370 LAND BIRDS 
thologists have made it a subspecies of the Arctic Three- 
toed and call it Picoides arcticus tenuirostris, or Sierra 
Three-toed Woodpecker. It is like the Arctic in color 
and habits, but has a more slender bill. It is found in 
the northern Sierra Nevada as far south as Lake Tahoe. 
404. WILLIAMSON SAPSUCKER. — Sphyrapicus 
thyroideus. 
Famity: The Woodpeckers. 
Length: 9.00-9.75. 
Adult Male: Upper parts, throat, and breast black; throat with a me- 
dian stripe of bright red ; rump and patch on wing-coverts white ; 
quills finely spotted with white; sides of head striped with white ; 
belly yellow. 
Adult Female: Body barred with brown or black and white; rump 
white ; head plain brown; chest with black patch ; middle of belly 
yellow. 
Geographical Distribution: Western United States, from the Rocky 
Mountains to the western slope of the Sierra Nevada ; winters in 
Southern California. 
California Breeding Range: Along the Sierra Nevada from Shasta to 
the San Jacinto mountains. 
Breeding Season: May 15 to July 1. 
Nest: In large dead pines, 5 to 60 feet from the ground. 
Eggs: 5 or 6; pure white. Size 0.97 X 0.67. 
So unlike are the male and the female of this Wood 
pecker that for a long time they were listed as different 
species by ornithologists. The general effect of the 
male’s coloring is black, that of the female brown ; and 
unless one is forewarned or experienced, he is apt even 
now to look for another name when he first sees the 
female. 
They nest commonly in the Sierra Nevada near Lake 
