36: 



THE OSPREY 



BIRDS OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS. 



K. J. ILI.INliWORTH, CI.AKEMONT, CAL. 



I FIRST visited the San Bernardino Mountains crackers were abundant. They would go about in 



during Nov , '93. The fauna was almost en- great flocks, feeding upon the nuts. They were so 



tirely new to nie at that time, as I had never abundant that the other birds were scarce. They 



before visited the higher mountains Only an en- seemed to frighten the other birds off the mountain, 



thusiast can appreciate the pleasure one experiences In October '95 Pinyon Jays began coming into the 



upon arriving in such a locality ; new specimens are mountains in great flocks, much as the Nutcrackers 



to be found on 

 every side. P3very 

 specimen brings a 

 thrill of new life. 



The first bird 

 that attracted my 

 attention as we 

 neared t h e pines 

 was the California 

 Woodpecker. The 

 bark of all the 

 larger pines was a 

 network of holes, 

 each of which had 

 an acorn tig h 1 1 y 

 fitted into it. The 

 California Wood- 

 peckers were busy 

 storing up their 

 winter's supply cf 

 food. I watched 

 them for hours, 

 while they were at 

 w o r k . T hey 



seemed to work 

 two and sometimes 

 three together. 

 One of them would 

 bring an acorn in 

 its beak and try to 

 fit it into the newly 

 ch i s e 1 e d hole. 

 When the hole was 

 found to be too 



A NEST OF THE CACTUS WREN. 



l>HOTOGK.^FH HV THKODORK U. HIRD. 1<I\ KKSIOK. CAL. 



had done the year 

 before. They re- 

 mained all winter 

 feeding upon the 

 pine nuts. In the 

 fall of '96 the 

 mountains were 

 filled with Lewis' 

 Wood peckers. 

 They were as 

 abundant as the 

 Nutcrackers and 

 I'inyon jays had 

 been i n the two 

 previous years. 

 Not a Nutcracker 

 or a I'inyonjay was 

 to be found on the 

 mountain how- 

 ever. The Lewis' 

 Woodpeckers held 

 complete posses- 

 sion ; they even 

 drove the Califor- 

 nia Woodpeckers 

 away. They 

 seemed to pick up 

 the habit of storing 

 acorns from the 

 California Wood- 

 peckers, for as 

 soon as they ar- 

 rived they began 

 putting acorns in 



small the acorn was taken out and the hole enlarged, the bark of the pines using the holes which had been 



Sometimes several trials were made before the acorn made in previous years. They made no new holes 



could be driven in flush with the bark. The)- are but just put the acorns into any that were large 



put in so nicely that the squirrels have no chance at enough They showed that thev were not skilled in 



them When the snow is several feet deep upon the storing the acorns, for the squirrels could have pulled 



ground the woodpeckers begin eating the stored nuts, almost any of them out with their claws. Such a 



by digging out the ends. It seems to be an undecided (juantitx was stored however that the supply was 



question whether they eat the acorns or only the in- greater than the demand. 



sects which grow in them. From my observations I The ISlue-fronted Ja\s also have this habit of stor- 



am convinced that they live upon the acorns. I have ing acorns for winter. They of course do not make 



shot birds during the winter when the ground was holes to put them into, as their beaks are unfitted 



covered with snow and always found the stomachs for this work. They put the acorns into the cracks 



filled with broken acorns. However, the birds may and crevices of dead trees, where they are easily 



have acquired different habits in other localities when secured by the squirrels before the birds are ready 



the acorn weevils were abundant. to use them I'hese |a)s are always a])un(lant in 



iUiring the fall and winter of '94 Clarke's Nut- the ]Tine bell The) like to remain near camp and 



