Throughout Massachusetts, this bird, generally known as the Pigeon Woodpecker, is one of the most common and familiar birds. They abound in old orchards and groves, and manifest more apparent confidence in man than the treatment they receive at his hands seems to justify. Their nests are usually constructed at the distance of only a few feet from the ground, and though Wilson, Audubon, and Nuttall agree upon six as the average of their eggs, they frequently exceed this number. Mr. Audubon gives as the measurement of the eggs of this species 1.08 inches in length and .88 of an inch in breadth. Their length varies from 1.05 to 1.15 inches, and their breadth from .91 to .85 of an inch. Their average measurement is 1.09 by .88 of an inch.
Colaptes mexicanus, Swainson.
RED-SHAFTED FLICKER.
Colaptes mexicanus, Sw. Syn. Mex. Birds, in Philos. Mag. I, 1827, 440.—Ib. F. Bor. Am. II, 1831, 315.—Newberry, Zoöl. Cal. & Or. Route, 91; P. R. R. Rep. VI, 1857.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 120.—Max. Cab. Jour. 1858, 420, mixed with hybridus.—Lord, Proc. R. Art. Inst. I, IV, 112.—Cooper & Suckley, 163.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1858, 309 (Oaxaca).—Ib. Cat. 1862, 344.—Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 470 (San Antonio, rare).—Coues, Pr. A. N. S. 1866, 56.—Sumichrast, Mem. Bost. Soc. I, 1869, 562 (alpine district, Vera Cruz).—Gray, Cat. 1868, 121.—Dall & Bannister, Pr. Chicago Ac. I, 1869, 275 (Alaska).—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 408. Picus mexicanus, Aud. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 174, pl. ccccxvi.—Ib. Birds America, IV, 1842, 295, pl. cclxxiv.—Sundevall, Consp. 72. Colaptes collaris, Vigors, Zoöl. Jour. IV, Jan. 1829, 353.—Ib. Zoöl. Beechey’s Voy. 1839, 24, pl. ix. Picus rubricatus, Wagler, Isis, 1829, V, May, 516. (“Lichtenstein Mus. Berol.”) Colaptes rubricatus, Bon. Pr. Zoöl. Soc. V, 1837, 108.—Ib. List, 1838.—Ib. Conspectus, 1850, 114. ? Picus cafer, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 431.—Lath. Index Ornith. II, 1790, 242. ? Picus lathami, Wagler, Syst. 1827, No. 85 (Cape of Good Hope?).
Sp. Char. Shafts and under surfaces of wing and tail feathers orange-red. Male with a red patch on each side the cheek; nape without red crescent; sometimes very faint indications laterally. Throat and stripe beneath the eye bluish-ash. Back glossed with purplish-brown. Female without the red cheek-patch. Length, about 13.00; wing, over 6.50.
Colaptes mexicanus.
Additional Characters. Spots on the belly, a crescent on the breast, and interrupted transverse bands on the back, black.
Hab. Western North America from Pacific to the Black Hills; north to Sitka on the coast. Localities: Oaxaca (Scl. P. Z. S. 1858, 305); Vera Cruz, alpine regions (Sumichrast, Mem. Bost. Soc. I, 1869. 562); San Antonio, Texas (Dresser, Ibis, 1865. 470); W. Arizona (Coues, P. A. N. S. 1866, 56).
The female is similar in every way, perhaps a little smaller, but lacks the red mustache. This is, however, indicated by a brown tinge over an area corresponding with that of the red of the male.