252 Merrill on Birds of Fort Klamath, Oregon. [July 



they became shy and restless, the males drumming loudly on the dead top 

 of some lofty pine, but ceasing whenever they were approached. 



[Seven specimens collected by Dr. Merrill, with a single exception, are 

 typical examples of a Woodpecker which of late years has been very gen- 

 erally if not exclusively called P. harrisii but which Cabanis and Heine 

 very properly separated from that form as long ago as 1S63.* Audubon's 

 type specimens of harrisii came from the Columbia River, and both his 

 plate and description show that they were decidedly brownish beneath. 

 In the series furnished by my own collection, as well as that belonging to 

 the National Museum, I find that all specimens from the Pacific Coast 

 north of San Francisco to Puget Sound are similarly characterized. The 

 depth and extent of the brownish varies, however, with different localities. 

 The most extreme specimen — from Neah Bay, W. T. — has only the wing 

 spots white, all the other light areas, both above and beneath, being 

 smoky brown. Col. N. S. Goss, to whom I am indebted for this speci- 

 men, tells me that all the birds which he shot at Neah Bay were equally 

 brown. Those which I have seen from Northern California, however, are 

 somewhat lighter beneath, and the light space on the dorsum is usually 

 pure white. Audubon's types, which were probably taken at some dis- 

 tance inland from the mouth of the Columbia, had the light stripes on the 

 head as well as the middle of the back. Thus it is probable that the birds 

 obtained by Col. Goss i^epresent the extremes of the smoky Northwest 

 Coast form, which to the southward and eastward shades insensibly into 

 hyloscopus. In fact, one of Dr. Merrill's skins clearly proves such inter- 

 gradation, for it has the breast decidedly brownish and the throat slightly 

 so, while the abdomen, flanks, and light areas of the tail-feathei-s are es- 

 sentially' white. 



Piciis hyloscopus was based on the "-P. //«;'/-/5/ from Southern California 

 and New Mexico," which, the describers state, "differs from ^arr/5/ of the 

 Columbia River Region in being smaller, and white instead of brownish, 

 beneath." All the so-called Harris's Woodpeckers which I have seen from 

 the interior of Western North America north of Mexico have the light 

 areas, both above and beneath, essentially pure white, although the breast 

 and tail-feathers are often superficially soiled or stained by contact with 

 burnt trees or decayed wood. There is little variation among them ex- 

 cepting in size, those from the southern border averaging somewhat 

 smaller than more northern ones. It is possible that, as material accu- 

 mulates, it will be found necessary to separate this white-breasted Wood- 

 pecker into two forms, a large northern and a small southern one. For 

 the present, however, they may be best treated as one, for which the 

 name hyloscopus should be used. — W. B.] 



Dryobates pubescens gairdneri. During my residence at Fort Klamath 

 I paid especial attention to the Woodpeckers at all seasons, yet I saw but 

 three specimens of this species ; the dates were Nov. 17, April 28, and 

 May II. 



* Mus. Hein., IV, p. 6g. 



