[388] BIRDS OF OREGON 



contained one, two, or four eggs, and a nest found by Jewett in Lake 

 County on June 18 contained three nearly fledged young. Patterson re- 

 ported nests with eggs from May 6 to 30. 



The shiny black back and handsome yellow crown patch lend a dis- 

 tinction to this species missing in most of its relatives. The bird is usually 

 silent, calling neither as frequently nor as noisily as the Hairy Wood- 

 pecker, and is almost always located by its industrious tapping as it 

 works over the bark of the pines. 



Alaska Three-toed Woodpecker: 



Pico'ides tridactylus fasciatus Baird 



DESCRIPTION. Adult male: Upper parts mainly black with a whitish nuchal band 

 and a white back, strongly barred with black, wing quills barred with white and 

 secondaries noticeably spotted with the same color, outer tail feathers mainly white, 

 somewhat sparingly barred with black, a conspicuous yellow crown patch and back 

 of head dark glossy blue, under parts white, sides and flanks barred with black. 

 Adult female: Similar but without yellow crown. Si%e: Length 9.50, wing 4.50- 

 4.70, tail 3.10-3.75, bill 1. 10-1.15. (Adapted from Bailey.) Nest: In holes in 

 coniferous trees. Eggs: Usually 4, white. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Hudsonian and Canadian Zones from Alaska, Yukon, and 

 western Mackenzie south to Oregon, northern Idaho, and northern Montana. In 

 Oregon: Rare permanent resident of higher parts of Wallowa Mountains and Cas- 

 cades south at least to east base of Mount McLoughlin in Jackson County. 



WE HAVE FOUND the Alaska Three-toed Woodpecker to be one of the 

 rarer species. The only published record of it as an Oregon bird is that of 

 Shelton (1917), who listed it as breeding on the Three Sisters. He based 

 his statement on specimens in the Oregon Game Commission collection, 

 a pair and two young collected by Jewett on the Three Sisters, July 19, 

 1914, which are the first known specimens from the State. On July 2.4, 

 192.6, Gabrielson collected a young male out of three birds found on the 

 shores of Four-mile Lake at the east base of Mount McLoughlin, the 

 most southerly record for the State. The other two were evidently a 

 newly fledged young and an adult. There are five other specimens, all 

 taken in the higher part of the Wallowa Range on various dates between 

 May 19 and October 2.6. 



In general behavior, this woodpecker is much like the more abundant 

 Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker, frequenting dense lodgepole forests and 

 remaining comparatively silent in most seasons. The call is a peculiar 

 nasal note, quite unlike that of any other woodpecker save those of its 

 other three-toed cousins. 



