NOKTHERN WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER 103 



heard "a double or treble call-note, chick-wp or chick-it-up, which re- 

 minded me somewhat of the Cabanis's cry." Major Bendire (1895) 

 heard it utter "a sharp, clear witt-witt'''' as it passed from one tree 

 to another; he considered it a rather silent bird. 



Field marks. — The white-headed woodpecker could hardly be mis- 

 taken for any other bird. It is the only woodpecker with a wholly 

 black body and a wholly white head ; while perched it shows a long 

 white stripe in the wing, and while flying a large white patch in the 

 wing is conspicuous; the narrow red band on the nape is not conspic- 

 uous and can be seen only at short range and only in the adult male ; 

 young birds show more or less red in the crown. One would think 

 that such a strikingly marked bird would be very conspicuous, but 

 such is not the case ; its coloration is, in fact, somewhat concealing in 

 its chosen environment; its quiet behavior helps to make it less ob- 

 vious. For example, Dr. Merrill (1888) writes : "On most of the pines 

 in this vicinity there are many short stubs of small broken branches 

 projecting an inch or two from the main trunk. When the sun is 

 shining these projections are lighted up in such a manner as to appear 

 quite white at a little distance, and they often cast a shadow exactly 

 resembling the black body of the bird. In winter when a little snow 

 has lodged on these stubs the resemblance is even greater, and almost 

 daily I was misled by this deceptive appearance, either mistaking 

 the stub for a bird or the reverse." 



Furthermore, Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale (1930) state that "it 

 was further observed that in usual pose, either when foraging or when 

 in digging or inspecting a nest hole, the whole back of a bird (either 

 sex) appeared to a nearby observer solidly black, clear to the top of 

 the head. The white showed only as a very narrow rim or border 

 anteriorly around the black of the head. * * * At the same 

 time the concealing black of the bird's dorsal surface must cover all 

 of the area of the bird exposed to the view of the potentially inimical 

 observer at more or less distance." 



And again, Mrs. Bailey (1902) says: 



Impossible as it would seem at first sight, I have found that the snow-white 

 head often serves the bird as a disguise. It is the disguise of color pattern, for 

 the black body seen against a tree trunk becomes one of the black streaks or 

 shadows of the bark, and the white head is cut off as a detached white spot 

 without bird-like suggestions. On the other hand, when the bird is exploring 

 the light-barked young Shasta firs or gray, barkless tracts of old trees, the 

 white of the head tones in with the gray and is lost, the headless back again 

 becoming only a shadow or scar. But the most surprising thing of all is to see 

 the sun streaming full on the white head and find that the bird form is lost. 

 The white in this case is so glaring that it fills the eye and carries it over to the 

 light streaks on the bark, making the black sink away as insignificant. 



The activities of this and other woodpeckers play an important role 

 in the welfare of the forests and the lives of the little furred and 



