90 



THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. 



THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. 



Picus tridactylus, 



Apterus " SWAIN SON. 



Ficoidcs " LACEPEDE. 



A bird that makes holes in trees, supposed to be the 

 Woodpecker. Tridactylus Three-lingered. 



Tins species, as conveyed by its specific name, is without 

 the hind toe. It is a native of the 'far west,' being very 

 common in the northern parts of North America, from 

 whence, by Kamtschatka, it spreads into the north-eastern 

 parts of Europe Siberia, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Lapland, 

 especially in Dalecaiiia, and is also found in the mountain 

 gorges of Switzerland and the Tyrol, where it breeds, and 

 occasionally in Germany and France. Temminck, however, 

 considers that the American and European species are distinct. 



The pine forests which fringe the lower sides and ravines 

 of mountainous districts are the especial resort of this bird. 



I insert this species on the authority of Donovan, vi, plate 

 143: Mr. G. R. Gray, in his 'List of the British Birds in 

 the British Museum,' who gives the 'North of Scotland' as 

 the place of its occurrence; 'Stephens' General Zoology;' 

 Edwards, and others; and the 'Zoology List of Birds.' 



These birds do not migrate, but in the severit}^ of winter 

 some make their way southwards, in America to the United 

 States, and probably the like is the case in Europe. 



No sooner has the Woodpecker toiled up to the summit 

 that it has been seeking to reach, than it finds the prospect 

 a barren one, and the most that it has gained has been a 



