1S88.] 381 [Brewster. 



The only individuals seen were a pair whose nest, containing 

 young nearly large enough to fly, was found near Fox Bay, July 

 11. Woodpeckers of whatever kind were very scarce through- 

 out the regions which we visited, although many of the forests, 

 especially on Anticosti, seemed to be perfectly suited to their 

 requirements. 



45. Picoides arcticus, Swains. — Black-backed Three-toed 

 Woodpecker. 



A single specimen seen near Gaspe and another heard at the 

 mouth of Mingan River. 



46. Picoides americ anus, Br ehm. — Banded-backed Three- 

 toed Woodpecker. 



This rare Woodpecker was met with on only one occasion — 

 at Ellis Bay, Anticosti, July 24. I had penetrated into the depths 

 of a sombre spruce forest when I suddenly came upon an adult 

 female accompanied by a brood of young. The latter were full- 

 grown and evidently getting their own living, for they climbed 

 the tree trunks in the usual business-like way, tapping energeti- 

 cally at the softer places. This occupation was frequently inter- 

 rupted by a merry game of hide-and-seek, when they would chase 

 one another from tree to tree and around the stems, dislodging 

 showers of loose bark in their ascent, and making a great racket, 

 but always obedient to the call of their parent who led them in a 

 nearly direct course through the woods. I found it impossible to 

 count them, but although there seemed to be at least a dozen, I 

 suspect that the number did not really exceed five or six. Their 

 progress was so rapid and their movements so active that I had 

 great difficulty in getting a fair shot at any of them ; but by fol- 

 lowing the party for nearly half-a-mile I managed to kill the old 

 female and one of the young. The former fell in a thicket where 

 it could not be found, but the young bird was secured. It proved 

 to be a female in first plumage and, like another of the same sex, 

 and about the same age, which I have from northern New Hamp- 

 shire, its crown is ornamented with a patch of yellow nearly as 

 extended and conspicuous as in the adult male. This condition is 

 by no means peculiar among Woodpeckers, however, for it is now 

 known that with many, if not most species, the females in first 

 plumage regularly possess markings which, with adults, are char- 

 acteristic of the males. 



