OF NEW ENGLAND. 319 



said that only two specimens have been taken in this part of the 

 country, and nuchalis may be treated as a western race. It 

 differs from true varius in having a red patch on the hind-head 

 or nape, and more or less red on the throat of the female. 

 Yet, in Messrs. Baird, Brewer, & Ridgway's " North American 

 Birds," it is stated that of true varius a female from Washing- 

 ton, D. C., has red on the throat, and a male from Carlisle, 

 Pennsylvania, has it on the nape. The habits and notes of the 

 Red-naped Woodpeckers are described as similar to those of 

 the Yellow-bellied kind, and the biographical details of one (ex- 

 cept as regards migrations and distribution) are applicable to 

 the other. 



IV. PICOIDES 



(A) ARCTICUS. (Northern or) Black-backed Three-toed Wood- 

 pecker. 



(A resident of northern New England, but of accidental oc- 

 currence in Massachusetts, in fall or winter.) 



(). About nine inches long. Wings and tail, black and 

 white. Upper parts (and a maxillary line), glossy black. Be- 

 neath, white, banded on the sides with black. $ , with a yel- 

 low crown-patch. 



(6). The nest may be found in forests, chiefly in evergreens. 

 The eggs seem to average about -90 X '75 of an inch ; but two 

 in my collection measure 1-05 X "85. See I, A, b. 



(c). The subjects of this biography have been given a name, 

 which is no less resounding than their rapping in the forests, 

 namely : Northern Black-backed Orange-crowned Three-toed 

 Woodpeckers. 12 These birds are extremely rare or accidental 

 in Massachusetts, and in no part of New England are common 

 summer-residents, unless far to the northward, where they are 

 resident throughout the 3 T ear, though more common in winter. 

 I have found the nest among the White Mountains, but I have 

 not often seen the birds. They inhabit the extensive and 

 thickly timbered forests, frequenting the evergreens rather 



12 This full title has actually appeared in print. 



