1866.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 109 



(in?) Dryobates japonicus (Seeb.). 



Great Spotted Woodpecker. Akaj^ora . 



1857. — Picus major Cassin, Perry's Exped. Jap.,ii, p. 222 {nee. Linn.). — Blakist., Ibia, 



1862, p. 325. — Whitei.y, Il>i8, 1867, p. 19'). — Sharpe & Dkessku, B. Eur., v, 



p. 19 {pari) (1871,. — Swinhoe, Ibia, 1^75, p. 4')!.— Blakist. &. Pryer, Tr. 



As. Soe. Jap., Viii, 1880, p. 207 (part).— lid., ibid., x, 1882, p. lo2 {part). 

 1883. — Picas japonicus Seebohm, Ibis, 1883, p. 24.— Id., Hist. Br. B. Eggs, ii, p. 355, 



(1884). — Dri/oiates japonicus Stejneger, Orn. Expl. Kamtsch., pp. 231, 232 



{part), (1885). 

 1882. — Picus major japonicus Blakist., Chrysanth., Oct., 1882, p. 473. — Id., ibid., Jan , 



1883, p. 2S.—Id., ibid., Feb., 1883, p.— {part onhj).—Id., Amend. List B. 



Jap., p. 44, (1884).— JoUY, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus., vii, Dec. 27, 1883, p. 307 {part). 



I have before me fourteen specimeus from Japan, whicL, compared 

 with Mr. Seebohm'8 remarks in establishing JJ.jajwnieus, induce me to 

 believe that there are two forms in the islands, more or less closely re- 

 lated to D. major. 



Mr. Seebohm had eleven specimens, five from Hondo, or the middle 

 island, the rest from the northern islands, including Sakhalin and the 

 Kuriles. These he describes (Ibis, 1883, p. 24) as follows : " The color of 

 the under parts agrees with F. major cissa from Scandinavia ; but the 

 white on the secondaries is more developed, and the white on the inner- 

 most secondaries is as much developed as in P. lucianiJ' Of cissa he says 

 that it is " much whiter on the under parts than those from Britain 

 and South Europe," but "in Scandinavia * * * intermediate forms 

 occur." The inference is that his japonicus is lighter underneath than 

 British and South European specimens. Of luciani he says that "the 

 white spots on the innermost secondaries meet, forming several broaa 

 white bars across the feathers," and in his History of British Birds and 

 Eggs, II, p. 355 (1884), he states that in japonicus "the white on the in- 

 nermost secondaries is developed into broad transverse bars." He fur- 

 thermore says that "it is probably only sub-specifically distinct from 

 P. major,^^ and compared with his statement oi '•'■ P.major and its allies 

 always having white scapulars, and P. eahanisi and its allies always 

 having black scai)ulars," one is Justified in rouc\mnu ii; tlmt japonicus 

 belongs to the former of these two groups ; in the latter he also includes 

 P. f/ouldi. 



The specimens before me are from the Middle Island as well as irom 

 Yesso, five being from the latter island ; but only two specimens of the 

 whole series are birds taken <luring the breeding season, one from each 

 of the islands mentioned. 



1 shall treat of these two first. 



The breeding bird from Yesso (Blak. Coll. No. 2340, U. S. Nat. Mus. 

 No. 95090) is a 9 shot at Sapporo May 8, 1877. In Bjakiston's manu 

 script notes 1 find a retnark to the effect that this speciiiserf is sii'jilur 

 to one from South Yesso, which, in 1882, he sent to Seebohm, and one 

 of the specimens upon which Seebohm founded his japonicus. This 



