246 BIRDS OF ONTAHIO. 



PICOIDES AMERICANUS Beehm. 

 174. American Three-toed Woodpecker. (401) 



Three-toed ; entire upper parts glossy, bluish-black with a few spots of 

 white on the wing quills ; below, white from the bill to the tail ; the sides, 

 flanks and lining of the wings, barred with black ; four middle tail feathers 

 black, the rest white. Male : — With a square patch of yellow on the crown, 

 wanting in the female ; bill and feet, dull blue. Length, 9-10 inches. 



Hab — Northern North America, from the Arctic Regions southward, in 

 winter, to the Northern States. 



Nest, a hole in a tree at no great height above the ground. 



Eggs, four or five, creamy white. 



This is a more northern species than the preceding, and is nowhere 

 so abundant. The two are sometimes seen in company, and were 

 found by Dr. Merriam breeding in the same district in northern New 

 York, but, strange to say, the present species has not been found 

 breeding in Muskoka, where the other is common and resident. 

 During the past two years my friend Mr. Tisdall has been much in 

 the woods in that district, and though he has seen scores of the 

 Black-backed during that time, he has only once met the other. 



Since the above was written, a hunter who was shooting grouse in 

 a different section of Muskoka from that referred to, promised to 

 send me any Three-toed Woodpeckers he came across during a day's 

 excursion. In due course he sent me sixteen, five of which were of 

 this species. It was late in October, and he most likely came upon a 

 group that had just arrived from the north. Both species are quite 

 rare at Ottawa, Mr. White having obtained only two of each. In 

 Manitoba the present species is said to be very rare. Richardson 

 says it is the most common woodpecker north of the Great Slave 

 Lake. In Alaska the northern form is very common and generally 

 distributed, but here again the work of subdivision has been going on 

 "with vigor. Up to the time of writing, three species have been made 

 out of the one, and how many more will be produced time will show, 

 but we are likely to have only the original americanus in Ontario. 



