NOBLE: THE RESIDENT BIRDS OF GUADELOUPE. 379 
Swifts, and again on July 22d several were seen in an evening flight 
over Grand Etang, Deshaies. But at Goyave, August 29th the 
species was flying by day. Small flocks passed back and forth across 
a cow pasture throughout the heat of the day. These flocks remained 
in the same locality for several days and did not seem to be migratory. 
No flocks were observed in the evening, but scattered individuals were 
flying with the Black Swifts. 
24. MELANERPES HERMINIERI (Lesson). 
Tapeur. 
Seven adults from Ste. Rose, July 16th-19th and eight adults from 
Goyave August 20th-September Ist. 
Ridgway (Bull. 50, U. S. N. M., 1914, pt. 4, p. 12) has created 
a monotypic genus for this species. The tendency to split up the 
Antillean woodpeckers into separate genera was carried further still 
by Miller (Bull. Amer. mus. nat. hist., 1915, 34, p. 518) in his descrip- 
tion of the Porto Rican form. ‘There are, to be sure, some small 
differences between the Guadeloupe bird and any other species of 
Melanerpes, but I believe it is entirely a matter of individual opinion 
as to whether the Guadeloupe species should be separated from its 
mainland relatives and placed in a separate genus. It is perhaps 
worthy of note that in Antillean reptiles and amphibians we find most 
of the genera to be of wide distribution. 
The Tapeur is certainly not a rare bird on the island but seems to 
be very local in distribution. It is confined to the hardwood belt 
covering the hills. Only once did I observe a woodpecker near a 
village. Then the bird was clinging to a half-decayed tree in front 
of the Gendarmerie at Ste. Rose. 
The first time I became familiar with the Tapeur was in a sunny 
valley among the hills of Cluny. Every morning upon rising I would 
hear the roll of a woodpecker far away on some distant slope. Thena 
bird perhaps nearer at hand would answer until finally three or four 
would be rolling at once. Often they would call, or rather bray, 
and then the note reminded me of the warning cry of the Yellow- 
bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius varius). There were many 
deserted nesting holes nearby, but none was lower than fifty feet from 
the ground. 
