riClDyE — THE WOODrECKERS. 507 



queiit. They may also be seen clingiu",' to tlio .*talks of tlio suj^ar-cane, bor- 

 ing them, and evidently enjoying the sweet juices of that iilant. 



Their tlight is short and rapid, rescnililing that of other allied species. 

 They are not social, never more than the members of one family being seen 

 together. They feed chieily on insects and their larva>,, often seizing tlie 

 former on the wing. In tlie autumn tliey occasionally eat berries, seeds, 

 and small fruit. Tlieir notes are sharp and loud, uttered in monosyllaldes, 

 at times with great frec^uency. 



An egg of tliis species, tiikeu in Ko.Kbury, Mass., is of a pure crystal whiti!- 

 ness, oblong in shape, and et^ually rounded at either end, measuring l.Ol 

 inches in length by .72 of an inch in breadth. Another, from Georgia, is 

 more rounded at one end, and measures 1.02 inches iu length and .73 of an 

 inch in breadth. 



Pious villosus, var. harrisi, Aud. 



HABBIS'S WOODPECKER. 



Picus harrisi, Arn. Orn. Bing. V, 1830, 191, \\\. ccrcxvii. — Ib. Syn. 1830, 178. - In. 

 Birds Ainciicjii, IV, 184-2, 2H, pi. otlxi (.liiik-licllii'd vaiiety). — NliiAi.i,, Man. I, 

 (2d. ed.,) 1840, 027. — B.uitl), Birds N. Am. 1858, 87. — Suniievai.i., Moii. 17.— 

 Loud, Pr. K. Art. As.s. IV, 111 (uo.stiiig). — Couks, Pr. A. N. S. ISOG, 52 (Oregon). 

 Sl'.MruiiiiAsT, Mum. Bost. Soc. I, 1809, 562 (Aliuuc regions of Vera Cruz). — (iu.w, 

 Catal. 1868, 47. — Caiux. .1. 1862, 175. — Ca.ssix, P. A. N. S. 1863, 200. — Codi'Kii 

 & SucKLKY, 150. — Coornii, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 375. i I'ir.us inunniliis, Liciir. (lion. 

 Consp.). Pieiii (Trichuj)icii/i) /idrrisi, Bi-. Consji. Zyg. Aten. Ital. 1854, 8. Dnjulmlcs 

 harrisi, C.vU. & IIkix. Mus. Hein. IV, 2, 08 (jardini, 69.) Picas jardini, Mai.ii. Kev. 

 ZoiJl. Oct. 1845, 374 (Moxico). — Cau. Jour. 1862, 175. Picus hyloscopus, Cau. i 

 Heix. Mus. Hein. IV, 2, 1863, 09 (white-liellifd form). 



Sp. Char. Similar to typical viUosii.i ; the innonnost of the greater wing-coverts and 

 of the seoondary quills without any white spots externally ; varying from this to tlic 

 iMitire ateence of exposed white on wing except on the outer web of longest i)riniaries. 

 Belly varying from pure white to smoky or fulvous gray, white of tail-feathers very 

 rarely blotched with black. Average length, in north, 9.00 ; wing, u.OO ; exposed part of 

 culmen, 1.15. 



\ixv. Jardini much smaller. Length, 7.00 ; wing, 3.90 ; culmen, .85. 



Had. Whole of Western United States, west of the Missouri plains, extending into 

 Mexico and Central America, where it passes into the smallest and darkest .southern ex- 

 treme, known as P.jurdiui. Localities: West Arizona (Coi-es, P. A. N. S. ISUG, 52); 

 Vera Cruz, Alpine regions (Sumichrast, M. Bost. See. I, 18G9, 502). 



In the preceding article we have given some general remarks on Harris's 

 Woodpecker, and shown why we cannot consider it a well-defined species. 

 If the specimens from the extreme west were constant in tliemselves, and the 

 variations, as with Colnptcs hyhridus, occurred along the line of contact with 

 villosus, we might refer to hybrids many of the intermediate forms ; but as 

 scarcely any two are alike, even on the Pacific coast, such a view is inad- 

 missible. As, however, in the extreme limits of variation, there is yet a 



