246 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



from the surrounding country in that the tops of the trees were affected 

 some years ago with a blight, and now this entire area is one mass of 

 dead-topped trees, aiid this is what apparently suits the present 

 species." 



George F. Simmons (1925) says of its haunts in the Austin region : 

 "Mesquite forests with large trees, and mesquite flats ; partial to large 

 timber near mesquite growth, particularly among post oak and mixed 

 oaks on gravel uplands, and in pecan groves on open and semi -open 

 bottoms." 



D. B. Burrows (Bendire, 1895) says that, in Starr County, on the 

 lower Rio Grande, "the golden-fronted woodpecker is a common resi- 

 dent species in this locality, and much more abundant than Baird's 

 woodpecker, the only other variety that I have found here. They may 

 be found wherever there is a growth of trees sufficiently large to afford 

 nesting places, but are most numerous in the river bottoms where there 

 is a heavy growth of old mesquite timber." 



Nesting.— Major Bendire (1895) writes: "Nidification commences 

 sometimes in the latter part of March, but usually not much before the 

 middle of April ; both sexes assist in this labor, and it takes from six 

 to ten days to excavate a proper nesting site ; both live and dead trees 

 are used for this purpose, as well as telegraph poles and fence posts ; 

 the holes are rarely over 12 inches deep, and are situated at no great 

 distances from the ground, mostly from 6 to 25 feet up." As to its 

 nesting in Starr County, he quotes from Mr. Burrows : "The nest is by 

 preference made in the live trunks of large trees, usually the mesquite, 

 but sometimes in a dead stump or limb, the same cavity being used year 

 after year, and it is quite a rare thing to see a fresh excavation. The 

 nesting season begins in April, and most of the nests contain fresh eggs 

 by May 10. I took a set of six eggs from a cavity in a live mesquite 

 tree, the opening being but 2 feet 9 inches from the ground, but usually 

 they are placed from 8 to 20 feet up." And H. P. Attwater wrote to 

 him that "near San Antonio, Texas, where the golden-fronted wood- 

 pecker is a common resident, it nests in all kinds of tall live timber, 

 pecan, oak, and large mesquite trees being preferred, but telegraph 

 poles furnished favorite sites here also. A line running out of San 

 Antonio to a ranch nine miles distant was almost destroyed by these 

 birds ; they came from all sides, from far and near, and made fresh 

 holes every year, sometimes as many as five or six in a single pole. 

 Here it also nests occasionally in artificial nesting sites, like bird 

 boxes, etc., in yards and gardens." 



My only experience with the nesting habits of this woodpecker was 

 in Cameron County, Tex., where we found this noisy and conspicuous 

 bird quite common in the trees about the ranches. On May 24, 1923, 

 we found two nests quite near the buildings on a well-kept Mexican 

 ranch and collected two sets of four fresh eggs ; one was about 8 feet 



