FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



Zoological Gaidsns. I am afraid it is not very likely 

 to come into private bands in future, on account of the 

 slriotnees of the United States' protective laws. 



White-headed Woodpecker {Melanerpes candidus). 



Above brO'Wnieh-black ; six central tail-feathers Tvith 

 ;he baisal half white barred towards distal extremity 

 with black ; the two outer feathers with their iruier 

 webs whit© bai'red with black ; head, sides, and front 

 of neck and luider surface of body white ; a lemon- 

 yellow nuchal band ; a 'black stripe on ear-coverts ram- 

 ning into the black on hind neck ; middle of chest 

 sometimes tinged with j'ellow. Female differs in having 

 a white instead of yellow jiuchal baiiid and in her shorter 

 bill, less slender towai-dis the tip. Hab., iSoutbern and 

 Eastern Brazil northward to Bahia, Bolivia, Paraguay, 

 the Argentine Republic, and southward to Lower 

 Uruguay. (Hargitt.) 



All that Hudson tells us respecting this sp'Seiea 

 ("Argentine Ornithology," Vol. II., p. 2o) is:—" White 

 speaks of this species as follows: — 'These noisv birds, 

 abundiant in various parts of Misdones, as well as in 

 the rest of the north of the Republic, go about in 

 flocks of eight or ten, and settle on the same tree, which 

 they proceed to ascend very comically in a spiral or 

 corkscrew fashion, each head touching the preceding 

 tail. They ai-e not seen in dense foiests. but only out 

 in the open, on some old, usually dead, tree, and' I 

 think I observed them ae far south as the sierras of 

 Cordoba.' " 



Ml'. J. Graham Ken-, writing on the Avifauna of 

 the Loiwer Pilcomayo (The Ibis, 1892, p. 135), says of 

 this species : " Very uncommon. The stomachs of two 

 individuals examined contained only honey." This 

 eeem.s strange food for a Woodpecker. 



On the Gran Chaco, Mr. KeiT observed this species 

 in Octo'ber and November " Singlv or in smiajl parties 

 of three or foiu-," [The Ihu. 1901. p. 228.) 



All that Burmeister tells us about the wild life i.s 

 that it lives alone in the dense primeval forert, and is 

 only seen in pairs at the breeding season, and this does 

 not agree with what White and Graham Kerr say,^ .«o 

 that we leani nothing by it. The London Zoological 

 Gardens received a specimen in exchange in 1871, and 

 there ie not the least reason whv it should not be .sent 

 home in consignments of birds from Arigentina. 



Banded Woodpecker (Melanerpes tricolor).* 

 Above black barred with white, the flights, excepting 

 the distal half at leaist of the primaries, spotted with 

 white; central tail-feathers barred on inner web and 

 spotted towards base of outer web with white ; the 

 outer tail-feather spotted on margin of outer web and 

 tip of inner web ; forehead sordid white, yellowish at 

 base and on nasal plimies ; centre of crown crimson, 

 shading into orange-brown behind ; nape red ; outer 

 margiir of crown, face, neck, and under surface pale 

 buffiSh drab, becoming orange-red on abdomen ; clieeks 

 slightly yellower ; chin whiter ; thighs and under tail- 

 coverts with black V-shaped markings ; under wing- 

 coverts white, sligbtlv barred with dusky ; axillaries 

 dnll buffish white ; irides hazel. Female smaller than 

 m.ale, with shorter bill broader at base ; the crown not 

 jrimison, but buffish brown in front shading into yel- 

 lowish ashy-brown behind and bounded on nape by a 

 red diffusieil border. Hab., United States of Colombia 

 and east into Venezuela. (Hargitt.) 



Mr. P. B. Lowe, writing on the birds of Margarita 



* In the " Biolog-ia Centrali-.^raericana," Meeen?. Sa,lTin ajid 

 Godman propose to alter the ntime of this .species tn Melanerpes 

 icagleri. Mr. P. R. Lowe, however i,The Ibis, 190(), oilopte 

 Bonaparte's name of suielcijans. 



Island, Venezuela (Tlie Ibis, 1907, p. 5&0), says :— " Very 

 common among the foot-hills and cactiis-sci-ub. I shot 

 one with its head infested with worms. It had become 

 wtuaUy blind — a fact due to two enormous bulging 

 prominences on either side of the head which encroached 

 upon the orbits." 



This is all I have come across rsepectinig the bird in 

 its wild state, but I should imagine it would not differ 

 gi^eatly in its habits from other Red-bellied Wood- 

 peckers. 



An example of this pretty little species (it is not 

 7 inches long) was purchased by the London Zoological 

 Society, and exhibited in the Gardens at Regent's Park 

 in June, 1870. In his work, Dr. Russ does not mention 

 the species, but applies the name " Banded pigmy 

 Woodpecker " to Picttniiius cirr/iafus. 



Santa-Ckdz Woodpecker (Melrmerpes santacruzi). 

 Upper surface barred black and white, the latter 

 tinged with buff; central tail-featheis spotted with 

 white on inner web, the outer web s.tripecl with white 

 at base ; front of forehead red or orange, divided from 

 the red of the crown by a dirty buffish frontal band ; 

 under surface brownish drab washed with buffish behiml 

 the chest ; thighs, vent, and under tail-coveits brrffish 

 white with dull blackish bare ; imder wing-coverts dis- 

 tinctly baiTed with black. Female with crown creamy- 

 white .shading into -gi'eyish-brown at back, the nape 

 only being red. Hab., San Salvador, Honduras, Guate- 

 mala, Southern and Eastern ilexico, as far north as 

 Tampico. (Hargitt.) 



This is regarded as a sub-species of the Gtolden- 

 fronted Woodpecker [M. frnntalis) of the United States. 

 Of th© latter Major Bendire says (" Life Histories," 

 Vol. II., p. 126): — "Their food consists of insects of 

 various kinds, such as beetles, ants, grasshoppers, also 

 larvae, acorns, Indian corn, and different kinds of wild 

 berries and fruit. 



" Nidification commences sometimes in the latter part 

 of ilarch, but usually not much before the middle of 

 April ; both se-xes assist in this labour, and it takes 

 from six to ten days to excavate a proper nesting site ; 

 botih live and dead trees are used for th-s pm-pose, as 

 well as telegi-aph jxiles and fence posts. The holes are 

 rarely over 12 inches deep, and are situated at no gr©a.t 

 distances from the ground, mostly from 6 ft. to 25 ft. 

 up. From four to seven eggs are kid to a set, usually 

 five or six ; these are pure white ; the shell is close 

 grained, dull looking, with little or no gloss, and vary- 

 ing in shape from ovate to sihort and rounded ovate. 

 " Incubation lasts about fourteen days, and both texes 

 share this duty." 



An example of the Santa-Cruz Woodpecker was 

 brought home fi-om Venezuela in 1906, and presented by 

 the collector. Capt. Albert Pam, to the gardens of tha 

 Zoological Society of London. 



Hairy Woodpecker (Dendrocopus vdlosus). 

 Above black ; back with a broad median white 

 stripe ; wing-feathers, excepting lesse'r coverts, white- 

 spotted ; four central tail-feathers uniform black, the' 

 next with distal half-white, two outer feathers white 

 with black biasal i^pot' ; nasal plumes buffish white, 

 tipped with black ; a scarlet occipital band, above 

 which runs a white strijie continued on each side of 

 the head and forming an eyebrow-stripe ; a second 

 white stripe from base of upper mandible to side of 

 hind neek ; below pure white ; a 'black stripe bounding 

 the throat continued on to side of chest ; under wing- 

 coverts with one or two black spots, and a black patch 

 on edge of wing. Female without scarlet occipital 

 band and the white eyebrow stripes barely united. 



