Fourth toe considerably longer than third; fourth quill longest, fifth longer than second; bristly feathers over the nostrils dull yellow; upper part of head and hind neck glossy black; over the eye a band of white, continuous with a transverse band of scarlet on the occiput, usually interrupted in the middle; a black band from near the bill to the eye, continued behind it over the auriculars, and joining the back of the hind neck; beneath this a white band from the angle of the mouth, curving backwards below the middle of the neck, so as to meet the other behind; then a narrow band of black from the base of the lower mandible and continuous with the black of the shoulders; upper part of the body, wings, and tail, black, feathers along the middle of the back tipped with white; wing-coverts, the anterior excepted, and quills spotted with the same, there being on the four longest primaries seven spots on the outer, and five on the inner webs, on most of the secondaries five on each web, but on the outer quill only one patch on each web, and on the second three spots on the outer, and four on the inner web; four middle tail-feathers glossy black, the rest black towards the base, that colour gradually diminishing, so that the outermost is almost entirely white; lower parts white.
Extremely similar to Picus villosus, but always much larger.
Male, 101/2, 173/4.
From the northern parts of New York to the Fur Countries. Common. Migratory in winter to New York.
Picus canadensis, Gmel. Syst. Nat. v. i. p. 437.
Picus (Dendrocopus) villosus, Hairy Woodpecker, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 305.
Canadian Woodpecker, Picus canadensis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 188.
261. 6. Picus Phillipsii, Aud. Phillips's Woodpecker.
Plate CCCCXVII. Figs. 5, 6. Male.
Fourth toe a little longer than third; fourth quill longest; bristly feathers over the nostrils yellowish-white; fore part of the head, to a little beyond the top, orange-yellow; occiput and hind neck glossy black; over the eye a band of white passing to behind the auriculars; a black band from above the angle of the mouth to the eye, and behind it, including the auriculars; below this a white band from the angle of the mouth joining that over the eye; then a narrower black band from the lower mandible; upper parts black, tinged with brown behind; feathers along the middle of the back tipped with white; some of the wing-coverts also tipped with white, and the quills spotted with the same, there being on the four largest primaries seven spots on the outer, and five on the inner web; the four middle tail-feathers glossy black, the rest black at the base, that colour gradually diminishing, so that the outermost is entirely white; lower parts white.
Male, 101/2; wing, 5.
Massachusetts. Very rare.