NORTHERN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. 319 
Vog. Nachtr. pl. 41, fig. 81.—Meyer and Wolf, Ois. d’Allem. Cah. 26, pl. 4, 
male ; pl. 6, female—Northern Three-toed Woodpecker, Hdwards, pl. 114, 
male.—Three-toed Woodpecker, Penn. Arct. Zool. sp. 168.—Lath. Syn. ii. 
p. 600, sp. 51; Id. Suppl. p. 112.—Phaladelphia Museum, male.—My Collec- 
tion, male, female, and young. 
APTERNUS ARCTICUS.—Swatnson. 
Picus (Apternus) Arcticus, Sw. North. Zool. ii. p. 313. 
Tuts species is one of those which, from their habitation being 
in the extreme north, have a wide range round the globe. It 
is, in fact, met with throughout northern Asia and Europe, 
from Kamtschatka to the most eastern coasts of the old con- 
{inent ;-and in America, is very common at Hudson’s Bay, 
Severn river, Fort William on Lake Superior, and throughout 
the north-west in hilly and wooded tracts. In the United 
States it is only a rare and occasional winter visitant, never 
having been received by us, except from the northern terri- 
tory of the State of Maine. The species, contrary to what is 
observed of most other arctic birds, does not appear to extend 
so far south, comparatively, as in Europe, though it is not 
improbable that on this continent it may also inhabit some 
unexplored mountainous districts, resembling the wild regions 
where only it is found in Europe. In both continents, the 
species affects deep forests among mountains, the hilly coun- 
tries of northern Asia and Europe, and the very lofty chains 
of central Europe, whose elevation compensates for their more 
southern latitude. It is exceedingly common in Siberia, is 
abundant in Norway, Lapland, and Dalecarlia, among the 
gorges of Switzerland and the Tyrol, especially in forests of 
pines. It is not uncommon in the Canton of Berne, in the 
forest near Interlaken, though very rare in Germany and the 
more temperate parts of Europe. It 1s well known to breed 
even in Switzerland, and deposits, in holes formed in pine 
trees, four or five eggs of a brilliant whiteness ; its voice and 
habits are precisely the same as those of the spotted wood- 
peckers. Its food consists of insects and their larvee and 
egos, and sometimes seeds and berries. It is easily decoyed 
by imitating its voice. 
