THE RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. 91 



ber of eggs mark a full set, presumably the nest of one of last year's birds. 

 Fresh eggs may be looked for in Colorado from June 1 to 15, and should the 

 first set be taken, a second one may generallv be found from ten to fifteen 

 days later; and, as a rule, the second nesting site will not be greath' distant from 

 the first one. Several nests of this species may be found within a short distance 

 of each other in the same aspen grove." 



My own limited t)bservations during- the breeding season bear out Mr. 

 Gale's statements completely, viz, that this species breeds exclusively in live 

 aspen trees. Dr. J. C. Merrill, United States Army, in "l^ulletln Nuttall Club," 

 October, 1881, states, however, that he found a nest of these birds in a dead 

 Cottonwood tree in Montana. In southwestern Oregon, in the mountain ])arks of 

 the Klamath Lake region, these birds breed sparingly at as low an altitude as 

 5,000 feet, and it is more than probable that at a higher one, near the summit of 

 the Cascade Range, thej^ may be quite common. 



In the Blue Mountain region, in eastern Oregon, I found them breed- 

 ing only in the single locality already mentioned, at an altitude from G,000 to 

 7,000 feet. During the winter months, I have occasionally observed a Red- 

 naped Sapsucker in the Harney Valley, in Oregon, busily engaged in hunting 

 for food among the willow tliickets found growing along the banks of the small 

 streams in that sagebrush-covered region, often long distances away from 

 timber of any size. In Sphiiidpicun varius nuchalis the red or crimson markings 

 found about the head and throat of adult birds are usually wanting in the 

 young bii'ds of the year, or else are replaced by a pale, claret-colored tinge on 

 the corresponding parts. The black on the back and wings is also duller and 

 not so deep, and the general pattern less distinct. 



I believe that both sexes assist in the labor of excavating the nesting site, 

 the female appearing to do the greater part of the work, however, which is 

 frequently very laborious, and that the male also shares the duties of incubation, 

 which lasts about foui'teen days. The number of eggs to a set varies from thi-ee 

 to six, usually four or five; these are mostly ovate in shape, a few are elliptical 

 ovate; the}^ are jiure white in color; the shell is fine grained and moderately 

 glossy. 



The average measurement of thirty-five specimens in the United States 

 National Museum collection is 22.78 by 17.07 millimetres, or about 0.1)0 bvO.()7 

 inch. The largest e'^g of the .series measures 24.13 by 18.29 millimetres, or 

 0.95 by 0.72 inch ; the smallest, 20.83 by 16.76 naillimetres, or 0.82 by 0.66 inch. 



The type specimen, No. 19415 (not figured), from a set of three eggs, was 

 taken by the writer on the summit of the Blue Mountains, in ({rant County, 

 Ox'egon, as previously described, on June 12, 1877. 



