362 



LAND BIRDS 



collector, uttering cries of distress, scolding, and doing all 

 that helpless birds can do for the protection of their 

 young. 



Like the Harris, the Cabanis is noisy, particularly dur- 

 ing the mating season, when its loud drumming and its 



" kick-kick, whitoo, whitoo, 

 wit-wi-wi " may be heard all 

 day long in the deep pine 

 woods. 



Both sexes share 

 the labors of excavat- 

 ing, brooding the 

 eggs, and feeding the 

 young. Incubation 

 lasts about fifteen days, and 

 the young remain nearly 

 four weeks in the nest, be- 

 ing fed most of that time 

 by regurgitation. After 

 leaving they are fed by the 

 parents for at least two 

 weeks, and usually return 

 to the nest at night to 

 sleep. 

 Although the usual height 

 of the excavation is from twelve to eighteen feet from 

 the ground, Major Bendire records one as low as three 

 feet and another as high as fifty feet. 



The food of the Cabanis woodpeckers consists of larvae 

 and eggs of insects, berries, seeds, pinon nuts, pine seeds, 



393 d. Cabanis 

 Woodpecker. 



" Both sexes share the 

 labors of excavating.^'' 



