Vol. XVII 
1900 
BAaNnGs, The American Three-toed Woodpeckers. 136 
the primaries tipped with white, and the wing-coverts frequently irregu- 
larly spotted with white; top of head much spotted or freckled with 
white ; crown patch of g bright yellow (lemon yellow to chrome, occa- 
sionally cadmium); sides, etc., heavily barred with dusky; 2d and 3d 
rectrices white, irregularly barred toward base of feathers with black. 
Winter specimens, usually with more white above than summer 
specimens. 
Color.— Ground color of back and wings brownish black, of head 
shining blue-black ; nape white; back, from nape to rump, mixed black 
and white—the white usually predominating, but the pattern very 
variable —in some specimens the back is continuously white along 
middle line, in others the whole region is barred across with black and 
white; upper tail-coverts usually, but not always, irregularly spotted or 
barred with white; a white postocular stripe meeting white of nape; a 
white malar stripe, bordered by a black sub-malar stripe; auriculars and 
cervix shining blue-black; top of head (more noticeable in the 2 ) heavily 
freckled with white —in many examples the white in excess of the black ; 
nasal plumes mostly whitish, a few only being dusky; wings brownish 
black, primaries, secondaries and tertials conspicuously tipped, spotted 
and notched with white; wing-coverts often (but by no means always) 
irregularly spotted with white —the pattern often different on the oppo- 
site feathers; when closed, the wing shows much white; below white 
heavily barred on sides and flanks with dusky; under tail-coverts, white 
at ends, dusky at base, and sometimes barred; three outer rectrices 
white (usually stained, yellowish-brown) at ends, barred very irregularly, 
lower down the feathers with half bars and spots of black; 4th rectrix 
black with white end and one or two white spots lower down the feather ; 
four middle rectrices black with a few white notches on both webs. Adult 
&@ with a bright yellow crown patch, usually about chrome, though some- 
times lemon yellow and sometimes cadmium; adult 2 with whole top of 
head blue-black heavily freckled with white. 
Remarks. — True Picoides americanus has a wide range through 
the western Fur Countries and Alaska and is a very variable bird. 
The variations, though partly seasonal, are to a great extent indi- 
vidual and consist in the greater or less amount of white in the 
back, head and wings. 
The species has a curious history. It was at first confused 
with the Old World P. ¢dactylus, but in recent works has 
appeared as P. americanus Brehm. Brehm’s name proves to be 
a nomen nudum and the species dates from Swainson, who fig- 
ured and described the same form, afterwards named /asczatus 
by Baird, and still later a/ascensis by Nelson. The fine series 
before me proves conclusively that these three names apply 
strictly to one geographical form. 
