iMciDj-: -Tin-: woodi'kckkus. 



o45 



!Mr. Aiulubou assigns t(» it t\w suini' distrilnition, but is only altlc to i^ivo 

 the intbrniation in rt'uanl to its lialiits which he deiivi'd IVnni the ohserva- 

 tions oi Mr. Xuttall, which, howtner, <lo not cunvs]>on(l witli tht^sc of I)r. 

 Coo|)ei'. Mr. Xuttall states that this s])L"eies, seen in the forests of the Co- 

 lunihia and the lUue Mountains, has most of the hahits of the eoninion ilcd- 

 headed spec'ies. lie concedes that it is less faniili. , 'ud that it keeps gen- 

 erally among the tall fir-trees, in the dead trunks of which it burrows out a 

 hole for a nest, sometimes at a great elevation. On a[)|)roaching one that 

 was feeding its young in one of these situations, it uttered a loud reverber- 

 ating ^ V?*, and seemed angry Jind solicitous at his apj-roach. He adds that 

 this species also inhabits California, as well as tlie northwest coast up to 

 Xootka, and that it is found eastward as far as the central chain of the 

 Ifockv Mountai'- • *m eng taken from a nest whicli ci)ntained four was 

 1.2') in length . \i\ ; « '•' an inch in breadth. It was smooth, ecpially 

 rounded at both enas 'i' ;..,1 somewhat elongated, and }>ure white. 



We are contident hah f v .^^ nnist be some mistake in this statement. 

 The <lisproportion between the length and the breadth is un[»recedented. 

 Even in the most oblong egg there is rarely so much as twenty-tive per cent 

 dift'erence. 



Dr. Cooper, in his Ihrds of California, speaks of it as rather a northern bird, 

 having .seen none south of Santa Clara, and there only in the mountains of 

 the Coast Ihinge in early s])ring. 



Dr. lleermann found this form not at all rare in the Sierra Xevada ^loun- 

 tains, and occasionally met a stray one among the vallevs. Their call-note 

 was similar "^o the cry of a child in distress, and was very disagreeal>le. 

 Tn their quick, restless motions, and their untiring diligence in quest of food, 

 they resemble the rest of the Woodpecker iamily. 



It was noticed by Mr. lUdgway only on the Sierra X'evada, and he is not 

 certain that he saw it on the eastern slope of that range. 



Sphyroi,. us wiUiamsoni, Baird. 



WILUAHSOirS WOODFECKEB. 



Pints in'IHnmsani, Newreuiiy, Zo(»1. California and ()ivi,'ou Route, 89, P. R. R. Rcpts. 

 VI, 1857, l»l. xxxiv, ti-,'. 1. — Scxukvall. Consp. ;}2. Mihiurrprs riiJtri'juhirJs, Sn.. 

 Annals anil Mag. N. II. :3il serit-s, 1, YA^. 1858, 127. — Pr. Zui»l. Soc. 1858, -1, \A. .xwi. 

 Sphifropicus iri/fiahisoitl, liAn:n, IJinls X. Am. 1858, 105, j»l. xxxiv, f. 1. --("oi r.s, Pr. 

 18tU>, 54. —Cass. P. A. X. S. 1803, 204. — Coon; i:, (Irn. Cal. 1, 187o, :{9o. '7./-/"- 

 scopus iri/liam^oni, Cab. & Hkin. Mus. Iloin. IV, 18tJ:3, 8:^ Mdanci'iHS iciUUnu- 

 soni, C.UAY, Catal. Br. Mus. 18»58, 116. 



Sp. Cha. Rich I'lack ; middlo liiu- of Ix'lly yellow; contral line of chin . mid throat 

 above nnl. A larLfo })atcl! on the w'nvj iiinii-, an<l upper tail-covcrts. a lint- IVoiii the fore- 

 head heneath the eye, and anothei- iVoin it> upper border, white. Tail entirely Mack. K\- 



voi,. II. (I!) 



