When shot, even if instantly killed, three-toed woodpeckers of both species have a marvelous faculty of remaining clinging to the tree in death. Where the trunks are draped with _Usnea_ moss, it is impossible to bring one down, except when winged--then they attempt to fly, and fall to earth; but when killed outright they remain securely fastened by their strong curved claws. * * * The only chance is to leave the bird and to visit the foot of the tree when the relaxing muscles have at length permitted the body to drop--usually within two days. Once I was fortunate enough to observe the exact position that enabled the bird to maintain its grip. I had shot and killed an Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker on a low stump. On going up I found the bird’s feet to be three inches apart by measurement; the tail was firmly braced, and the further the body was tilted back the more firmly the claws held in the bark. Dr. Grinnell (1900) says: “In the fall and mid-winter these birds are silent and seldom seen. But after the first of March their drumming on some resonant dead tree was heard nearly every morning. This sound could be heard a long distance through the quiet woods, giving notice of the whereabouts of the woodpeckers.” PICOÏDES TRIDACTYLUS DORSALIS Baird ALPINE THREE-TOED WOODPECKER HABITS This race of the three-toed woodpeckers enjoys the most southern distribution of any of the birds of this genus, ranging from northern Montana to northern Arizona and New Mexico, in the boreal forests of the Rocky Mountains. Ridgway (1914) characterizes it as “similar to white-backed examples of _P. a. fasciatus_, but larger; white markings on back usually all longitudinal (very rarely with any transverse bars of black), white supra-auricular streak usually broader, forehead usually with more black and less whitish spotting, white spots or bars on inner web of innermost secondaries larger, and sides and flanks usually less barred with black.” The Weydemeyers (1928) say that in northwestern Montana, “unlike _arcticus_, this species prefers dense, virgin forests to cut-over woods and open woodland pastures. * * * In the higher elevations, this woodpecker may be found in white pine, lodgepole pine, alpine fir, and Engelmann spruce forests. In the Transition zone, it shows a preference for spruce woods, with larch and yellow pine forests as second choice. In the Canadian zone, this species is somewhat commoner than _arcticus_; in the Transition zone, it occurs only about one-third as frequently as does the larger bird.”