378 LAND BIRDS 
inches wide at the bottom, and one and three-fourths 
inches in diameter at the entrance. Incubation lasts 
seventeen days, and the young remain in the nest about 
three and a half weeks. They are fed upon the larvee of 
black beetles, grasshoppers, ants, and fruit. At certain 
seasons of the year this species is almost exclusively a 
fruit-eater, and at all times it prefers vegetable to animal 
food. Its call is a loud, clear two-syllable note, which 
it usually utters when perched on top of a stump, where 
it loves to sit and drum. It returns to the same nest 
tree year after year, but usually excavates a new cavity, 
frequently utilizing the old one as a shelter for the male 
on stormy nights. 
411. GILA WOODPECKER. — Melanerpes uropygialis. 
Famity: The Woodpeckers. 
Length: About 10.00. 
Adult Male: Head, neck, and under parts light grayish brown ; middle 
of crown red ; back, rump, and upper tail-coverts barred with black 
and white ; middle of belly yellowish ; middle and outer tail-feathers 
marked with white. 
Adult Female: Like male, but no red on crown. 
Young: Like adults, with colors duller and markings less distinct. 
Geographical Distribution: Southeastern California, southern part of 
Arizona and New Mexico, south through Lower California. 
California Breeding Range ; Around the Lower Colorado River, near Fort 
Yuma. 
Breeding Season: May. 
Nest: In excavations in trees or in giant cacti. 
Eggs: 3 to 5; white. Size 0.96 X 0.71. 
THE range of the Gila Woodpecker in California is 
restricted to the southeastern corner, bordering on the 
Lower Colorado River, in the vicinity of Fort Yuma. 
