414 PICID^. 



is found wherever pines or oaks, or both, are the chief trees of a district. As these 

 trees are found at short intervals over the whole of the Mexican and Central-American 

 highlands, M. formicivorus occurs in profusion. But it is not in the highlands alone 

 that it is found, for as oaks grow near the shores of the Gulf of Mexico near Misantla 

 and pines within sight of the sea on the coast of British Honduras, there, too, Mela- 

 nerpes formiciwrus is present. It thus has a range in altitude extending from the 

 sea-level to a height of at least 8000 or 9000 feet in the mountains. 



The first specimens sent to Europe were obtained by Bullock at Temiscaltepec ^, on 

 the borders of the Valley of Mexico. These were named by Swainson in 1827 as Picus 

 formicivorus. The following year Temminck described and figured a female bird as 

 Picus melanopogon ^^. Both names belong to the bird of the highlands of Central 

 Mexico, whence we have lately received many specimens. The northern bird was 

 separated by Dr. Coues as M. f. hairdi, and a name has been suggested for the bird of 

 Costa Rica, but apparently without description. All these names we now place under 

 Swainson's title. 



A curious habit of this species has been described by Sumichrast ^^, viz. the storing of 

 acorns in the hollow trunks of the maguey and in the clefts behind the peeling bark of 

 dry trees. He also says these birds pick round holes in the bark of oak trees, and into 

 each one insert an acorn and fix it there firmly. On one occasion, Salvin observed a 

 number of birds evidently engaged in this operation. This was on the high mountain- 

 ridge which lies between the Guatemalan town of Eabinal and the Valley of the 

 Motagua. The trees whose bark was perforated in this case were pines, and a portion 

 of the bark was split off" and brought home and may be now seen in the British 

 Museum. The habit has also been noticed by Leyland ^ and by Dr. Berendt ^o in the 

 neighbourhood of Belize, and extended details on the subject are given by Brewer^*'. 



This curious labour may be imdertaken by this Woodpecker for the purpose of 

 extracting larvae infesting the acorns ; but, as Sumichrast says, it is not easy to under- 

 stand why the birds should take so much trouble to get these small larvae in a country 

 where insect-life exists in profusion. 



A close ally of M. formicivorus, in its wide sense, is M.flavigula of Colombia, in which 

 the male is coloured on the head like the female of the northern bird, and the female 

 has no red on the head at all. Another closely allied form, and perhaps not really 

 different, occurs in Lower California. 



/3. Dorsum nigrum, stria lata longitudinali mediana alba aut pallide isahellina. 



2. Melanerpes chrysauchen. (Tab. LX.) 



Melanerpes chrysauchen, Salv. P. Z. S. 1870, p. 2]3 ' j Hargitt, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xviii. p. 160 \ 



Supra niger, dorso medio et uropygio albis, illo nigro maculato, fronte et nucha flavis, pileo medio coccineo; 



alis nigris, intus albo notatis ; Cauda nigra : subtus sordide albidus flavo lavatus, ventre medio coccineo', 



hypochondriis imis et tectricibus subcaudalibus nigro transfasciatis ; rostro et pedibos plumbeis. Long] 



tot. circa 70, alae 4-5, caudaB 23, rostri a rictn 1-2, tarsi 0-73, dig. med. absque ungue 0-65, di". ext. 0-6. 



