nCVWES ARCTIC us. 



?,!'.) 



t!i(> Hosts ;iro reached, it is not easy to cut the hard wood, especially as the straight trunks 

 alloru no foot-hold. 



In flight, the Cockaded Woodpeckers resemble the Downy but when they alight, they 

 strike the object upon which they wish to rest very hard. Like the preceding species, 

 they are also exceedingly agile, moving spirally up the tall tree trunks with great celerity. 

 Altliongh they will occasionally alight near the ground, yet they spead the greater i)art 

 ()(' their time in the tops of the lofty pines; in fact, they pass a largo portion of their lives 

 there, for they arc seldom, if ever, found elsewhere than ia the piney woods and they in- 

 lia.bit this kind of woodland even to the extreme southern portion of the main-land of 

 Florida. 



These Woodpeckers must be of great benefit to the trees of the sections in which they 

 occur, for they are indefatigable insect hunters. Out of some thirty specimens which I 

 have dissected in order to examine the contents of their stomachs, I found that only three 

 or four had eaten bark; all the rest being filled with either the boring beetles or their 

 larvfc. The Cockaded Woodpeckers breed about the first week in April in Southern Flor- 

 ida and a little later further north. 



UEXUS Vtll. PICOIDES. THE TUREE-TOED WOODPECKERS. 



Gen. Cn. S/ernum, not Iwicc as wide as the heiyht of the keel. Maryinal indentations, nearly equal in depth to lite. 

 hei(jth of theliel; outer, more shallow than inner. Mamdirium, moderate. Terminal hook of scapula, variahlc. Tonijxie, 

 provided with a long, c.Ttcnsibh sheath, while the ccrato-hyals are greatly elongated and extend around, the hack of the skull. 

 Pro cent riculus, small. Stomach, rather muscular. Salioary glands, not very well developed. Both mandibles, straight. 

 Head, not crested. Toes, three in number. 



In moiuhei-s of this genus, the prevailing coI(ir ahove isl)lac]<, relieved by white markings and the males are marked, to 

 a greater or less extent, on the to|) of the head with yellow. The tail feathers are very acuminate. The hind toe is want- 

 ing. The head isnotstriekingly large nor is the neck very thin. The bill is about equal to the head in length. There are 

 no laryngeal muscles, excepting the stcrno-trachealis which is very stout. The tympanifonn membrane is present and al- 

 tliougli there is an os transversale, yet it does not support a semilunar membrane. The oesophagus is without dilatation and 

 opens into a small proventrieulus. The gastric glands are rather numerous, simple, and occujiy a zonular band. The stom- 

 ach is rather globular in form and r^uito large, the walls are quite thick, and the lining membrane is finely rugose. The 

 foltl of the duodenum is not very long, inclosing a wide pancreas. The spleen is an elliptical l)ody lying over the cardiac 

 upcning of the stomach. Both lobes of the liver are ahout equal in size. There are two species within our limits. 



PICOIDES ARCTICUS. 

 Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker. 



Picoidcs arcticus CAiitn., ISirds X. A ; IS.W, 98. 



DESCRIPTION. 



3p.Cn. Form, not robust. Size, large. Sternum, not very stout. Tongue, rather thin and homy at the tip which 

 i; provided with barbs for one third of the terminal length. The extensihle sheath occupies about one half of the length of 

 the tongue. Terminal hook of scapula, angled ahove and below. 



Coi.o!!. Adult male. Glossy Ijlack above, including siiles of head, maxillary line and bands on the sides and flanks, 

 witli line extending f.-om base of bill, down the sides of neck, spots on the primaries and on a few of the secondaries, all but 

 basal portion of two outer tail feathei-s, and tips of next pair, white. Square patch on the top of the head, saffron-yellow. 

 Under portion, incluiling under tail and wing coverts, white, wliile the feathers of the latter are banded with black and thf 

 breast is faintly ting -d with yellowish. 



Adult female. Similar to the male, but lacks the y.'llow on tin; head which is replaced by blaek, and the white on the 

 tail is not as extended. 



