584 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



marked with black above and below ; otherwise there seems to he no dif- 

 ference of special importance. 



As neither C. auratus nor mexicanus has tlie top of the head rufous-brown, 

 (though slightly indicated anteriorly in the latter), this character has not 

 been noted in the hybrids between the two {hi/hridas), and its presence in 

 chri/soidcs will serve to distinguish it from hi/bridus. 



Habits. This comparatively new form of Woodpecker was first de- 

 scribed in 1852 by Malherbe, from a California specimen in the Paris 

 Museum, which had been at first supposed to be a female or immature 

 ayresii. What Dr. Cooper thinks may have been this species was met with 

 by Dr. Heermann among the mountains bordering upon the Cosumnes 

 River, in California, where it was rare, and only two specimens were taken. 

 In February, 1861, other specimens of this bird were taken at Fort Mohave 

 by Dr. Cooper. They were feeding on larv?e and insects among the poplar- 

 trees, and were very shy and wary. The bird is supposed to winter in the 

 Colorado Valley, and wherever found has been met with in valleys, and not 

 on mountains. It is an abundant and characteristic member of the Cape 

 St. Lucas fauna. 



According to Dr. Cooper these birds were already mated at Fort Mohave 

 after February 20. They had the same habits, flight, and cries as the C. 

 mexicanus. They appeared to be migratory, having come from the south. 



Mr. Xantus, in his brief notes on the birds of Cape St. Lucas, makes men- 

 tion of finding this bird breeding, May 19, in a dead Cereus giganteus. The 

 nest was a large cavity about fifteen feet from the ground, and contained 

 only one egg. The parent bird was also secured. In another instance 

 two eggs were found in a Ccreiis giganteus, at the distance of forty feet from 

 the ground. The eggs were not noticeably different from those of the 

 common Cokqjtes mexiCanus. 



