THE HARRIS WOODPECKER. 



421 



Div. COOPER judged ihe Harris lo be the most abundant \\'oodpecker 

 in Western W'ashington ; and this, with the possible exception of the Flicker 

 (Colaptes cafcr saturatior), is still true. The bird ventures well out upon 

 the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains, and is found sparingly in the 

 higher motintain valleys; but his favorite resorts are burns and the edges of 

 clearings, rather than the depths of the woods. Altho he is resident the vear 

 around we are quite likely to 

 overlook his presence until 

 cold weather appears to quick- 

 en his pulses, and to send him 

 careering noisily o\er the 

 tree-tops. He has spent the 

 night, it ma\" be. in the heart 

 of a fir stub at the end of his 

 winter tunnel, and now he 

 covers a half-wooded pasture 

 with great bounds of flight, 

 shouting, plick. plick. from 

 time to time; and he gives a 

 loud rolling call — a dozen nf 

 these notes in swift succes- 

 sion — as he ]nills up in the 

 top of a dead tree to begin 

 the day's work. 



He is an active fellijw. 

 hitching up or dropping down 

 the tree trunk with brusque 

 ease, and publisliing his prog- 

 ress now and then in cheerful 

 tones. But he knows how to 

 be patient too. In the search 

 for hidden worms and bur- 

 rowing larvae it seems not ini 

 jirobaljle that the \\'oodpecker 

 depends largely upon the 

 sense of hearing — that he 

 practices auscultation, in fact. A meditative tap, tap. is followed by a pause, 

 during whicli the bird apparently marks the effect of his strokes, noting the 

 rustle of apprehension or attempted escape on the part of the hidden morsel. 

 It is not unusual for the bird to spend a half hour tunneling for a single taste, 

 and even then the wary game may withdraw along some tunnel of its own, 

 e\"en bevond the reach of the bird's extensible tongue. But besides that which 



Tiiken in Oregon. 



Photo hy Boltlinan and Finley. 

 HARRIS WOODPECKER. 



