WOODPECKERS, CUCKOOS, ETC. 8S3 



States Department of Agriculture, reports it as the most 

 beneficial of all woodpeckers, in spite of the fact that it is 

 also the smallest. Seventy-five per cent of its food consists 

 of ants, beetles, bugs, caterpillars, and grasshoppers, par- 

 taking only sparingly of wild fruits. 



The eggs are deposited on an accumulation of rotted 

 chips and dead wood at the base of a hollow limb or tree 

 trunk which is dead and often soft from decay. The eggs, 

 like those of all other woodpeckers, are pure white, with a 

 glossy surface. 



THE NUTT ALL'S WOODPECKER* 



The range of Nuttall's Woodpecker is long and narrow. 

 Lying west of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain 

 ranges, it extends from the southern portion of the State of 

 Oregon southward through California into the peninsula of 

 Lower California. It is a denizen of the lower foothills 

 throughout the length of its range. It is partial to the oaks 

 that grow in the vicinity of streams, though it also nests in 

 the old or dead limbs of cottonwoods, elders, willows, and 

 sycamores. As a rule, it avoids coniferous trees. 



Nuttall's woodpecker not only nests in the dead limbs or 

 stubs of the trees already mentioned but also in the giant 

 cactus. The nesting hole is seldom more than a few feet 

 above the ground. Both sexes assist in the work of exca- 

 vating and also in the incubation of the eggs. 



Like many other woodpeckers, this bird is a devoted par- 

 ent, frequently permitting itself to be caught rather than 

 leave its nest when it contains eggs or young. 



