iSSS.J Merrill on Birds of Fort Klamath, Oregon. ^53 



Xenopicus albolarvatus. This interesting Woodpecker was first ob- 

 served November 9; by December it had become rather abundant and so 

 continued until the latter part of Februarj', but after the middle of March 

 none were seen. During the breeding season careful search failed to re- 

 veal its presence near the Fort, nor was it found in the higher moun- 

 tains north of the valley in July and August. One would think that the 

 peculiar coloration of the White-headed Woodpecker would make it very 

 conspicuous and its detection an easy matter, but this is by no means the 

 case, at least about Fort Klamath. On most of the pines in this vicinity 

 there are many short stubs of small broken branches projecting an inch or 

 two from the main trunk. When the sun is shining these projections are 

 lighted up in such a manner as to appear quite white at a little distance, 

 and they often cast a shadow exactly resembling the black body of the 

 bird. In winter when a little snow has lodged on these stubs the resem- 

 blance is even greater, and almost daily I was misled by this deceptive 

 appearance, either mistaking a stub for a bird or the reverse. 



I have rarely heard this Woodpecker hammer, and even tapping is 

 rather uncommon. So far as I have observed, and during the winter I 

 watched it carefully, its principal supply of food is obtained in the bark, 

 most of the pines having a very rough bark, scaly and deeply fissured. 

 The bird uses its bill as a crowbar rather than as a hammer or chisel, 

 prying o'R W\Q. successive scales and layers of bark in a very characteristic 

 way. This explains the fact of its being such a quiet worker, and as 

 would be expected it is most often seen near the base of the tree where the 

 bark is thickest and roughest. It must destroy immense numbers of Sco- 

 lytidse, whose larvae tunnel the bark so extensively, and of other insects 

 that crawl beneath the scales of bark for shelter during winter. I have 

 several times imitated the work of this bird by prying oif the successive 

 layers of bark, and have been astonished at the great number of insects, 

 and especially of spiders, so exposed. As the result of this, and of its 

 habit of so searching for food, the White-headed Woodpeckers killed here 

 were loaded with fat to a degree I have never seen equalled in any land 

 bird, and scarcely surpassed by some Sandpipers in autumn. 



Though not shy, and with care generally approachable to within a short 

 distance, it is watchful and suspicious, and seems to know very well what 

 is going on even if it does not see fit to fly away, though it is more apt to 

 do this than to dodge around the trunk. The flight is direct, and rather 

 slow and heavy. Its skull is noticeably less hard and dense than that of 

 D. harrisii or P. arctictis. During the winter it is silent, the only sound 

 I have heard it make being a harsh screech when wounded. 



[Dr. Merrill has called my attention to the following apparent inaccu- 

 racies in the description of this Woodpecker by our leading authorities, 

 (i) The statement usually made without qualification that the entire 

 head is white. In the series of twelve specimens before me (five from 

 Fort Klamath, five from Blue Canon, California, and two from San Ber- 

 nardino, California) the crown and forehead are decidedly grayish, vary- 

 ing from smoky gray to drab gray in rather strong contrast with the 



