A Synopsis of the Birds of North America

by John James Audubon

Phillips's Woodpecker, Picus Phillipsii, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 186.

262. 7. Picus Martinæ, Aud. Maria's Woodpecker.

Plate CCCCXVII. Fig. 1. Male. Fig. 2. Female.

Fourth toe slightly longer than third; fourth quill longest, third longer than fifth; tufts of bristly feathers over the nostrils dull yellow; upper part of head scarlet; forehead and occiput black; a band of white over the eye; a black band from the bill to the eye, continued behind it over the auriculars, and joining the black of the hind neck; beneath this a band of white from the angle of the mouth, curving backwards below the middle of the neck, so as almost to meet its fellow behind; then a band of black from the base of the lower mandible, and continuous with the black of the shoulders; upper parts black; feathers along the middle of the back tipped with white; wing-coverts and quills spotted with the same, there being on the four longest primaries seven spots on the outer, and four on the inner web, on most of the secondaries five on each web, but on the outer quill only one patch on each web, and on the second four spots on the outer, and three on the inner web; four middle tail-feathers glossy black, the next black on the inner web, and on the greater part of the outer toward the base, the rest black only at the base, the two outer being almost entirely white; lower parts white, tinged with grey, and a little red, the sides faintly mottled with dusky grey.

Male, 9²/₁₂; wing, 4^10½/₁₂.

A pair found at Toronto, Upper Canada.

Maria's Woodpecker, Picus Martinæ, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 181.

263. 8. Picus Harrisii, Aud. Harris's Woodpecker.

Plate CCCCXVII. Fig. 8. Male. Fig. 9. Female.

Fourth toe considerably longer than third; fourth quill longest, fifth longer than second; bristly feathers over the nostrils dull yellow, with the tips black; upper part of the head and hind neck glossy black; over the eye a band of white, continuous with a transverse scarlet band on the occiput; a black band in the loral space continued behind the eye over the auriculars, and joining the black of the hind neck; beneath is a band of white, from the angle of the mouth, curving backward below the middle of the neck, but without meeting the other; then a band of black from the base of the lower mandible, and continuous with the black of the hind neck and shoulders; upper parts black, the quills tinged with brown; feather along the middle of the back largely tipped with white; quills, excepting the inner three, marked with small roundish spots, of which there are five on the outer and four on the inner web of the four longest quills, while on the outer there is only an elongated spot on the inner web, and on the next one spot on the outer and three on the inner; four middle tail-feathers black, the next black, with a small part of the inner web, and a large portion of the outer toward the end, white; the rest white, with the base black; the outermost small feathers almost entirely white; lower parts brownish-white. Female wants the red occipital band. This species is distinguishable from all the other spotted species, by having no white spots on the wing-coverts.