PICOIDES ARCTIC US. 
245 
the nests are reached, it is not easy to cut the hard wood, especially as the straight trunks 
afford no foot-hold. 
In flight, the Cockaded Woodpeckers resemble the Downy but when they alight, they 
strike the. object upon which they wish to rest very hard. Like the preceding species, 
they are also exceedingly agile, moving spirally up the tall tree trunks with great celerity. 
Although they will occasionally alight near the ground, yet they' spend the greater part 
of their time in the tops of the lofty pines; in fact, they pass a large portion of their lives 
there, for they are seldom, if ever, found elsewhere than in the piney woods and they in¬ 
habit this kind of woodland even to the extreme- southern portion of the main-land of 
Florida. 
These Woodpeckers must be of great benefit to the trees of the sections in which they 
occur, for they are indefatigable insect hunters. Out of some thirty specimens which I 
have dissected in order to examine the contents of their stomachs, I found that only three 
or four had eaten bark; all the rest being filled with either the boring beetles or their 
larvae. The Cockaded Woodpeckers breed about the first week in April in Southern Flor¬ 
ida and a little later further north. 
GEN'US VIII. PICOIDES. THE THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS. 
Gen. Ch. Sternum, not twice as wide as the height of the keel. Marginal indentations, nearly equal'in depth to the 
heigth of the keel; outer, more shallow than inner. Manubrium, moderate. Terminal hook of scapula, variable. Tongue, 
provided with a long, extensible Sheath, while the cerato-hyals are greatly elongated and extend around the back of the skull. 
Proventriculus, small. Stomach, rather muscular. Salivary glands, not very well developed. Both mandibles, straight. 
Head, not crested. Toes, three in number. 
In members of this genus, the prevailing color above is black, relieved by white markings and themales are marked, to 
a greater or less extent, on the top of the head with yellow. The tail feathers are very acuminate. The hind toe is want¬ 
ing. The head is not strickingly large nor is the neck very thin. The bill is about equal to the head in length. There are 
no laryngeal muscles, excepting the sterno-trachealis which is very stout. The tympaniform membrane is present and al¬ 
though there is an os transversale, yet it does not support a semilunar membrane. The oesophagus is without dilatation and 
opens into a small proventriculus. The gastric glands are rather numerous, simple, and occupy a zonular band. The stom¬ 
ach is rather globular in form and quite large, the walls are quite thick, and the lining membrane is finely rugose. The 
fold of the duodenum is not very long, inclosing a wide pancreas. The spleen is an elliptical body lying over the cardiac 
opening of the stomach. Both lobes of the liver are about equal in size. There are two species within our limits. 
PICOIDES AECTICUS. 
Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker. 
Picoides arcticus Baird., Birds N. A.; 1858, 98. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Sp. Ch. Form, not robust. Size, large. Sternum, not very stout. Tongue, rather thin and horny at the tip which 
is provided with barbs for one third of the terminal length. The extensible sheath occupies about one half of the length of 
the tongue. Terminal hook of scapula, angled above and below. 
Color. Adult male. Glossy black above, including sides of head, maxillary line and bands on the sides and flanks, 
with line extending from base of bill, down the sides of neck, spots on the primaries and on a few of the secondaries, all but 
basal portion of two outer tail feathers, and tips of next pair, white. Square patch on the top of the head, saffron-yellow. 
Under portion, including under tail and wing coverts, white, while the feathers of the latter are banded with black and the 
breast is faintly tinged with yellowish. 
Adult female. Similar to the male’ but lacks the yellow on the head which is replaced by black, and the white on the 
tail is not as extended. 
