LAND BIRDS. 347 



"that they are eating some of the insect pests which might otherwise dam- 

 age the trees. 



Bendire describes its note as a shrill and rattling sound like trriii, trriii, 

 or when flying from tree to tree several loud notes like hui'p, huip. Like 

 all our woodpeckers it is very fond of drumming or tattooing on a hollow 

 stub or any resonant object. An expert might possibly discriminate the 

 tattoo of the present species from the rest, but the ordinary observer would 

 notice little difference. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Upper parts mainly black, the middle of the back striped with white; a white stripe 

 over and behind the eye, sometimes continued across the occiput in front of the con- 

 spicuous scarlet crescent which adorns the nape; nasal bristles wliite or grayish white; ear- 

 coverts (auriculars) black; bordered below by a white stripe, which in turn is bounded 

 below by a black stripe running from base of lower mandible to shoulder; entire under 

 parts pure white; wings and coverts black, freely spotted with white; middle tail- 

 feathers black, the outer pair entirely white, the rest black and white. 



Adult female : Precisely like the male, except that there is no red on the nape. Yoimg 

 males resemble the adult female. 



Length 8.50 to 9 inches; wing 4.50 to 5; tail 3.10 to 3.60; culmen 1.18 to 1.35. 



165. Northern Hairy Woodpecker. Dryobates villosus leucomelas (Bodd.). 



(393a) 



Synonyms: Picus leucomelas, Bodd., 1783. — Picus canadensis, Gmel., Lath., Aud., 

 Bonap. — Picus septentrionalis, Nutt., 1840. 



This is the northern form of the Hairy Woodpecker, characterized by 

 somewhat larger size and a larger proportion of white in the plumage. It 

 intergrades with the common Hairy Woodpecker, and suspected specimens 

 should be submitted to an expert for identification. It is not safe to assume 

 that every Hairy Woodpecker taken within the range assigned to leuco- 

 melas belongs to this subspecies. 



Distribution. — Northern North America, south to about the northern 

 border of the United States. 



Assuming that there is a southward movement of many individuals in 

 winter we should expect this race to occur in the Upper Peninsula and the 

 higher parts of the Lower Peninsula during winter, and it is not impossible 

 that it may prove to breed occasionally in favorable localities in these 

 regions. The only actual records, however, of which we know are those 

 obtained by the expedition of the University of Michigan to Isle Royale 

 in the summers of 1904 and 1905. Two specimens taken August 20 and 

 September 1, 1904 were identified by Robert Ridgway of the U. S. National 

 Museum. Mr. Peet, who was a member of the 1905 expedition says: 

 "Rather rare throughout the island. Probably nearly all are resident 

 throughout the year, although none were seen after September 12. July 

 12 one was procured in the balsam forest and on July 13 one was taken 

 in the birches along Benson Brook" (Max M. Peet, Adams' Rep., Mich. 

 Geol. Surv., 1908, p. 354). 



There is no reason to suppose that this race differs materially in its habits 

 from the common Hairy Woodpecker of more southern latitudes. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



B the ordinary Hairy Woodpecker except in size, and possibly a somewhat 



of white on the ui)per parts in the present sub-species. The measurements 



Lengtii 10 to 11 inches; wing 5.02 to 5.40; tail 3.60 to 3.80; culmen 1.40 



Precisely like 

 larger amount 



are as follows: Lengtii 10 to ll inches; wing 

 to 1.02. 



