244 BIRDS OF ONTARIO. 



Columbia which are no larger than those found in Southern Ontario. 

 It is well to know that the species varies in size according to its 

 habitat, north or south, but I hardly think the subdivision necessary, 

 for we see among the members of the human family individuals who 

 differ in size far more than the woodpeckers do, and yet we do not 

 make subspecies of them. However, if the new arrangement suits 

 the majority, so let it be. 



DRYOBATES PUBESCENS (Linn.). 

 172. Downy Woodpecker. (394) 



Coloration, exactly as in P. villosus, except that the outer tail feathers are 

 l)arred with black and white. Length, 6-7 ; wing, under 4 ; tail, vmder .3. 



Hab. — Northern and Eastern North America, from British Columbia and 

 the eastern edge of the Plains northward and eastward. 



Nest, a hole in a tree. 



3, four or five, pure white. 



This is a miniature of the preceding species, which it resembles in 

 liabits as well as in appearance, although it is of a more sociable 

 disposition, being often found in winter in company with the Chick- 

 adees and Brown Creepers. It is also an occasional visitor to the 

 orchard, where it goes over the apple trees carefully, examining all 

 injured or decayed parts in search of insects. 



It is commonly known as the "little sapsucker," but the name is 

 incorrectly applied, for any holes drilled by this species are made 

 while it is in search of insects, those which allow the sap of the tree 

 to exude being the work of the Yellow-bellied Woodpecker. 



Like its big brother, the Downy Woodpecker is a resident species, 

 but more plentiful in spring and fall than in summer, the numbers 

 l:)eing inci'eased at those seasons by passing migrants. 



They do not, however, migrate in the ordinary sense of the word, 

 l)ut in the fall often shift about in search of better feeding ground. 

 They are found in Manitoba, the North- West, and in Alaska, and ai'e 

 resident throughout their range. They have been taken along the 

 entire course of the Yukon, as well as at various points on the coast 

 of Behring Sea, and thence south at Kadiak and Sitka. Those found 

 in the north do not differ from the southern individuals, except in 

 Ijeing rather larger in size. 



