ARIZONA WOODPECKER 91 



in southeastern California, there is a chance for confusion ; but their 

 ranges barely touch each other, and fortunately the habitats of the 

 two species are quite different and mainly well separated. Nuttall's 

 is somewhat lighter colored on the under parts, and the black bands 

 on the back are slightly wider than in the cactus woodpecker ; but the 

 best distinguishing mark, if the observer is near enough to see it, 

 is the black forehead and front of the crown, which in the male 

 cactus woodpecker is spotted with white and red. It is only slightly 

 larger than the downy woodpeckers but can be readily distinguished 

 from that species by the conspicuous, transverse barring of black and 

 white on the back, instead of the broad, white, longitudinal band of 

 the downies; there are also more white spots in the wings than in 

 the western races of the downy. 



DISTRIBUTION 



Range. — Southwestern Oregon, California, and northern Baja 

 California ; nonmigratory. 



The range of Nuttall's woodpecker extends north to southwestern 

 Oregon (probably Ashland) ; and northern California (Weed and 

 Lassen Peak). East to California (Lassen Peak, Oroville, probably 

 Florence Lake, Owens Lake, and Redlands) ; and Baja California 

 (San Kafael and San Domingo). South to northern Baja California 

 (San Domingo and Ensenada). West to northwestern Baja Cali- 

 fornia (Ensenada) ; western California (San Diego, San Onofre, 

 Santa Barbara, Morro, Monterey, and East Park) ; and southwestern 

 Oregon (probably Ashland). 



Egg dates. — California: 82 records, March 25 to June 14; 41 

 records, April 21 to May 6, indicating the height of the season. 



DRYOBATES ARIZONAE ARIZONAE (Hargitt) 

 ARIZONA WOODPECKER 



HABITS 



Strickland's woodpecker {Dryohates stricMandi), a Mexican 

 species, was formerly recorded from southern Arizona by some of 

 the early writers; but Edward Hargitt (1886) discovered that the 

 Arizona bird was specifically distinct, described it, and named it as 

 a new species, Picus arisonae. He gave it the following diagnosis: 

 "P. similis P. stricklandi, sed dorso uniformi nee albofasciato dis- 

 tinguendus." The two species are quite similar in general appear- 

 ance, but stricklandi has the median portion of the back and the 

 whole rump broadly barred or transversely spotted with white, 

 whereas in arizonae these parts are uniformly plain brown, and the 

 markings on the under parts are in the form of large rounded or 

 subcordate spots, instead of streaks. 



