AMERICAN OIL\rn/()JJ)(n' 



GOLDEN^FRONTED WOODPECKER, 



A. O. V. No. 410. 



(I'Melaiierpes aurifrons) 



RANGE. 



The United States range of this bird is practically 'restricted to the 

 central and southern portions of Texas, from which it ranges south- 

 wards throughout the northern half of Mexico, They breed throughout 

 their range. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Length, 10.; extent, 17 in.; tail, 3.5 in.; Adult male. — Upper parts- 

 with the exception of the head and rump, closely barred with black and 

 white; rump, white; head and under parts a clear ashy gray; nape fore- 

 head and nasal tufts, golden yellow; patch of scarlet adorns the crown; 

 belly tinged with yellowish. Female. — Marked as the male except the 

 red crown patch is replaced with the gray of the rest of the head. 



Young birds lack both the red crown patch and the yellow forehead 

 and nape. 



NEST AND EGGS. 



Golden-fronted Woodpeckers breed abundantly along the Lower Rio- 

 Grande in Texas, making their homes high up in the live timber. Al- 

 though they seem to prefer a live tree for their nest many of them have 

 adapted telegraph poles to their needs and hundreds of them are found 

 in these locations in some localities. They breed during the latter part 

 of April and through May. Their live or six eggs 'are a somewhat dull 

 glossy white. 



HABITS. 



These beautiful Woodpeckers, while abundant in their locality, have a 

 very restricted range and have yet to be met with in the United States 

 outside of Texas. They are very diligent workers and are able to ex- 

 cavate a cavity for their nest in the heart of a live tree. Both birds 

 assist in this work and they are very noisy, so noisy in fact that it is 

 often the cause of the discovery of the nest and possibly the theft of 

 the eggs. 



Both birds also assist in the incubation of the eggs, which occupies a 

 period of about two weeks. The young remain in the wood hewn home 



