WESTERN BIRDS Woodpecker 



Although about the same size as the Willow there is no 

 danger of any one mistaking them, for Nuttall's is so 

 barred in black and white as to remind one of a Plym- 

 outh Rock chicken. The forehead is dingy, the crown 

 black, sometimes streaked with white, the back of head 

 (male) with red patch, middle tail feathers black, outer 

 tail feathers white with no more than two distinct black 

 bars, under parts white, spotted on sides. The young 

 have more spots on sides and the red on top of head. 



These birds are not so friendly as the preceding and 

 must be studied in the foot hill regions and among the 

 trees of the mountains. I once watched a family of them 

 scrambling over the pines at a three thousand foot eleva- 

 tion, where they were exceedingly noisy, their shrill sharp 

 calls being unmistakably Woodpecker notes. One eve- 

 ning I saw one of them go into a hole in a pine tree just 

 before dark, and as he did not return, I concluded that 

 he had retired for the night. At Del Monte these birds 

 were quite abundant one May scrambling about in the 

 big oaks and I dare say were nesting there. 



GENUS XENOPICUS : WHITE-HEADED 

 WOODPECKER. 



White-Headed Woodpecker: Xenopicus albolarvatus. 



FAMILY— WOODPECKERS. 



To the west is given a member of this large family 

 which is quite different from all the rest. This bird is 

 about nine inches long and is entirely black, save for a 

 white patch on the wings, a red patch on back of neck 

 (in male) and a white head and neck, which has given 

 it the name of White-headed Woodpecker. They are 

 found in the mountains along the Pacific Coast as far 



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