Vol. XVII 
face BanGs, The American Three-toed Woodpeckers. 135 
back always continuously white along the middle line. The 
two apparently intergrade in Montana. 
In eastern North America true P. americanus is replaced by 
two races, one in Labrador the other in northern New England, 
etc. From either of these true americanus differs in the much 
greater amount of white in the upper parts, and in having a white 
postocular stripe. In the eastern forms this stripe is either 
wholly absent or indicated by an occasional isolated white feather 
or two. I do not know exactly where the eastern races meet true 
P. americanus, there being a dearth of specimens from the central 
portion of Arctic America. 
In the Bangs Collection there are two examples of P. amerv- 
canus from Saturna Island, B. C., that in every way are referable 
to the typical subspecies, except that the under parts are not pure 
white, but are pinkish smoke-gray — one skin showing this more 
strongly than the other. This coloring of the under parts is 
occasionally shown by eastern birds and may be due to staining. 
Picoides americanus dorsalis Baird. 
Picoides dorsalis BARD, B. N. A., p. 100, 1858. 
Picoides americanus var. dorsalis BArrv, Cooper’s B. Calif., p. 386, 
1870. 
Type Locality. — Laramie Peak, Wyoming. 
Geographic Distribution. —Southern Rocky Mountains, from New 
Mexico north to Montana, where intergradation takes place with true 
americanus. 
Specimens examined.— Total number, 12; from the following local- 
ities. 
New Mexico: Santa Fé Mountains, t. 
Colorado: Platte Cafion, 3; Jefferson Co., 2; Silverton, 1; Stony 
Gulch, 2; Beulah, 1. 
Montana: Columbia Falls, 2 (intergrades; except in size, nearer dor- 
salis than true americanus). 
Subspectfic characters. — Size largest of the americanus series (wing 
of adult @, 126 mm., of adult 9, 121 mm.); ground color of back and 
wings brownish black, of head shining blue-black; back from nape to 
rump continuously white along middle line, zo¢ barred across with black ; 
white postocular and malar stripes broad and conspicuous; white mark- 
ings and spots on primaries, secondaries and especially on inner webs of 
tertials, large; no white spots on wing-coverts; upper tail-coverts usu- 
ally unspotted; top of head but little freckled with white; sides and 
flanks with fewer dusky markings, which are more like spots, less like 
