NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



limb of an apple tree, or in a post or rail of a fence; seldom more than 

 twenty feet from the ground. This is the little spotted bird frequently 

 called "Sapsucker. " A very truthful illustration of the ideal nesting 

 place of the Downy is given in Thomas G. Gentry's " Nests and Eggs of 

 Birds of the United States."* 



Hab. Entirely corresponds with that P. villos7is. Var. P. p. gairdueri from the Rocky Mountains to the 

 Pacific. 



361«. Gairdner Woodpecker — Picus pubescens gairdneri. Eggs 

 and nesting habits are the same as those of P. pnbcscois. Found from the 

 Rocky Mountain region of United States to the Pacific, but is much rarer 

 than the Downy is in the East. 



362. Redcockaded Woodpecker — picus querulus. White, less 

 glossy than those of the other species; four to six in number; size .95 by 

 .70. Nests in holes of living trees, from fifteen to thirty feet from the 

 ground. This bird is found in the pine swamps and barrens of the South 

 Atlantic and Gulf States. 



363. Texan Sapsucker — picus scalaris. White, not so glossy as 

 those of the Downy; the average size of eighteen eggs is .81 by .64. 

 Nesting habits exactly the same. 



Hab. Southwestern United States and southward; abundant. 



366. White-headed Woodpecker — xenopicus albolarvatus. Pure 

 crystalline- white, more than usually oblong-oval for a Woodpecker; gen- 

 erally five in number; size .99 by .70. This peculiarly colored species is 

 common in pine woods in Oregon, Washington Territory, and in the moun- 

 tains of California. Nests in cavities of tall, dead trees or stumps. 



367. Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker — picoides arcticus. 

 Pure ivory-white; four to six; size .92 by .72. This species excavates 

 cavities in live or dead trees for nesting places. Breeds from the northern 

 tier of States northward. 



Hab. Northwestern North America; south in winter through New England, and generally along the 

 northern tier of States; in the mountains of the West, to about 89" in Nevada and Colorado. 



369. Yellow-bellied Woodpecker — sphyrapicus varius. Glossy 

 white; four to seven in number, and measure .90 by .75. This beautiful 

 Woodpecker is known to breed from Northern New York northward. 

 Large dead birch-trees in the vicinity of water are usually selected ; some- 

 times tall ash, in which the bird excavates a hole for its nest. The height 

 ranges from ten to fifty feet from the ground or water. The eggs are laid 



* Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of the United States, with Te.xt. By Thomas G. Gentry. 

 Philadelphia: J. A. Wagenseller. 1881 



