TUE GILDED FLICKER. 139 



wood forests wliicli cover ii larg-e part of the peninsula bet\ve<'n latitudes 2H° 

 and 30°. Young- Avere found by me in June at San Fernando and near San 

 Carlos, Lower California." 



Mr. J. Xantus found tlic Gilde<l Flicker very cdnnnon in llic vicinity of 

 Cajie St. Lucas, an<l quite a number of specimens now in tlic Fiiited States 

 National Museum collection were taken by liini tlmrc; thesf axcirage a, trifle 

 smaller than the Arizona- l)irds. 



^Ir. AY. E. I). Scott met with this specit-s in the early spring- and fall on the 

 San Pedi'o sloj)© of the (Jatalina Mountains, in southern Arizona, as high up as 

 3,000 feet, and saw now and then single individuals in the incs(piite timl)er, far 

 away from any giant cactus.' 



I first met with this Flicker in some large cottonwoods on llillito Creek, 

 near Tucson, in thci spring of 1872, and also found a pair nesting in a dead lind) 

 of one of these trees, but the site was inaccessible. 1 at first considered these 

 birds rare, and not iintil the nesting season was over did 1 discover how abundant 

 they were in an extensive giant cactus grove in Sahuarita Pass, a, few miles 

 northeast of my camp. Here numbers of them were feeding on tlu^ sweet, fig- 

 like fruit of this cactus, in company with other species, and, as many of the 

 cacti had holes dug in their sides, this was unquestionai)ly a favorite breeding 

 place for them. I do not consider the Gilded Flicker a very shy l)ird in the late 

 summer and fall, and I could have shot numbers of them at different times had 

 I wanted to do so. 1 paid l)ut little attention to this species when I first saw 

 it, taking it at the time to be the common eastern Flicker, from the similarity 

 of its appearance when flying, and only discovered my error on shooting one 

 on June IG, 1872. Its call notes, manner of flight, and general habits are so 

 similar to those of the common Flicker that one, ])articularly a novice, as I was 

 then, might readily make such a mistake. Its food consists mainly of insects 

 of different kinds and their larvae, as well as of wild berries and fruits, and it 

 obtains a good portion of this on the ground. 



By far the greater nundjer of these birds nest in the sahuaras or giant 

 cactus; and where these are not found within reasonable distances, this species is 

 not apt to be met with, at least not during the breeding season. This is at its 

 height from the middle of April to the end of May, and, as Mr. F. Stephens has 

 taken its eggs in June, it is possible that two broods are occasionally raised in 

 a season. It nests at varj-ing distances from the ground from 8 to 40 feet, 

 generally at heights of about 15 feet. 1 have the indui-ated form of a nesting- 

 cavity of this species now before me, showing its exact shape. The hardened 

 walls are about one-fourth of an inch thick, and show the inner contour of the 

 cavity perfectly. The entrance is nearly 3 inches in diameter; insidtj it is 

 about 7 l)y 4 inches wide and 5i inches deep. The sides and bottom of the 

 cavity are quite smooth, considering- the nature of the substance (the soft inner 

 pulp of the cactus) out of which it is excavated. It occupied only one-half of the 

 trunk of one of these giant cacti, and the rear of the cavity did not quite reach 



I The Auk, Vol. V, 1886, p. 429. 



