S66 LAND BIRDS 



399. WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER. — Xenopicus 

 albolarvatus. 



Family : The Woodpeckers. 



Length: 8.90-9.40. 



Adult Male : Head, neck, upper part of chest, and patch on the wing, 



white ; nape bright scarlet ; rest of plumage black. 

 Adult Female : Similar to male, but with no scarlet. 

 Young : Similar to male, but scarlet on crown instead of on nape. 

 Geographical Distribution : Mountains of the Pacific coast, including 



both slopes of the Sierra Nevada, from Washington to Southern 



California. 

 Breeding Range : The Sierra Nevada and Cuyamaca mountains to Mt. 



Shasta. 

 Breeding Season : May, 



Nest: 4 to 18 feet from the ground, in stumps. 

 Eggs: 4 to 7 ; crystalline white. Size 0.96 X 0.75. 



The range of the AYhite-headecl Woodpecker in Cali- 

 fornia is restricted to higher mountain ranges from Ore- 

 gon to Southern California. It is common in the fir 

 forests of the Sierra Nevada from four thousand feet 

 nearly to the summit, seldom descending to a lower 

 altitude than three thousand feet. His conspicuous 

 white head makes him recognized by the veriest tyro 

 in bird lore. One would suppose this feature would 

 make him an easy mark for hunters, but in reality 

 there is an effect of protective coloring in the very 

 sharpness of the contrasting black and white, — the 

 one standing out so strongly in the light as to make 

 the other seem part of the shadow and not of the bird. 



This is emphatically a silent bird, particularly in the 

 winter. Even during the breeding season in the Sierra 

 Nevada, I have never heard it utter more than a sharp 



