Woodpeckers — 16 - The Argument from Design
XVI THE ARGUMENT FROM DESIGN
But if the birds are making themselves into new species, where is the place for God in the universe?
Did not God make all kinds of creatures in the beginning?
How can they go on being made without God?
These are questions every one ought to ask, but--did God leave his world after He had made it and go a long way off?
Did He wind it up like a watch to go till it should run down?
Is the world a machine, or is it alive?
Long ago the wise and good man Socrates argued that if you did not know there was a God at all, you could at least infer it because everything was so wonderfully made.
"There is our body," said he: "every part of it so perfect and so reasonable.
Consider how the eyes not only please us with agreeable sensations but are protected in every way.
The eyebrows stand like a thicket to keep the perspiration from them, the lids are a curtain to shut out too great light, the lashes screen them from dust,--everything is planned for some wise and reasonable end.
And where the evidence of design is so convincing must we not believe that there was a Designer?"
Words like these he spoke, and we know because everything is so perfectly contrived that there must have been a contriver, who knew all from the beginning.
We are compelled to believe that there is a God.
Shall we believe it less because we find in the creatures about us intelligence and the power to care for their own lives?
Has God gone on a visit because these living creatures are looking out for themselves?
Were they made less perfectly in the beginning because when new conditions surround them they are able to change to meet the strange requirements?
This is not less evidence of a Designer, but more.
It was long said that the existence of a watch was proof of a watchmaker who had planned and put together all the parts so that they worked harmoniously.
But if the watch had the power to grow small to fit a small pocket, or large to fit a large one, to become luminous by night, and to correct its own time by the sun instead of being regulated by outside interference, what should we have said--that it was proof there was no watchmaker?
or that it showed a far more skillful one, since he could make a living, self-regulating, adaptive watch?
And so of the world and the creatures in it.
Every evidence we get that they can care for themselves, that they can adapt themselves to new conditions, that they are intelligent and reasonable, capable of improvement in habits or in structure, is so much surer proof that a wise God made them what they are.
Evolution--for that is the name by which we call these changes--does not take God out of the universe but makes the need of Him stronger.
The argument from design is immensely strengthened when we consider that we have not only an obedient machine acting according to a few fundamental rules, but one that is intelligent also and capable of self-modification.
APPENDIX
_Explanation of Terms.
_ [Illustration: Head of a Flicker.
] _a.
_ Forehead; _b.
_ crown; _c.
_ occiput; _d.
_ nape; _e.
_ chin; _f.
_ throat; _g.
_ jaw-patch, or mustache.
_Occipital_ means "on the occiput."
_Nuchal_ means "on the nape."
_Primaries_ are the nine or ten wing-quills borne upon the last joint of the wing.
_Secondaries_ are the wing-quills attached to the fore-arm bones.
_Tertiaries_ are the wing-quills springing from the upper arm bones.
_Wing coverts_ are the shorter lines of feathers overlapping these long quills.
_Tail coverts_ are the lengthened feathers that overlap the root of the tail both above and below, called respectively upper and under tail coverts.
_Ear coverts_ are the feathers that over-lie the ear, often specially modified or colored.
_Rump_, the space between the middle of the back and the root of the tail.
[M] is the sign used to indicate the male sex.
[F] is the sign used to indicate the female sex.
A _subspecies_ is a geographical race, modified in size, color, or proportions chiefly by the influence of climate.
These variations are especially marked in non-migratory birds of wide distribution, subject, therefore, to climatic extremes.
The Downy and the Hairy Woodpeckers, for example, are split up into numerous races.
It should be remembered that when a species has been separated into races, or subspecies, all the subspecies are of equal rank, even though they are differently designated.
The one originally discovered and first described bears the old Latin name which consisted of two words, while the new ones are designated by triple Latin names--the old binomial and a new name in addition.
The binomial indicates the form first described.
The forms designated by trinomials may be equally well known, abundant, and widely distributed.
For example, among the woodpeckers, the northern form of the Hairy Woodpecker was first discovered and bears the name _Dryobates villosus_; but the first Downy Woodpecker described was a southern bird, and the northern form was not separated until a few years ago, so that the southern bird is the type, and the northern one bears the trinomial, _Dryobates pubescens medianus_.
_North America_, by the decision of the American Ornithologists' Union, is held to include the continent north of the present boundary between Mexico and the United States, with Greenland, the peninsula of Lower California, and the islands adjacent naturally belonging to the same.
The following key and descriptions will enable the student to identify any woodpecker known to occur within these limits: A.
KEY TO THE WOODPECKERS OF NORTH AMERICA.
Family characteristics: color always striking, usually in spots, bars, or patches of contrasting colors, especially black and white.
Sexes usually unlike; male always with some portion of red or yellow about head, throat, or neck.
Tails stiff, rounded, composed of ten fully developed pointed feathers (and two undeveloped feathers).
Wings large, rounded, with long, conspicuous secondaries, and short coverts.
Bill straight, stout, of medium length.
Toes four, arranged in pairs, except in the three-toed genus.
Iris brown, except when noted.
Marked by a habit of clinging to upright surfaces and digging a deep hole in a tree-trunk for nesting.
Eggs always pearly white.
I.
Very large--18 inches _or more_; conspicuously crested.
A.
II.
Medium or small--14 inches _or less_; never crested.
B.
A.
a^1 Bill gleaming _ivory white_; fourth toe decidedly longest.
Ivory-billed Woodpecker.
1. a^2 Bill _blackish_; fourth toe not decidedly longest.
Pileated Woodpecker or Logcock.
14. B.
a^1 Toes three; [M] with _yellow_ crown.
Three-toed Woodpeckers.
9 & 10. a^2 Toes four; crown never yellow (b).
b^1 _Not spotted nor streaked either above or below_ (c).
c^1 Body clear black; _head white_.
White-headed Woodpecker.
8. c^2 Blue-black above; _rump white_; _head_ and _neck red_.
Red-headed Woodpecker.
15. c^3 Greenish black above, with _pinkish red belly_.
Lewis's Woodpecker.
17. c^4 Greenish black with _sulphur yellow forehead_ and _throat.
_ Californian Woodpecker.
16. c^5 Glossy blue-black with _scarlet throat_ and _yellow belly_.
Male of Williamson's Sapsucker.
13. b^2 _Spotted with black or brown on breast and sides_, but not streaked nor barred with white (d).
d^1 _Brown_ spots on breast and sides; upper parts plain brown.
Arizona Woodpecker.
7. d^2 _Black_ spots on breast and sides; wings and tail brilliantly colored beneath (e).
e^1 Wings and tail _golden_ beneath; mustaches _black_ in male, wanting in female.
Flicker.
21. e^2 Wings and tail _golden_ beneath; mustaches _red_ in both sexes.
Gilded Flicker.
23. e^3 Wings and tail _golden red_ beneath; mustaches red.
Red-shafted Flicker.
22. e^4 Wings and tail _golden red_ beneath; mustaches red;
crown brown.
Guadalupe Flicker.
24. b^3 _Streaked, spotted, or barred with white on back and wings_ (f).
f^1 _Back streaked_, _plain_, or _varied_, _never_ barred with white; wings _spotted_ with white (g).
g^1 _Clear_ white and black; _white streak down the back_ (h).
h^1 Medium size, 9-11 inches.
Hairy Woodpecker.
2. h^2 Small size, 6-7 inches.
Downy Woodpecker.
3. g^2 _Grayish_ white and black; _sides closely barred_ (i).
i^1 Back plain black, white _stripe_ down side of throat.
Female of Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker.
9. i^2 Back with interrupted white stripe, white _line_ down side of throat.
Female of American Three-toed Woodpecker.
10. (NOTE.
--The males are similar with the addition of the yellow crown.
The three toes cannot ordinarily be seen in life.
) g^3 _Yellowish_ (often dingy or smutty), white and black;
under parts yellowish; back varied with white, no line nor streak; _rump white_; _white wing-bars_ (j).
j^1 Breast with black patch; head of adult with red patches.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
11. j^2 Breast and head red.
Red-breasted Sapsucker.
12. f^2 _Back barred with white_; wings spotted or barred with white (k).
k^1 Belly _white; ear coverts white_.
Red-cockaded Woodpecker.
4. k^2 Belly _white; forehead black_.
Nuttall's Woodpecker.
6. k^3 Belly _smoky brown_; forehead and breast same.
Texan Woodpecker.
5. k^4 Belly _sulphur or lemon yellow_.
Female of Williamson's Woodpecker.
13. k^5 Belly _pinkish red_.
Red-bellied Woodpecker.
18. k^6 Belly _yellow_, hind neck and forehead orange.
Golden-fronted Woodpecker.
19. k^7 Belly _yellow_, hind neck brown.
Gila Woodpecker.
20. B.
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE WOODPECKERS OF NORTH AMERICA.
The following are descriptions of all the species of Woodpeckers found in North America, arranged in their proper genera and in the order given in the check list of the American Ornithologists' Union, 1895; with the range of species and subspecies as defined by the same authority or by Bendire's "Life Histories of North American Birds."
1. CAMPEPHILUS PRINCIPALIS, _Ivory-billed Woodpecker_.
Glossy black except _white secondaries_ (very conspicuous) and white stripe from beneath ear down neck and shoulders; white nasal tufts; _bill white_.
Both sexes crested; [M] with scarlet occipital crest, [F] with crest black.
Iris yellow.
20 inches.
Cypress swamps of Gulf States, locally distributed.
The largest, shyest, and rarest of our woodpeckers.
2. DRYOBATES VILLOSUS, _Hairy Woodpecker_.
Black and white.
Upper parts glossy black with a broad _white stripe_ down the back; wings thickly spotted with white; under parts white; three outer pairs of tail feathers white; two white and two black stripes on sides of head; nasal tufts brownish white.
[M] with scarlet occipital patch.
9-10 inches.
Eastern United States except South Atlantic and Gulf States, with the following subspecies, all the races being resident the year round, and breeding in most places where they are found:-- a. _D.
v.
leucomelas_, _Northern Hairy Woodpecker_.
10-11 inches.
Larger, whiter.
British America.
b. _D.
v.
audubonii_, _Southern Hairy Woodpecker_.
8-8. 5 inches.
Smaller, more dingy white.
South Atlantic and Gulf States.
c. _D.
v.
harrisii_, _Harris's Woodpecker_.
9-10 inches.
Upper parts with less white, few wing spots, under parts soiled white or smoky brown; larger than next.
Northwest coast, northern California to Alaska.
d. _D.
v.
hyloscopus_, _Cabanis's Woodpecker_.
8. 5-9. 5 inches.
White stripe down back very wide; purer white below than _harrisii_; fewer wing spots than _leucomelas_ and _villosus_.
Western United States, except northwest coast, east to the Rocky Mountains.
e. _D.
v.
monticola_, _Rocky Mountain Woodpecker_.
10-11 inches.
Larger; more white spots near bend of wing and secondaries than _hyloscopus_, fewer than _villosus_; pure white below.
Rocky Mountains west to Uintah Mountains, Utah.
3. DRYOBATES PUBESCENS, _Southern Downy Woodpecker_.
Black and white; broad _white stripe_ down back; wings thickly spotted with white; under parts white.
[M] with scarlet occipital patch.
A miniature Hairy Woodpecker, differing only in having _four_ outer pairs of tail feathers more or less white and the _outermost barred_.
6. 5 inches.
Like the Hairy Woodpecker, the Downy and its subspecies are resident and breed wherever they occur.
South Atlantic and Gulf States.
a. _D.
p. gairdnerii_, _Gairdner's Woodpecker_.
6. 75 inches.
Bears same relation to Downy that Harris's does to Hairy Woodpecker; under parts smoky white; wings spots few.
Pacific coast north to about lat.
55 deg.
b. _D.
p. oreoecus_, _Batchelder's Woodpecker_.
7. 5 inches.
Under parts pure white; under tail coverts unspotted;
fewer wing spots than _medianus_ and _pubescens_.
Rocky Mountain region of United States.
c. _D.
p. medianus_, _Downy Woodpecker_.
7 inches.
The larger, whiter form seen in New England and the Northern States.
d. _D.
p. nelsoni_, _Nelson's Downy Woodpecker_.
Whiter, larger, with fewer black bars on outer tail feathers.
Alaska and region north of 55 deg.
4. DRYOBATES BOREALIS, _Red-cockaded Woodpecker_.
Upper parts black _barred_ with white, under parts dingy white;
sides streaked and spotted with black; wings spotted with white;
outer tail feathers barred; nasal tufts and _large ear patch white_; stripe of black down side of neck.
[M] with a tiny tuft of scarlet feathers on each side of head.
7. 5-8. 5 inches.
Pine woods of southeastern United States, from Tennessee southwest to eastern Texas and the Indian Territory;
casual north to Pennsylvania.
5. DRYOBATES SCALARIS BAIRDI, _Texan Woodpecker_, _Ladder-backed Woodpecker_.
Upper parts barred with black and white on back, wings, and outer tail feathers; sides of head striped; forehead, nasal feathers, and under parts _smoky gray_, brownest on belly; _crown speckled with white or red_; [M] with nape crimson.
7-7. 5 inches.
Southern border of United States, Texas to California, north to southwestern Utah and southern Nevada; generally resident.
a. _D.
s. lucasanus_, _St.
Lucas Woodpecker_.
Larger.
Lower California, north to 34 deg.
in Colorado desert.
These are both subspecies of a Mexican species not occurring within our limits.
6. DRYOBATES NUTTALLII, _Nuttall's Woodpecker_.
Upper parts barred with black and white; under parts and _outer tail feathers white_ or dingy white; nasal tufts white;
_forehead and crown black sprinkled with white_.
[M]
with red on occiput and nape.
7-7. 5 inches.
Southern Oregon and California west of Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges; most common in the oak belt of the foothills.
Easily distinguished from Downy Woodpecker by being barred on the back, instead of striped.
7. DRYOBATES ARIZONAE, _Arizona Woodpecker_.
_Upper parts plain brown, not spotted nor streaked_; primaries dotted with fine white dots; outer tail feathers barred;
under parts white, _thickly spotted_ (except throat), _with large, round, brown spots_.
[M] with red occipital band.
7. 5-8. 5 inches.
Southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico; among oaks of the foothills from 4000 to 7000 feet elevation.
8. XENOPICUS ALBOLARVATUS, _White-headed Woodpecker_.
Glossy black all over, except showy white patch on primaries, and _head and throat pure white_ (forehead and crown sometimes grayish).
[M] with broad occipital band of scarlet.
9 inches.
"Iris pinkish red" (Bendire).
Mountains of Pacific coast, east to western Nevada and western Idaho, usually in the pine and fir forests above 4000 feet altitude.
9. PICOIDES ARCTICUS, _Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker_.
_Glossy black above, unmarked_ except by fine white spots on primaries; under parts grayish white, sides thickly barred black and white; three outer pairs of tail feathers white, sides of throat with broad _white stripe_.
[M] with _large crown patch of deep yellow_.
9. 5 inches.
British America, south into the northern tier of States and into the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Lake Tahoe.
Most commonly seen in the track of forest fires, where it is usually abundant for about two years; rare outside of the extensive soft wood tracts, and usually found singly or in pairs except when on burnt land.
I have found this species far more common than the next, and the best mark in life to be the white _stripe_ on the neck, in distinction from the white _line_ of _P.
americanus_.
10. PICOIDES AMERICANUS, _American Three-toed Woodpecker_.
Very similar to preceding species, but with narrow bars of white forming an _interrupted stripe down the back_; head thickly sprinkled with white in both sexes and a white line on nape or just below; a _white line_, too narrow to be called a stripe, down side of throat.
[M] with _crown bright yellow_.
9 inches.
Same range in the East as last; replaced in West by following subspecies:-- a. _P.
a. alascensis_, _Alaskan Three-toed Woodpecker_.
Smaller; more white; nape very white; more white on top of head.
Alaska, south to 48 deg.
(Mt. Baker, Washington).
b. _P.
a. dorsalis_, _Alpine Three-toed Woodpecker_.
More white on back and head than _P.
americanus_, less than _alascensis_; but continuous, not barred.
"Iris dark cherry-red" (Mearns).
Rocky Mountain region, south to New Mexico and Arizona.
11. SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS, _Yellow-bellied Sapsucker_.
Under parts whitish or pale sulphur yellow; upper parts black, mottled with pure or yellowish white; _rump white_; wings spotted, and with conspicuous white coverts; tail black with _outer webs of outer feathers_ and _inner webs of middle feathers light colored_; sides streaked; breast with a _broad black patch_ extending in a "chin-strap" to the corners of the mouth; sides of the head striped.
Occiput black, nape white.
[M] with forehead, crown, chin, and throat crimson;
[F] usually with crown crimson, forehead black, and throat white, back more brownish; [F] sometimes, and young always, with crown blackish.
7. 5-8. 5 inches.
Colors vary much with age, sex, and season; the wing bar and yellowish tinge are good marks for all plumages; the rump and breast patch for adult birds.
Eastern North America, breeding from Massachusetts northward, migrating in winter to the Southern States.
a. _S.
v.
nuchalis_, _Red-naped Sapsucker_.
Similar, but an additional red stripe on nape, and the black chin-strap replaced by crimson.
8-8. 5 inches.
Rocky Mountains to Coast Range, replacing the above in the mountains; usually breeding at from 5000 to 10,000 feet elevation.
12. SPHYRAPICUS RUBER, _Red-breasted Sapsucker_.
Body and under parts similar to _S.
varius_, but back much less variegated with white.
No black on breast, no white stripe through eyes.
Nasal tufts brownish instead of white.
_Head_, _neck_, and _breast uniform crimson_.
_Sexes alike.
_ Young with crimson replaced by gray or "claret brown" (Bendire).
8. 5-9 inches.
Pacific coast, Sierra Nevada, and on both sides of Cascade Mountains; a summer resident only north of northern California.
