68 
THE CONDOR 
1 Vol. IV 
utter it. The second bird of this 
class, to demand our attention, is the 
spurred towhee or chewink as we used 
to call him. Usually he is a very quiet 
fellow, uttering his call-note at odd 
times and more frequently when you 
pass near him but along in the early 
spring when the robins begin to tune 
up, a new note greets the ear on a 
sunny morning. It is a well-modulated 
trill, “cherwee ee e.” It really is a trill- 
ing note and a modification of the call- 
note “chewink” at that. Still as it is 
heard commonly only during the mating 
season and is used by the male, it can 
be called the song of the species. The 
transition from the call-note to the real 
song, in this instance, reminds me 
of the same change annuallj^ in 
the notes of the western robin. 
Before the mating season is really up- 
on us there comes a bright morning 
when the robins begin congregating in 
the leafless oaks to practice up their 
songs. They begin with their call-note 
“kwee kwee kuk kuk kuk kuk” and 
after repeating it over again and again, 
the warblings and twitterings of the 
true song are gradually added and re- 
peated over morning after morning, un- 
til finally out from the ordinary notes 
is developed the perfect song, which 
once heard is hard to forget. 
The Downy Woodpeckers of California. 
BY W.\I.TER K. FISHER. 
I T HAS been customary to refer the downy woodpeckers of California to Dryo- 
batcs piibcscens gairdneri IQ Dryobates pubcscejis homorus, the latter being 
the rather uncommon form with pure white underparts. An examination of a 
large series of the so-called (lairdner woodpecker from California justifies its sep- 
aration from the tjqiical of Oregon and Washington under the name 
Dryobates pubesccns tarati, founded on Picus Tarati of Malherbe.^ 
Dryobates pubescens turati (Malherbe) revived name. 
WILLOW WOODPECKER. 
Picus meridionalis Gainbel (nec Swainson), Acad. Nat. Science Phitad. I, 1847, 55, 105. 
Picus Turati ^lalherbe, Nonograptiie des Picidees 1 , 1861, 125, planche 28. 
Dryobates'] Turatii Q.ahan\s, Museuni Heineanum IV, 1863, 65. 
Picus pubescens Ridgway, Butt. Nutt. Orn. Ctub III, 1878, 67. 
Dryobates pubescens gairdnerii Ridgwa}-, and recent authors generally. 
Type of diagnosis., p, ad., 4729 Coll. Joseph Grinnell; Pacific Grove, Monterey Co., Cal., June 
15, 1901: collected by Joseph Grinnell. Cotype of diag. ^ ad., 4782 coll. J. G.; Monterey, Cal., 
Jul}’ 5, 1901; coll, by J, G. 
Subspecific characters. — Smaller than Dryobates pubescens gairdneri, with smaller feet; under 
parts lighter; the elongated superciliary patch and rictal stripe extending over sides of neck, 
pure white, instead of smoky white ot gairdneri-, tertials always more or less spotted with white. 
Distribution.— \]y>y>ev Souoran and Transition zones of California, except: desert ranges east 
of Sierra Nevada, including east slope of Sierras (?), coast region north of Mendocino County 
and region north of upper end of Sacramento Valley. 
Coloration. — Adult male. Underparts and nasal tufts, smoky white; occipital patch, poppy 
red; extended superciliary patch, rictal stripe extending over sides of neck and median dorsal 
patch, pure white; wing coverts unspotted^; remiges marked with about five rows of white spots; 
tertials spotted with white; outer two tail feathers white, with two bars of black, the third feath- 
er with outer web white; rest of ])lumage including malar stripe, lores and auricular patch, black. 
Measurements: w. 89; t. 49; external f longest) hind toe without claw 12, same with claw 16. 
.Adult female. Similar to male but greater wing coverts sparsely spotted with white and red oc- 
cipital patch wanting. Measurements of Malherbe’s type: w. 87; t. 50; ext. hind toe without 
claw 12. 
Dryobates pubescens turati is a southern representative of gairdneri, which it 
I Malherbe figures and adequately describes two specimens which, he says, were killed near Monterey. There 
can be no doubt that he indicated the form here redescribed. 
2 The greater coverts especially in southern birds are often spotted with white. The type is a trifle darker than 
the average. 
