222 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



attacked liim evidently with tbe intent of driving liim off. Tlie Lewis started 

 for another tree but a California flew at him from in front, and they both 

 fell in the struggle that ensued. At this tbe other California woodpeckers, 

 which were joined by a few more, set up a violent chattering and when I 

 ran up, to my amazement I found that the Lewis had hold of the California 

 by tbe skull, two of its claws entering the latter's eyes and tbe other two 

 entering the skull in front and behind. The Lewis woodpecker was dead 

 and the California so nearly so that it died while I was removing tbe former's 

 claws. 



Voice. — Mr. Skinner says in his notes: "In May, at least, these 

 woodpeckers are sometimes noisy while calling- to their mates. One 

 gave a ringing cleep-ep, cleep-ep call on May 25, 1933. It was some- 

 what similar to a flicker's call." Ralph Hoffmann (1927) says: 

 "When a bird lights on a pole or limb already occupied, there is 

 always mild excitement, fluttering of the wings, bowing and scraping, 

 and always a lively interchange of harsh calls, like the syllables 

 chdh-a^ chdk-a^ chdk-a chak^ dying off at the end." W. L. Dawson 

 (1923) gives the following interpretations of its notes: "A jeering, 

 raucous voice, * * * Jacoh^ Jacob., Jacob 5 * * * Kerack 

 Kerackf and '■''cliaar chaar tchurrupP 



Field marks. — The California woodpecker is conspicuously marked 

 and need not be mistaken for anything else from any angle. When 

 flying away, it looks like a black bird with an extensive white rump 

 and with a white patch in each wing; when flying over or when 

 perched facing the observer, the white abdomen and the broad black 

 band across the chest are distinctive; if near enough, the color pat- 

 tern of the head is easily seen. 



BALANOSPHYRA FORMICIVORA ANGUSTIFRONS (Baiid) 



NARROW-FRONTED WOODPECKER 



HABITS 



The Cape region of southern Baja California is the home of this 

 subspecies. It is a well-marked race, which Ridgway (1914) de- 

 scribes as "similar to B. f. formicivora^ but wing averaging much 

 shorter, bill relatively larger, white frontal band decidedly nar- 

 rower, lower throat usually much more strongly yellow^, white area 

 on proximal portion of remiges smaller, and the adult female with 

 black area on crown much narrower." 



William Brewster (1902) says of its haunts: 



This woodpecker, which seems to be confined to the Cape Region proper, is 

 exceedingly abundant throughout the pine forests on the higher mountains 

 south of La Paz and common in many places in the oaks at the bases of the 

 mountains and among their foot-hills, ranging downward, according to Mr. 

 Belding, to an elevation of about 700 feet. Mr. Frazar found it most niimerous 

 on the Sierra de la Laguna, during the last week of April and the first week 

 of May. After that its numbers decreased perceptibly. It began breeding on 



