368 LAND BIRDS 



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 Scaly tidce, whose larvse tunnel the bark so 

 extensively, and of other insects that crawl beneath the 

 scales of bark for shelter." 



400. ARCTIC THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. 



Picoides arcticus. 

 Family : The Woodpeckers. 



Length: 9.00-10.00. 



Foot with three toes, two pointing forward and one backward. 

 Adult Male : Crown patch yellow ; upper parts iridescent bluish black ; 



wings finely spotted with white ; outer tail-feathers white ; under 



parts white ; sides barred with black ; forehead and sides of held 



black and white. 

 Adult Female: Like male, but without yellow on crown. 

 Young : Like adult, but crown patch smaller ; under parts brownish ; 



upper parts dull black. 

 Geographical DistriMition : Northern North America from the arctic 



regions through the Northern United States. 

 California Breeding Range: In the Sierra Nevada as far south as Lake 



Tahoe. 

 Breeding Season : May and June. 



Nest: Usually in dead trees, 8 to 10 feet from the ground. 

 Eggs: 3 to 4 ; white. Size 0.95 X 0.71. 



" The Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker is essentially a 

 bird of the pine, spruce, fir, and tamarack forests, and 

 is rarely seen in other localities. It is generally a resi- 

 dent, rarely migrating to any distance, and probably 

 breeds wherever found. ... Its sharp shrill ' chirk, chirk ' 



