The Acorn Woodpecker in Coahuila is common in the oak and pine-oak belts, from 4950 to 8000 feet. Miller (1955a:166) stated that the Acorn Woodpecker in the Sierra del Carmen was an abundant and conspicuous bird throughout the oak and pine-oak belts, from 5000 to 8000 feet. Dickerman saw two Acorn Woodpeckers in the Sierra de la Madera on December 13, 1953, and four 20 mi. S Ocampo, 6000 feet, on April 4, 1954. Breeding of M. f. formicivorus was reported by Miller (loc. cit.) who took females nearly ready to begin laying; one of our specimens (No. 29423) had enlarged testes (11 mm.).
Sphyrapicus varius varius (Linnaeus).—Specimen examined: one, ♀ 31649, from the north foot of Sierra Guadalupe (=10 mi. S, 5 mi. W General Cepeda), 6400 ft., April 19, 1953.
Miller (1955a:166) reported this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker as a winter visitant or migrant in the Sierra del Carmen. Burleigh and Lowery (1942:192) took a female S. v. varius at the summit of Diamante Pass on April 14. Ridgway (1914:275) listed S. v. varius from Sierra de Guadalupe.
Sphyrapicus varius nuchalis Baird.—Miller (1955a:166) reported this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker as "indeed common" in the Sierra del Carmen, and indicated that both S. v. nuchalis and S. v. varius were "found only at the upper levels in the pine-oak formation and usually in relatively dense clumps of trees in the canyon bottoms." Ridgway (1914:280) listed C. v. nuchalis from Río Sabinas.
**Dendrocopos villosus icastus (Oberholser).—Miller, Friedmann, Griscom, and Moore (1957:39) remarked that this subspecies of the Hairy Woodpecker occurs, in northwestern México, from eastern Sonora, Jalisco, Chihuahua, Durango, Zacatecas to southern Coahuila. Ridgway (1914:222) stated that D. v. icastus occurs in Coahuila at Carneros and Sierra de Guadalupe, the former being the easternmost known locality for the subspecies.
**Dendrocopos villosus intermedius (Nelson).—Specimens examined: total 2: ♂ 32701 from 13 mi. E San Antonio de las Alazanas, 9950 ft., July 6, 1955; and ♀ 31604 from 2 mi. E Mesa de Tablas, 8500 ft., January 15, 1954.
In northeastern México this subspecies, according to Miller, Friedmann, Griscom, and Moore (1957:39), occurs in Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Nos. 31604 and 32701 represent the first records of D. v. intermedius from Coahuila.
*Dendrocopos scalaris cactophilus (Oberholser).—Specimens examined: total 2: ♀ 31042 from 7 mi. S, 2 mi. E Boquillas, 800 ft., March 1, 1952; and ♀ 31043 from 10 mi. S, 5 mi. E Boquillas, 1500 ft., March 3, 1952.
These specimens of the Ladder-backed Woodpecker show signs of intergradation with D. s. symplectus. Both specimens are pale enough above for D. s. symplectus, but the wing and the tail of each (wing, 102, 103 mm.; tail, 60, 65 mm.) are too long for symplectus. This suggestion of intergradation is not unexpected because symplectus occurs in northeastern Coahuila and cactophilus in the Chisos Mountains of Texas. Miller (1955a:166) also obtained one female D. s. cactophilus from the Sierra del Carmen that suggested intergradation with symplectus.
Miller (loc. cit.) wrote that D. c. cactophilus was found chiefly in the oaks and was common in the lower oak belt at 5000 feet. The upper limit of the range of the Ladder-backed Woodpecker, according to Miller, is 6800 feet. He reported the species as breeding in the Sierra del Carmen.