32 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



be back. He followed my suggestion, and, the following spring, a 

 Harris's woodpecker showed up, dug a hole in the stub, and raised its 

 young. This was repeated the next spring after, and then no return 

 of the bird. So quite likely it may have been the same woodpecker." 



Eggs. — Harris's woodpecker apparently lays four or five eggs, prob- 

 ably seldom fewer or more. Bendire (1895) was evidently unable to 

 locate any properly identified eggs of this race, and I have not fared 

 much better. The eggs are probably indistinguishable from the eggs 

 of other hairy woodpeckers of similar size. The measurements of 34 

 eggs average 25.29 by 18.91 millimeters; the eggs showing the four 

 extremes measure 27.9 by 19.6, 25.46 by 20.32, 22.86 by 18.29, and 

 23.5 by 17.5 millimeters. 



Food.— 3. A. Neff (1928) says: 



A total of 57 stomachs of hairy woodpeckers were taken for the present 

 study, over three fourths of them of the Harris type. The months were repre- 

 sented by fairly even numbers of specimens. Analysis of these stomachs shows 

 a considerable variation from the results of Professor Beal's California studies. 

 The total animal food averaged 82.00 percent, while vegetable matter made up 

 (he other 18.00 percent. * * * 



The larvae of wood-boring beetles, Cerambycids and Buprestids, composed 

 49.00 percent of the total. This total is unexceeded in Federal studies of 

 birds. Since these two groups of borers include species doing enormous dam- 

 age to both forest and ornamental trees, as well as to orchards, this item of 

 food alone almost settles the question of the utility of having woodpeckers. 

 * • * 



The vegetable food was of little value economically. Fruits, of small wild 

 varieties, totaled 6.00 percent, and seeds, mostly of coniferous trees, averaged 

 12.00 percent. 



Behavior. — Taylor and Shaw (1927) made the following interest- 

 ing observation : 



As is well known, western "Washington is a region of copious rainfall. Dur- 

 ing the frequent downpours one can not help speculating on the manner in 

 which the different birds and mammals avoid injury from the damp and chill 

 of the storm. The thick foliage of firs and hemlocks is well suited, in many 

 instances, to serve as a thatched, roof; and in the deep woods there are many 

 big branches and large logs under which birds — and mammals too — find dry 

 retreats. During the heaviest rain of the summer a Harris woodpecker was 

 frightened from its shelter beneath a huge log in the heavy forest of Tahoma 

 Creek Canyon. Here the bird was keeping perfectly dry. One can imagine 

 its displeasure at being driven out from its comfortable refuge into the 

 drenching rain. 



Winter. — D. E. Brown says in his notes: "Early in fall Harris's 

 woodpecker very often excavates a cavity that is its winter home. It 

 can be found there every night and quite often in the daytime on 

 stormy days. It is not always secure in this retreat. Such a cavity 

 was made in a partly dead stub, about 20 feet high, just back of my 

 house. Frequent visits were made to find out how much the nest was 



