96 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



the moment his claws are fastened in the bark he begins an untiring search 

 for insects and grubs. He ascends rapidly in spirals picking and prying away 

 small pieces of bark in search of food; when a promising limb is reached out 

 he goes on it, often on the lower side. The search over in one tree, he wastes 

 no time in looking around, but launches out, with barely a glance to determine 

 the course, in his undulating flight to the next, there to repeat the performance. 

 When closely approached, he works around the tree v/ithout paying any especial 

 attention to the intruder, and when thoroughly frightened he will take flight 

 with as little warning as he does when simply in search of food. While 

 going up the tree he gives, from time to time, a characteristic call, much like 

 that of the hairy woodpecker. 



Field marks. — The Arizona woodpecker should be easily rec- 

 ognized, as it is the only small woodpecker that has a uniformly 

 brown, unmarked back and crown, and lower parts thickly spotted 

 with black; the adult male has a red patch on the nape, and young 

 birds of both sexes have more or less red in the crown, less in the 

 female than in the male. 



Winter. — This woodpecker is a permanent resident in southern 

 Arizona, moving down from the higher parts of the mountains to 

 the lower levels in winter. Mr. Swarth (1904) says that "in the 

 winter they seem to more particularly favor the large groves of 

 live-oaks along the foot-hills and at the mouths of the canyons; 

 scattering over the mountains and ascending to rather a higher 

 elevation upon the advent of the breeding season." W. E. D. Scott 

 (1886) writes: "Karely have I met with more than two in company, 

 and a family, two parents and three young, were the most I ever 

 saw associated together. But I frequently met in the fall a party 

 composed of Arizona jays, California woodpeckers, various Titmice 

 and Warblers, and a pair of Strickland's [Arizona] woodpeckers. 

 The birds I have met with them appear late in January or early in 

 February, and are apparently already mated." 



DISTRIBUTION 



Range. — Southwestern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona, and 

 western Mexico ; nonmigratory. 



The Arizona woodpecker is found north to southeastern Arizona 

 (Canada del Oro and the Whetstone Mountains) ; and southwestern 

 New Mexico (probably the Animas Mountains and the San Luis 

 Mountains). East to southwestern New Mexico (San Luis Moun- 

 tains) ; Chihuahua (Cajon Bonito, Colonia Garcia, Temosachic, and 

 Apache) ; Durango (Metalotes and Arroyo del Buey) ; and Zacatecas 

 (Sierra de Valparaiso). South to Zacatecas (Sierra de Valparaiso) 

 and Jalisco (Nevada Volcanoe, Colima Volcanoe, Tonila, and San 

 Marcos.) West to Jalisco (San Marcos and Bolanos) ; eastern Sin- 

 aloa (Sierra de Choix) ; central Sonora (La Chumata mine and 

 Saric) ; and southeastern Arizona (Huachuca Moimtains, Santa 



