The Birds of Wyoming. 



tains in Wyoming and there are no breeding records west of 

 these places. 



But few of the early collectors reported this species. Jesu- 

 run reports them from Douglas; West has taken several of 

 these birds at Buffalo; Gary reports them fairly common at 

 Newcastle and that on June 4, 1899, he took a nest with nine 

 eggs. Coues reports several specimens from Wyoming under 

 C. auratus, which were taken by Fremont and later expedi- 

 tions. He also remarks that many specimens are hybrids. 

 Along the line where cafer and luteus mingle hybrids are ex- 

 tremely common. In fact it is seldom that one sees typical 

 C. a. luteus. They are generally tinged with cafer. The 

 following note from Coues' Birds of the Northwest, p. 293, 

 seems quite appropriate here: 



"Dr. Hayden's numerous examples are principally those 

 that enabled Prof. Baird to elucidate one of the most remark- 

 able cases in American ornithology — the perfect intergrada- 

 ■tion of two such distinct species as auratus and mexicanus. 

 This author adopted without qualification, the h3^othesis of 

 hybridization, remarking in proposing the name of hybridus: 

 'By the above name I intend to cover a remarkable series of 

 Woodpeckers, from the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone, 

 combining the characteristics of Colaptes auratus and mexi- 

 canus, in proportions varying with almost each individual, and 

 leading irresistibly to the conclusion that they are the descend- 

 ants of originals of the species mentioned above, mixed up by 

 interbreeding of successive generations, to a degree unpar- 

 alleled in the annals of ornithology.' He traces the succes- 

 sive steps of departure from the typical auratus into mexi- 

 canus, and forcibly illustrates the gradations with a compara- 

 tive tabulation of the varying characters. The first deviation 

 is the appearance of red feathers in the black maxillary patches ; 

 these increase till they prevail, finally to the exclusion of the 

 black, resulting in the wholly red patch of the mexicanus. 

 With this occurs the diminution and final extinction of the 



