Black-backed Woodpecker. 
I notice in the O. and O. for March, 
page 101, a note to the effect that there 
are but two instances known of the Black- 
backed Woodpecker (P. arcticus) being 
taken in Michigan. It may be of interest, 
therefore, for me to state that I procured a 
male specimen of this species on the south 
branch of the Pine River, Mich., in 1879 ; 
the exact date of capture I do not remem- 
ber, as the specimen has been disposed of 
in my exchanges to Mr. George Woolsey 
of New Haven, Conn., but it was some- 
where between the 17th and 22d of No- 
vember. I have every reason to believe 
that this bird is not a rare Winter resident 
of the “pineries” of that State. With us 
this Woodpecker is rare. I have, however, 
taken several specimens in different parts 
of the State and know of its being taken 
in the immediate vicinity of Bangor. On 
•June 16, 1881, 1 met with a pair on Alliga- 
tor Stream, Hancock County, which, judg- 
ing from their actions, had a nest near by ; 
but, as we were lost in the -woods at the 
time, our camp was the only nesting place 
I had any desire of finding. — JV. A. Eddy. 
Bangor. Me. 
O.JkO. V71.JW. 1882. p. JU.3 
Summer Birds Tim Pond Me. by P. H,<$, 
Black-backed Thrce-toed Woodpecker , ( ncoides 
arcticus). Irregular as regards abundance. In 
’84 I saw one day as many as twenty pecking 
dilligently on the old stubs in the camp clearing, 
and many were shot by the fishermen visiting the 
camps. Noticed the birds would have such a 
foot-hold upon the rough bark of the spruce trees 
that after being shot they would not fall but 
hang pendant by one or both feet. The next day 
I did not see any, neither in my stay at the camps 
in ’8o did I see more than a dozen specimens. 
o.& o. xi.Peb.isae.p.^i: 
