90 U. S. r. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS— ZOOLOGY — GENERAL REPORT. 



along the central line being white, more or less edged externally with black. The scapulars 

 are unspotted, but all the greater coverts have about two spots of white, sometimes two on the 

 outer and one on the inner webs. All the quills except the spurious primary are spotted with 

 white on both webs. A series of four white bands is seen over the outer webs of the secondaries 

 •when the wing is folded, (one of them at the end.) There is a white band above the eye, and 

 another below, with two black stripes, all much as in P. villosus, the black confluent with the 

 black of the neck, the white interrupted behind, the upper white stripe sometimes extending to 

 the whitish feathers of the base of the bill. In the male the posterior portion of the upper 

 white stripe on the occiput is tipped with scarlet, producing a band about a quarter of an inch 

 long. The under parts are dirty white. The black of the neck comes a little forward in front 

 of the wing, producing a black patch on the side of the breast. The first and second tail 

 feathers are white, their extreme base and the two bands near the end black, the anterior of 

 these bands interrupted in the middle, the inner portion wanting in the second. The third 

 feather has the terminal half-inch, and the posterior half of the outer web white, with a round 

 black spot on the inner web, near the end. The fourth feather is black, with a narrow white 

 edge externally towards the end. The female differs in the absence of the red band. 



The young male has the entire crown spotted with red of varying tint, which is never 

 perfectly continuous ; the red is sometimes wanting anteriorly, and sometimes the red is also 

 spotted with white. There is usually more or less of obscure black spots or streaks on the 

 under parts. The young also have the same curvature of bill, and other characteristics of 

 immaturity, as described in P. villosus. 



In some specimens (as in 8G0) the white stripe above the eye extends forward, and involves 

 the entire space anterior to the eye. There is little difference in the amount of black on the 

 outer tail feathers. Sometimes the white on the side of the crown is confluent behind, as also 

 the crimson in the male ; in others, again, both are distinctly separated by black. One speci- 

 men from Ohio (G698) has the bristly feathers of the bill, with the chin and throat, tinged with 

 reddish. Western specimens are not appreciably different. 



This species is much smaller than P. villosus. The essential differences in coloration are 

 found in the bands of black on the outer tail feathers, and in having two series of white spots 

 on the larger wing coverts, instead of one. There is less black in front of the eye ; in fact, the 

 lower white stripe extends upwards generally to the antero-inferior corner of the eye, so as to 

 cut off the black behind it from that anterior to it. The wing is spotted near its anterior edge, 

 the amount of white proportionally greater. 



The Picus lecontii of Dr. Jones appears to be precisely like P. pubescens, except that it has 

 but three toes. It is very probable that this is merely an accidental feature in one specimen, 

 one toe on each foot not having been developed. Only one specimen of the supposed species 

 has been seen or obtained ; this was taken near the seacoast of Georgia. The size is rather less 

 than specimens of P. pubescens from Pennsylvania, as was to be expected, from tlie more 

 southern habitat. The missing toe is the short inner posterior one. 



