)/ 



6 



NORTH AMElflCAN iUJiDS. 



a^<lom(Mi. oach ffailicr with ;i lieart-sliaiu-d spot of l>lack near the end. Rum)» whit(\ 

 Lcii^^tli. ]'2JtO; wiiij:. (i.oo. 



Il.vn, All of casti'in North AnicTica to the oastorn slopes of Rocky Mountains; 

 farther nortli, extcntiincj a(.TOss alon*,' the Yukon jvs far at least as Niilato, perhaps to 

 the Paei!ie. (Jreenlainl (Rkinuakdt). Localities;: San Antonio, Te::a:?, only one s]»eciiiieu 

 (Di:i:ss;Ki:, This, 1SG3, 17t>). 



Specimens vary cons •'> ial»l\ in size and proportions; the more nortliern 

 ones are nnich the larger. The spots vary in nnml)er and in size ; tliey 

 mav he c-ircnLir, or transvm-selv or h>niiitudinallv oval. Western si)ecimens 

 appear ]»aler. In a Selkirk Settlement specimen the belly is tinged with 

 l)ale sidphur-yellow, the l)ack with olivaeeoiis-green. 



This s})ecies, in general jKittern of coloration, resem1)les the C. mrricanvji, 

 although the colors are very dillcrent. Thus the sha!"ts of the (piills, with 

 their under surfaces, are gamh(»ge-yellow, instead of orange-red. There is a 

 conspicuous nuchal crescent of crimson wanting, or but slightly indicated, in 

 iiiciinuuis. The check-patch is june black, widening and abruptly truncate 

 behind, instead of bright crimson, jmiuted or rounded V)ehind. The shade 

 of the u}>per ])arts is olivaceous-green, instead of i»inplish-brown. The to]» 

 of the head and ihe uape are nun-e ashy. The chin, throat, neck, and sides of 

 the head, are pale i)urplisli or lilac brown, instead of bluish-ash ; the space 

 above, beh)w, and arcnind the eye of the same color, instead of having 

 reddish-brown above and ashy below. 



The young of this species is sutiiciently like the adult to be readily recog- 

 nizable. Sometimes the entire crown is faintly tipped with red, as charac- 

 teristic of young Woodpeckers. 



IlAi'.rrs. The CJohlen-winged Woodpecker is altogether the most com- 

 mon and the most widely distributed of the Xorth American representa- 

 tives of the genus. According to Sir John liichardson, it visits the fur 

 countries in the sunnner, extending its mim-ations as far to the nortli as the 

 Great Slave Lake, and resorting in great numbers to tlie i)lains of the Sas- 

 katchewan. It was found by J)r. Woodhouse very abundant in Texas and 

 the Indian Territory, and it is given by Keinhardt as or.curring in Greenland. 

 Mr. ^IcFarlane fomid it l)reeding at Fort Anderson ; Mr. IJoss at Fort Ifae, 

 Fort Kesolution, and Fort Simpson ; and Mr. Kennicott at Fort Yukon. All 

 this testimony demonstrates a distriltution throughout the entire eastern 

 portion of Xorth America, from the Gulf of Mexico almost to the Arctic 

 Ocean, and from the Atlantic to the Kockv Mountains. 



In the more northern portions of the continent this bird is only a sum- 

 mer visitant, but in the Southern and ^Ii«ldle, and to some extent in the 

 Xew England States, it is a permanent resident. Wilson speaks of seeing 

 them exposed for sale in the markets of Philadelphia during each month of 

 a very rigorous Avinter. Wilson's observations of their habits during breed- 

 ing, made in Pennsylvania, were that early in April they begin to prepare 

 their nest. This is built in the hollow bodv or branch of a tree, sometimes, 



