THE ARCTIC THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. 



GENERAL similarity of 

 appearance is seen in the 

 members of this family of nse- 

 ful birds, and yet the 

 dissimilarity in plumage 

 is so marked in each species that 

 identification is easy from a picture 

 once seen in Birds. This Wood- 

 pecker is a resident of the north and 

 is rarely, if ever, seen south of the 

 Great Lakes, although it is recorded 

 that a specimen was seen on a tele- 

 graph pole in Chicago a few years ago. 

 The Black-backed Three-toed Wood- 

 pecker — the common name of the 

 Arctic — has an extended distribution 

 from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and 

 from the northern boundary of the 

 United States northward to the Arctic 

 regions. Its favorite haunts are pine 

 woods of mountainous country. In 

 some portions of northern New Eng- 

 land it is a rare summer resident. 

 Audubon says that it occurs in 

 northern Massachusetts, and in all 

 portions of Maine covered by tall trees, 

 where it resides. It has been found 

 as far south as northern New York, 

 and it is said to be a not uncommon 

 resident in those parts of Lewis county, 

 New York, which pertain to the 

 Canadian fauna ; for it is found both 

 in the Adirondack region and in the 

 coniferous forests in the Tug Hill 

 range. In the vicinity of Lake Tahoe 

 and the summits of the Sierra Nevada 

 it is quite numerous in September at 

 and above six thousand feet. It is 

 common in the mountains of Oregon 

 and is a rare winter visitant to the 

 extreme northern portion of Illinois. 

 Observation of the habits of this 

 Woodpecker is necessarily limited, as 

 the bird is not often seen within the 

 regions where it might be studied. 

 Enough is known on the subject, how- 

 ever, to enable us to say that they are 

 similar to those of the Woodpeckers 

 of the states. They excavate their 

 holes in the dead young pine trees at 



a height from the ground of five or 

 six feet, in this respect differing from 

 their cousius, Vv^ho make their nests at 

 a much greater height. In the nests 

 are deposited from four to six pure 

 ivory-white eggs. 



We suggest that the reader, if he 

 has not already done so, read the 

 biographies and study the pictures of 

 the representatives of this family that 

 have appeared in this magazine. To 

 us they are interesting and instructive 

 beyond comparison, with the majority 

 of other feathered factors in creation, 

 and present an exceedingly attractive 

 study to those who delight in natural 

 history. They are not singing birds, 

 and therefore do not " furnish forth 

 music to enraptured ears," but their 

 agreeable call and love notes, their 

 tenor drum-beats, their fearless 

 presence near the habitations of man, 

 winter and summer, their usefulness 

 to man in the destruction of insect 

 pests, their comparative harmlessness 

 (for they cannot be denied subsistence), 

 all prove that they should be ever 

 welcome companions of him who was 

 given dominion over the beasts of the 

 field and the birds of the air. 



In city parks where there are many 

 trees, bushes, and thick shrubbery, a 

 good many birds may be seen and 

 heard near the middle of March. To- 

 day, the 22nd of the month, in a 

 morning stroll, we saw and heard the 

 Song Sparrow, a Blue Bird, a Robin, 

 and two Bluejays, and would, no 

 doubt, have been gratified with the 

 presence of other early migrants, had 

 the weather been more propitious. 

 The sun was obscured by clouds, a 

 raw north wind was blowing, and 

 rain, with threatened snow flurries, 

 awakened the protective instinct of 

 the songsters and kept them concealed. 

 But now, these April mornings, if you 

 incline to early rising, you may hear 

 quite a concert, and one worth 

 attending. — C. C. M. 



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