapsucker, 155.
(See also under Baird, S. F.)
Riley, J. H., viii.
Ritter, W. E., on California woodpecker,
216, 217.
Roberts, T. S., on Arctic three-toed
woodpecker, 109.
on eastern hairy woodpecker, 19.
Roberts, T. S., on northern pileated
woodpecker, 176.
on red-headed woodpecker, 202.
Rocky Mountain hairy woodpecker, 35.
Rossignol, G. R., on red-cockaded wood-
pecker, 74.
ruber, Sphyrapicus varius, 140, 146, 151.
rufipileus, Colaptes cafer, 295, 299, 306.
Sampson, Elizabeth, on northern downy
woodpecker, 64.
San Fernando flicker, 305.
San Fernando woodpecker, 86.
San Lucas woodpecker, 82.
San Pedro flicker, 298.
San Pedro woodpecker, 226.
Sapsucker, Natalie's 162.
northern red-breasted, 15L
red-naped, 141.
southern red-breasted, 140.
Williamson's, 154.
yellow-bellied, 126.
saturatior, Colaptes cafer, 296.
Saunders, A. A., on eastern hairy wood-
pecker, 20.
on northern pileated woodpecker,
187.
on Rocky Mountain hairy wood-
pecker, 36.
Saunders, W. E., on red-bellied wood-
pecker, 244.
Savage, James, 286.
scalaris, Dryobates scalaris, 81.
scalaris bairdi, Dryobates, 79, 80, 82,
83.
scalaris cactophilus, Dryobates, 80, 81,
S3,
scalaris eremicus, Dryobates, 81-83, 86.
scalaris lucasanus, Dryobates, 81, 82, 86,
87.
scalaris scalaris, Dryobates, 81.
scalaris symplectus, Dryobates, 79, 83.
Scott, W. E. D., on Arizona woodpecker,
96.
on cactus woodpecker, 86.
on Gila woodpecker, 256.
on ivory-billed woodpecker, 2, 4r-6.
on Lewis's woodpecker, 235.
on Mearns's gilded flicker, 301.
Scoville, Samuel, Jr., on northern pile-
ated woodpecker, 172, 178, 187.
scrippsae, Dryobates villosus, 24, 44.
Semple, J. B., on red-headed wood-
pecker, 206.
Sennett, G. B., on golden-fronted wood-
pecker, 247.
septentrionalis, Dryobates villosus, 23,
25, 35, 40.
Seton, E. T., on northern hairy wood-
pecker, 26.
Sharpe, Vernon, Jr., on southern pile-
ated woodpecker, 166, 170.
Shaw, W. T., and Taylor, W. P., on Har-
ris's woodpecker 32.
on northwestern flicker, 296,
332
BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Shelley, L. O., on eastern hairy wood-
pecker, 14, 21.
on northern downy woodpecker, 55,
56, 61, 65, 66.
on northern flicker, 267, 268, 280.
on northern pileated woodpecker,
174.
on red-headed woodpecker, 203.
Sherman, Althea R., on northern flicker,
268, 273-276, 279, 280.
SIler^^'^ood, W. E., on Lewis's wood-
pecker, 231.
Simmons, G. F., on golden-fronted wood-
pecker, 24e-248.
on red-bellied woodpecker, 237, 238,
243.
on red-shafted flicker, 293.
on southern downy woodpecker, 46.
on southern pileated woodpecker,
165, 166, 168, 169.
on Te.xas woodpecker, 80, 81.
Simpson, R. B., on northern pileated
woodpecker, 188.
Sinclair, B. H., 270.
Sitka hairy woodpecker, 40.
sitkensis, Dryobates villosus, 24, 40.
Skinner, M. P., on alpine three-toed
woodpecker, 125.
on Cabauis's woodpecker, 35.
on California woodijecker, 213, 218.
219, 221, 222.
on Modoc woodpecker, 42, 43.
on Natalie's sapsucker, 163, 164.
on northern flicker, 287.
on northern white-headed wood-
pecker, 98, 100.
on red-bellied woodpecker, 243.
on red-headed woodpecker, 201.
on red-naped sapsucker, 142, 145.
on red-shafted flicker, 288.
on Rocky Mountain hairy wood-
pecker, 36.
on southern downy woodpecker, 46.
on southern hairy woodpecker, 28,
29.
on southern red-breasted sapsucker,
148, 150.
on willow woodpecker, 72.
Smith, A. P., on Arizona woodpecker, 95.
Smith, C. F., on northern white-headed
woodpecker, 97, 100, 102.
Smith, F. R., on northern flicker, 280.
Smith, L. W., on northern flicker, 283.
on red-bellied woodpecker, 242.
on southern flicker, 261.
Smith, W. G., on Batchelder's wood-
pecker, 52.
on Natalie's sapsucker, 163.
on red-headed woodpecker, 199.
on Rocky Mountain hairy wood-
pecker, 36.
Snyder, L. L., on eastern hairy wood-
pecker, 16.
on northern downy woodpecker, 58.
on northern flicker, 285.
Southern downy woodpecker, 45.
Southern flicker, 259.
Southern hairy woodpecker, 27.
Southern pileated woodpecker, 164.
Southern red-breasted sapsucker, 146.
Southern white-headed woodpecker, 105.
Sphyrapicus thyroideus nataliae, 162.
thyroideus thyroideus, 154, 162.
varius daggetti, 140, 146.
varius nuchalis, 140, 141, 146, 151.
varius ruber, 140, 146, 151.
varius varius, 126.
williamsonii, 155.
Sprot, G. D., 31.
Sprunt, Alexander, Jr., on northern
white-headed woodpecker, 102.
on southern flicker, 260.
Stanwood, Cordelia J., viii.
Starr, F. A. E., on northern flicker, 270.
Stearns, W. A., on yellow-bellied sap-
sucker, 133.
Steele, E. S., on Mearns's woodpecker,
225.
Stephens, Frank, 34.
on southern white-headed wood-
pecker, 105.
Stevens, O. A., on northern flicker, 284,
286.
Stockard, C. R., on red-bellied wood-
pecker, 239.
on southern flicker, 260.
on southern pileated woodpecker,
165, 167.
Stoddard, H. L., 169.
on northern pileated woodpecker,
181.
Stone, Witmer, on red-cockaded wood-
pecker, 79.
Stoner, Dayton, on northern flicker, 281.
on red-headed woodpecker, 206.
Stoner, E. A., on red-headed woodpecker,
196.
Storer, T. I., and Grinnell, Joseph, on
Arctic three-toed woodpecker, 109.
on California woodpecker, 214, 219.
on Modoc woodpecker, 41-43.
on northern white-headed wood-
pecker, 98, 99, 101, 102, 104.
on red-shafted flicker, 293.
on southern red-breasted sapsuck-
er, 146, 150.
on Williamson's sapsucker, 159, 160.
on willow woodpecker, 71.
stricklandi, Dryobates, 91, 94.
Stuart, G. H., 3d, viii.
Suckley, George, and Cooper, J. G., on
Lewis's woodpecker, 235.
Suthard, J. G., on southern hairy wood-
pecker, 28.
Sutton, G. M., on eastern hairy wood-
pecker, 13, 15.
on northern pileated woodpecker,
174, 175, 183, 185-188.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 128.
Swainson, William, and Richardson,
John, on Nelson's downy woodpecker,
68.
INDEX
333
Swales, B. H., and Taveruer, P. A., ou
northern tlicker, 285.
Swarth, H. S., 162.
on Arctic three-toed woodpecker,
109.
ou Arizona woodpecker, 92-94, 96.
on cactus woodpecker, 84.
ou Chihuahua woodpecker, 39, 40.
on Mearns's woodpecker, 224.
ou Natalie's sapsucker, 162, 163.
ou northern red-breasted sapsucker,
151.
on northwestern flicker, 297.
Swarth, H. S., and Grinuell, Joseph, on
San Pedro woodpecker, 226.
symplectus, Dryobates scalaris, 79, 83.
Taber, S. R., on northern flicker, 284.
Taber, Wendell, viii.
ou American three-toed woodpecker,
120.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 128.
Tanner, James, 12.
on ivory-billed woodpecker, 2, 5-7..
11.
Taverner, P. A., aud Laing, H. M., ou
Alaska three-toed woodpecker, 123.
Taverner, P. A., and Swales, B, H., on
northern flicker, 285.
Taylor, W. P., on red-shafted flicker,
289.
Taylor, W. P., and Shaw, W. T., on
Harris's woodpecker, 32.
on northwestern flicker, 296.
terraenovae, Dryobates villosus, 23, 38.
Terrill, L. M., on eastern hairy wood-
pecker, 22.
Texas woodpecker, 79.
Thayer, J. E., 118.
Thayer, J. E., and Bangs, Outram, on
Guadalupe flicker, 307.
Thompson, A. E., viii.
Thompson, Maurice, on eastern hairy
woodpecker, 19.
on ivory-billed woodpecker, 5, 8, 11.
on northern downy woodpecker, 65.
Thorns, C. S., on northern downy wood-
pecker, 57.
Thoreau, H. D., on northern pileated
woodpecker, 184.
Three-toed woodpecker, Alaska, 122.
alpine, 124.
American, 116.
Arctic, 106.
thyroideus, Melanerpes, 155.
Sphyrapicus thyroideus, 154, 162.
tliyroideus uataliae, Sphyrapicus, 162.
thyroideus thyroideus, Sphyrapicus, 154,
162.
Tibbets, E. R., on northern downy wood-
pecker, 59.
Townsend, C. W., on northern downy
woodpecker, 62, 63. 68.
on northern pileated woodpecker,
180.
Treganza, Antwonet, 126.
tridactylus, Picoides, 106.
tridactylus bacatus, Picoides, 116.
tridactylus dor.salis, Picoides, 122, 124.
tridactylus fasciatus, Picoides, 122, 124.
Trotter, Spencer, on red-headed wood-
pecker, 195.
turati, Dryobates pubescens, 48, 49, 69.
Turner, L. M., on American three-toed
woodpecker, 119.
Tyler, J. G., on red-shafted flicker, 293.
Tyler, W. M., viii.
on northern downy woodpecker, 52.
on yellow-bellied sapsucker, 126.
uropygialis, Centurus uropygialis, 250,
257, 258.
uropygialis brewsteri, Centurus, 257,
258.
uropygialis cardoneusis, Centurus, 257,
258.
uropygialis uropygialis, Centurus, 250,
257, 258.
Vaiden, M. G., on red-cockaded wood-
pecker, 73.
on red-headed woodpecker, 196.
on southern downy woodpecker, 46.
ou southern hairy woodpecker, 28.
on southern pileated woodpecker,
166.
Van Rossem, A. J., and Pierce, W. M., on
northern white-headed woodpecker,
102.
Van Tyue, Josselyn, ou Arctic three-toed
woodpecker, 114, 115.
varius, Sphyrapicus varius, 126.
varius daggetti, Sphyrapicus, 140, 146.
varius uuchalis, Sphyrapicus, 140, 141,
146, 151.
varius ruber, Sphyrapicus, 140, 146, 151.
varius varius, Sphyrapicus, 126.
Vickers, E. W., on northern pileated
woodpecker, 175, 182, 187.
villosus, Dryobates villosus, 13, 25, 38.
villosus auduboni, Dryobates, 23, 27.
villosus harrisi, Dryobates. 24, 29, 33,
37, 40, 41.
villosus hyloscopus, Dryobates, 24, 29,
30, 33, 39, 41, 44.
villosus icastus, Dryobates, 24, 39, 44.
villosus leucomelas, Dryobates, 38.
villosus leucothorectis, Dryobates, 24,
33, 39, 41, 44.
villosus mouticola, Dryobates, 24, 25, 33,
35, 38, 40, 41, 44.
villosus orius. Dryobates, 24, 33, 39, 41.
villosus picoideus, Dryobates, 24, 37, 40,
41.
villosus scrippsae, Dryobates, 24, 44.
villosus septentrionalis, Dryobates, 23,
25, 35, 40.
villosus sitkensis, Dryobates, 24, 40.
villosus terraenovae, Dryobates, 23. 38.
villo.sus villosus, Dryobates, 13, 25. 38.
von Blocker, J. C, Jr., on red-shafted
flicker, 292.
Walkinshaw, L. H., on northern flicker,
286.
334 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Walter, Mrs. Alice H., on northern
downy woodpecker, 57, 59.
Ward, Billy, on red-cockaded wood-
pecker, 76.
Warren, B. H., 168.
on red-bellied woodpecker, 241.
Warren, E. R., on alpine three-toed
woodpecker, 125.
Wayne, A. T., on ivory-billed wood-
pecker, 12.
on red-cockaded woodpecker, 73.
on red-headed woodpecker, 208.
on southern hairy woodpecker, 27.
on southern pileated woodpecker,
165, 166.
Webster, F. M., on eastern hairy wood-
pecker, 17.
Webster, Mrs. L. J., viii.
Welch, G. O., 115.
Wells, Gurnie, and Carriger, H. W., on
western pileated woodpecker, 192, 193.
Western pileated woodpecker, 191.
Weydemeyer, Winton, on yellow-bellied
sapsucker, 131.
Weydemeyer, Winton and Donald, on
alpine three-toed woodpecker, 124.
on Arctic three-toed woodpecker,
107.
on Batchelder's woodpecker, 51.
on Lewis's woodpecker, 227, 228.
on northern hairy woodpecker, 25,
27.
on northern pileated woodpecker,
172.
on red-naped sapsucker, 142, 143.
on red-shafted flicker, 287.
Weygandt, Cornelius, on northern
pileated woodpecker, 186.
Wheelock, Mrs. Irene G., on Cabanis's
woodpecker, 34.
on red-shafted flicker, 289, 290.
on southern red-breasted sapsucker,
147.
on western pileated woodpecker.
193.
White-breasted woodpecker, 44.
White-headed woodpecker, northern, 97.
Whittle, C. L., on American three-toed
woodpecker, 117.
Widmann, Otto, on red-headed wood-
Willard, F. C, 39, 224, 251, 302.
on Arizona woodpecker, 93.
on cactus woodpecker, 85.
on Chihuahua woodpecker, 40.
on Gila woodpecker, 252.
williamsonii, Picus, 155.
Sphyrapicus, 155.
Williamson's sapsucker, 154.
Willow woodpecker, 69.
Wilson, Alexander, 62, 72.
on northern downy woodpecker, 53,
65.
on pileated woodpecker, 172, 179.
on red-headed woodpecker, 206.
Wood, J. C, on eastern hairy wood-
pecker, 15.
Woodpecker, Alaska three-toed, 122.
alpine three-toed, 124.
American three-toed, 116.
ant-eating, 211.
Arctic three-toed, 106.
Arizona, 91.
Batchelder's, 51.
Brewster's, 258.
Cabanis's, 33.
California, 212.
cardon, 257.
Chihuahua, 39.
eastern hairy, 13.
Florida pileated, 189.
Gairdner's, 49.
Gila, 250.
golden-fronted, 245.
Harris's, 29.
ivory-billed, 1.
Lewis's, 226.
Lower California hairy, 44.
Mearns's. 223.
Modoc, 41.
narrow-fronted, 222.
Nelson's downy, 68.
Newfoundland, 38.
northern downy, 52.
northern hairy, 25.
northern pileated, 171.
northern white-headed, 97.
Nuttall's, 87.
Queen Charlotte, 37.
red-bellied, 237.
red-cockaded, 72.
red-headed, 195.
Rocky Mountain hairy, 35.
San Fernando, 86.
San Lucas. 82.
San Pedro, 226.
Sitka hairy, 40.
southern downy, 45.
southern hairy, 27.
southern pileated, 164.
southern white-headed, 105.
Texas, 79.
western pileated, 191.
white-breasted, 44.
willow, 69.
Woodpeckers, American, 1.
Woods, R. S., on red-shafted flicker, 292.
Wright, A. H., and Harper, Francis, on
southern pileated woodpecker, 165.
Wright, H. W., on American three-toed
woodpecker, 120.
on California woodpecker, 221.
on northern pileated woodpecker,
187.
Wythe, Miss M. W., viii.
Xenopicus albolarvatus, 101, 105.
Tellow-bellied sapsucker, 126.
Young, C. J., on northern hairy wood-
pecker, 26.
