NUTTALL'S WOODPECKEE! 67 



Mr. B. T. Gault published an interesting article on Nnttall's Woodpecker 

 in "Bulletin II, Ridgway Ornithological Club," Aijril, 1887 (pp. 78-81), from 

 which I extract the following: "Although I have been as far south as San 

 Diego, California, and as far north as the Russian River, Sonoma County, stop- 

 ping at intermediate points, I have observed this bird at but one locality. This 

 assertion, however, may not cut any figure, for my stops were necessarily short 

 in some places. The region I refer to lies at the ripper end of the San Bernar- 

 dino Valley and back from the coast about 50 miles. It is near a ranche knov/n 

 as 'Crafton Retreat.' 



"I had been out on the bowlder plain several hours, on the morning of 

 April 23, 1883, collecting birds, and spyiiig a clump of elder bushes in the 

 distance, not far from the brook, the thought occurred to me that I might take 

 a rest beneath their shade and at the same time be ready for any bird that put 

 in an appearance. These bushes, or more properly trees, are a great deal larger 

 shrub than our eastern plant, their trunks growing from 4 to 8 inches through; 

 and if they are not the same species, their umbellate blossoms are strikingly 

 similar, if not identical, to those of our common eastern shrub (Samhiicus cana- 

 densis). I had hardly seated myself on an arm of the shrub when my atten- 

 tion was attracted to a hole in the main trunk, directly above my head. At 

 almost the same instant a bird appeared at the opening from within, and dodged 

 back again as soon as she saw me. The movement was executed so quickly 

 that I was unable to tell whether it was a Wren or a Woodpecker, but concluded 

 that it was the latter. Upon examination of the aperture it seemed to have been 

 lately made. Of course I thought that there would be no trouble in dislodging 

 her, and commenced to rap on the trunk of the shrub with the butt of my gun; 

 but this seemed to have no efFect. I then walked back about 50 feet, and, 

 taking a stand, waited from ten to fifteen minutes in the hope that she would 

 come out, affording me an opportunity to secure her and thus solve the mystery, 

 but in this maneuver I was also baffled. I then went up to the bush and shouted 

 with all my might, but this did not shake her nervous system in the least, when 

 I finally resorted to my jackknife in order to enlarge the orifice, but, from its 

 being such a tedious job, gave it up in disg'ust. The next moi'ning I took a 

 hatchet along with me, for I desired very much to know what that hole con- 

 tained. It did not take me very long- to cut a place large enough for me to 

 get my hand in, and I was thoroughly surprised to learn that the bird was still 

 on her nest. I pulled her out, and she appeared to be stupefied — dead, appar- 

 ently — but soon revived. Upon further inspection I found that the nest con- 

 tained eggs. The bird proved to be a female Nuttall's Woodpecker, and the 

 eggs were pretty well advanced in incubation and would have hatched in a 

 few days. 



"The nest, which was about 5^ feet from the ground, was nearly a foot 

 deep and about 5 inches wide. The hole at the entrance to the nest was but a 

 little larger than a silver half dollar. The eggs were six in number, their dimen- 

 sions being 0.85 by 0.66, 0.87 by 0.65, 0.82 by 0.64, 0.85 by 0.66, 0.85 by 0.66, 



