t> 



THE RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. 431 



breeding in tlie low hills back of Clinton, where one would hardly expect 

 to find any three-toed woodpecker. Usuall}- the species is found in the 

 gloomy forests of balsam, s])rnce, and hemlock, and up to timber line 

 Here it is a silent bird, its tapping being usually the onlv sign '"if its 

 presence. 



The cr_\- is a sharp cluck without the insistent ring of its allies of 

 the Dyrobatcs group. In spring the usual chattering cry, common to so manv 

 woodpeckers, is heard, Init this is more sufxlued and guttural than that of 

 the Hair}- \\'(ii>dpecker. The males will also hang for hours on some dead 

 spire beating the regular rattling tattoo of all true woodpeckers. 



When shot. e\en if instantly killed, three-toed wi:iod]ieckers of both 

 species ha\e a mar\elous faculty uf remaining clinging tci the tree in death. 

 Where the trunks are draped with Usiica moss, it is impossible to bring one 

 down, e.xcept when winged — then they attempt to fly, and fall to earth : 

 but when killed outright they remain securel_\- fastened l.iy their stnmg curved 

 claws. Repeated shots fail to dislodge them, and it is no joke to drop 

 a big tree with a camp axe, as I ha\-e done, 1 mly to find at the finish 

 that you cannot discover the object of your quest in the tangle of broken 

 branches and dense rhododendron scrul). 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 biidy to drop — usuall}' within two da^"?. 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 Woodpecker 

 on a low stumi). On gning up I fmuid 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. 



Ai.r..\x Brooks. 



No. 171. 



RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. 



A. O, U. No. 402 a. Sphyrapicus varius nuchalis Baird. 



Description. — Adult male: Bilcum, throat, and nuchal band carmine (or 

 poppy-red to crimson ) : crown and throat patches defined In- black, narrowly on 

 sides, broadly behind, the black border of throat below forming a conspicuous 

 crescentic chest-band : a white streak over and behind eye, more or less continuous 

 with black-and-white mottling of upper-back ; a transverse stripe from nostril 

 around throat and chest, and continuous with white of underparts : remaining 

 upperparts black, variously spotted, banded, and blotched with white ; middle 

 coverts and upper tail-coverts nearly pure white, the first-named forming with 

 the exposed edges of the greater coverts a broad white wing-band ; underparts 

 centrally pure white or flushed with sul])luir-yell(iw : sides, flanks, and under tail- 



