BIRD NOTES AFIELD 



C. Back light brown, barred with narrow black lines; shafts of wing 

 and tail-feathers golden or scarlet. 



I. Shafts golden; lines on sides of throat bright red. No red on top 

 of head. 



Gilded Flicker 58 



II. Shafts scarlet; lines on throat scarlet. 



Red-shafted Flicker 59 



WOODPECKER FAMILY 



Toes, two in front and two behind; beak strong and sharp; tail- 

 feathers stiff and bristly. Birds of this family habitually cling to the 

 bark of trees and peck it for their insect food. 



45. Harris's Woodpecker; Dr^obates villosus harrisii (Aud.). 

 A member of the black and white woodpecker group of which we 



have four representatives. They are all without ornamentation save a 

 scarlet patch on the head of the male. This species is black above, with 

 a broad longitudinal streak of white. Below grayish white. Length, 

 nine or ten inches. This variety is confined to the northwest coast district, 

 while a very closely and to the popular eye indistinguishable form — Ca- 

 banis's Woodpecker — is found in other wooded portions of the State. 



46. Gairdner's Woodpecker; Dr^obates pubescens gairdnerii 

 (Aud.). 



Very similar to the preceding in color and markings, but size much 

 smaller. Length, six to seven inches. Common in the foothills of Cen- 

 tral and Northern California, frequenting especially the oaks. In winter, 

 south through the valleys. Another variety, Batchelder's Woodpecker 

 (D. pubescens homorus Cab.), occurs in southern California mountains. 

 The size is a trifle larger and the white purer than of the northern form. 



47. Nuttall's Woodpecker; Dr^obates nuitallii (Gamb.). 



Size about of the preceding or a trifle larger. Black and white 

 markings of back transverse instead of longitudinal, hence this species is 

 spoken of as belonging to the ladder-backed group. Tail barred black 

 and white and forehead blackish. The male has a red patch on back 

 of head. Resident of the valleys and foothills; rare in the pine forests 

 of the higher mountains. 



48. Texas Woodpecker; Dr^obates scalaris bairdi (Malh.). 

 Similar to preceding, but no bars on the black middle tail-feathers. 



The top of the head of the male is red, more or less speckled with 

 white, and the forehead is brownish. An inhabitant of the deserts of 

 the southeast. 



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