NORTHERN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. 
feathers: in very old birds, as the one represented in the plate, 
these parts are considerably less undulated, being of a much 
purer white; the wings are five inches long, reaching two-thirds 
the length of the tail; the spurious feather is exceedingly short, 
the first primary hardly longer than the seventh; and the four 
following subequal and longest; the smaller wing-coverts, as 
mentioned, glossy black: all the other upper coverts, as well as 
the quills, are of a dull black, the primaries being somewhat 
duller; these are regularly marked on both webs with square 
white spots, larger on the inner webs, and as they approach the 
base; the secondaries are merely spotted on the inner vane, the 
spots taking the appearance of bands; the tips of all the quills 
are unspotted, the lower wing-coverts are waved with black and 
white, similar to the flanks; the tail is four inches long, of the 
shape usual in the Woodpeckers, and composed of twelve feathers, 
of which the four middle, longest, and very robust and acute, are 
plain deep black, the next on each side is also very acute, and 
black at base, cream white at the point, obliquely and irregularly 
tipped with black; the two next to these are cream white to the 
tip, banded with black on the inner vane at base, the more 
exterior being much purer white and somewhat rounded; the 
exterior of all is very short and rounded, and banded throughout 
with black and pure white: the tarsus is seven-eighths of an inch 
long, feathered in front for nearly half its length, and, with the 
toes and nails, dark plumbeous; the nails are much curved, and 
acute, the hind one being the largest. 
The above is a minute description of our finest male specimen, 
with which all those we have examined coincide more or less. 
By comparing, however, this description with the detailed ones 
found in some works, we must conclude that the species is subject 
to variations in size and plumage, which according to the erroneous 
impression given by authors, could not be satisfactorily accounted 
VOL. II.- 
