010 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Sp. Char. A minialiirp of P. vHIokus. AUovc; liliick, with ft white bniul down the 

 l)aci{. Twii while stiipfs on tlie siiii; of tiic lioad ; tlii; Iowlt of opposito si(h's iihvays 

 .separated beiiiiiil, tiie iippi.T soinetirne.s conOiieiit on the nape. Two stripes of bhick 



011 the side ol' till- head, I he h)wer not niiiiiiii^' into the Ibreliead. Beiieatii white; all 

 the middle and greater eoverlM and all the ((nills with white .spots, the larger coverts 

 with two series each ; terliaries or inner se(;oiidaries all banded with white. Two enter 

 tail-feathers white, with two bands of Ijlaek :i' end; third white at tip and externally, 

 crissnin .soinetiines spotted with blaek. Leii: ili, about G.25 ; wing, 3.75. Mule with rod, 

 terininating the white leathers on the nape. Ytnuitj with whole to|) of head red. 



Il.\i!. Eastern Unitecl States, towanls the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, into 

 British Cohinibia and the Iliiniboldt Mountains, and north to the limits of the woods; 

 along whole Yukon River ; perhaps to the Paeilie, north of the 4!ltli jiarallel ; Kodiak. 

 Localities : San Antonio, Texas (DiiKSSKU, Ibis, 18U5, -11)8). Accidental in England. 



Tlio reniai'k.s already made on tlie variation of Ficus rillosus apply e([ually 

 well liere ; all the differences in size and markings with locality being almost 

 exactly reproduced. The western vari(!ty, /'. (juirdncri, is equally uncertain 

 in characters as P. harrisi, and as little entitled to specific distinction. As 

 in the previous instance, we shall call typical pubesccTis those specimens in 

 which all the middle and greater coverts and all the quills including tlie 

 iimermost secondaries are spotted with white, while those in whicli any of 

 these feathers, whether all the coverts, as in Oregon birds, or only a few of 

 them, are unspotted, may be called var. (jairdneri. 



Of typical puhcsccnti in the Eastern States there are minor variations, but 

 not of much account. Thtis the forehead itself, apart from the white na.sal 

 tufts, is sometimes white, connecting witli the white superciliary stripe ; 

 more frequently, however, tlie whole forehead is black. Nortliern specimens 

 are larger and have larger white spots, and not unfrequently the black cheek- 

 stripe is invaded anteriorly by white, wiiich, however, is appreciable at tlie 

 base of the feathers. The black bars on the tail are much restricted in 

 specimens from the Yukon. Southern specimens are smaller and darker, 

 witli smaller spots on the wings. 



In all the changes of the two species, there is no difficulty in distinguisli- 

 iiig P. 2)id)csccns from P. villosiis l>y the black bars on outer tail-feathers of 

 the former, and their absence in the latter. Tlie crissum oi' 2)ubesiriis is some- 

 times somewhat spotted with blackish. The white markings on the coverts 

 are larger in proportion, and there are almost always two series of wliite 

 spots on the greater coverts, as in northern varieties of villosus, not one, as 

 in most of those from the Middle States. 



Habits. This species, like the Hairy Woodpecker, is a resident rather 

 than a migratory species, and breeds wherever it is met with. It also seems 

 to have very nearly the same geographical distribution with that species. Dr. 

 Woodiiouse found it common throughout the Indian Territory, Texas, and 

 New jNIexico. It does not, however, appear to have been collected by any 

 of the parties engaged in the Pacific Railroad surveys, nor by that upon 

 the survey of the Mexican boundary. Of seventeen specimens given by 



