IMPERIAL WOODPECKER. 
213 
district of California, which borders the territory of Mexico The exhibi 
tion was accompanied by a communication from Mr. Gould, in which, after 
some general remarks on the Picidce , and their geographical distribution, he 
referred to the species before the Committee as possessing the characters of 
the genus Pious in their most marked development, together with the 
greatest size hitherto observed in that group. In this respect it as far 
exceeds the Ivory-billed Woodpecker of the United States, Pious princi- 
palis, as the latter does the Pious martius of Europe. Mr. Gould described 
it as the 
“ Pious imperialis. Mas. Pic. ater, virescenti-splendens ; cristo elongata 
occipitali coccinea ; macula triangulari interscapulari, remigibus secun- 
dariis, primariarumque (praeter terium quatuorve exteriorum) rachibus 
internis albis ; rostro eburneo. 
“ Fcem. Paullo minor ; crista occipitali cum corpore concolore. 
“ Longitudo manis, 2 ped. ; aim (clausae), 1 ped.; caudrn, 10 unc.; tarsi vix 
2 unc. ; digiti externi portici, eadem ac tarsi, ungues validissimi, arcuati ; 
rostrum exacte cuneiforme, a rictu ad apice 4 unc. long., ad basin 1 unc. 
latum. 
“ This species is readily distinguishable from the Pic. principalis by its 
much larger size ; by the length of its occipital crest, the pendent silky 
feathers of which measure nearly four inches ; by the absence of the white 
stripe which ornaments the neck of that bird, and by the bristles which 
cover its nostrils being black, whereas those of the Pic. principalis are 
white.” 
Picus imperialis, Gould, Proceed, of Com. Sc. and Corresp. of Zool. Soc. of Lond., 
part ii. p. 140. 
Imperial Woodpecker, Picus imperialis, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. v. p. 313. 
Glossy greenish-black; the elongated occipital crest scarlet; a triangular 
spot on the fore part of the back ; the secondary quills, and the inner webs 
of most of the primaries, white ; bill yellowish-white. Female similar, but 
without red on the head. 
Male, 24, wing, 12. 
Rocky Mountains and North California. 
