156 



NATUEAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS IN ALASKA. 



Deyobates villosus leucomelas (Bodd.). Northern Hairy Woodpecker. 



This large form of the Hairy Woodpecker nests along the northern tier of States, particularlj' 

 those bordering the Saint Lawrence, and thence north through the interior of the fur countries, 

 reaching rarely, if at all, the coast of Beriug Sea and the adjacent Arctic shores. It is distiai- 

 guished from villosus by its greater size and the larger amount of white. It was found by Eichard- 

 sou in the Hudson's Bay country to the sixty-third parallel, but was reported to be rare north of 

 the fifty-sixth degree. The specimen in my collection was taken by Mr. McQuesten at Fort 

 Eeliance, on the Upper Yukon, about latitude 06°, and undoubtedly the bird straggles still 

 farther north. It has not been taken on the Lower Yukon, but at Sitka and south in British 

 Columbia is found the common villosus, replacing the harrisi of Washington Territory, Oregon, 

 and thence south. The range of the two latter forms, from Southeastern Alaska to Washington 

 Territory on the northwest coast, appears to be intermixed, and just what relationship the two 

 forms bear one to the other in this portion of their habitat is, at present, unknown. 



The following set of measurements show the difference between the small-size<l Hairy Wood- 

 peckers from the Southern Atlantic States and those from the headwaters of the Yukon, the 

 specimen measured from the north being the one in my collection taken at Fort Eeliance. The 

 second set is from a specimen in the National Museum collection from Georgia: 



No. 1155. 



Dryobates pubescens (Linn.). Downy Woodiiecker (Esk. Pu-gtiM-tti.yn-l'ili). 



Throughout the Territory where woodland or a gi'owth of bushes and small trees occurs the 

 present bird is certain to be found, and is a resident winter and summer. It has been taken along 

 the entire course of the Yukon as well as at various points on the coast of Bering Sea, and thence 

 south at Kadiak and Sitka. In autumn it is a rather common visitant to the coast of Norton 

 Sound in spite of the lack of timber, and it was not uncommon to see it clinging to the sides of 

 the houses, or to the flagstaff, and other similar supports ; after resting awhile, and, perhaps, tap- 

 ping a few times on the unproductive logs, they would leave for a more promising field. They 

 were seen at times passing from one alder patch to another, on the hill sides, and they follow the 

 spruces and other trees to the shore of the sea. 



While I was camping imspring, at the Yukon mouth, these birds were rather common in the 

 dense bushes along this stream and its tributaries. Their holes were frequently found in the 

 decaying stubs, although I did not find a nest containing eggs. This species appears to freiiuent 

 deciduous thickets and trees by preference, as, in addition to the various times which I saw it in 

 the interior in winter, while at the Yukon mouth, I always found it about locations where only 

 deciduous trees and bushes were found, and its holes were always made in cottonwood or birch- 

 stubs. 



In the History of North American Birds, Mr. Eidgway notes the restriction of the black 

 bar on the tails of specimens from the Yukon. After a careful examination of a large series 

 of Alaskan specimens before me, I find that they are generally indistinguishable from birds taken 

 in the United States, though they average, perhaps, a little larger than most of southern speci- 

 mens. Nor are these jiroportions constant, as appears to be the case with the northern form of 

 villosus. Northern birds are usually less soiled below than specimens from southern localities, 

 and the absence or restriction of the black bars on the under tail-feathers in Yukon and other 

 northern specimens appears to be chiefly due to individual variation ; but, at the same time, among 

 the northern series there appears to be a general inclination toward a less amount of black barring 

 on the tail. All of the white markings appear to be somewhat clearer in northern specimens, and 

 also to be slightly increased in amount, thus approximating the characters of hvcomchis, tbousli to a 

 very slight extent. 



