ZOOLOGY. 131 
& 
its home among the bushes. The bird is akin to the cuckoo, 
and its generic name signifies ‘“ ground-cuckoo.” Its length is 
from twenty to twenty-three inches, of which twelve are taken 
up by the tail. The general color is olive-green above and 
white beneath; the central tail-feathers are olive-brown, the 
others dark-greeu—all edged and (except the central two) 
tipped with white. Dr. Heerman says: “I have not witnessed 
the following feat, but am assured by many old Californians 
that this bird, on perceiving the rattlesnake coiled up asleep, 
basking in the sun, will collect the cactus and hedge him 
around with a circle, out of which the reptile, unable to es- 
cape, and enraged by the prickly points opposing him on every 
side, strikes himself, and dies-from the effects of his self-inocu- 
lated venom.” 
§ 100. Woodpeckers.—There are eleven species of wood- 
pecker in the state; of which two, the Californian (Melanerpes 
Sormicivorus) and Lewis’s (Melanerpes torquatus), are worthy 
of special mention. 
The Californian woodpecker is called by the Spanish Cali- 
fornians the carpintero, or carpenter, because he is in the habit 
of boring holes with his beak in the bark of the nut-pine, red- 
wood, Californian white oak, and Western yellow pine, and 
then storing acorns in them for his winter use. The holes are 
just large and deep enough to hold each an acorn, which is 
hammered in so that there is no danger of its falling out. The 
acorns on the northern side of the trees, where they are pro- 
tected from the rains, which come from the southward, often 
keep good for years. The bark of the nut-pine is preferred, 
probably being softer and more regular in grain than other 
bark. The holes are bored to within two or three feet of the 
ground, and to a height of fifty feet—sometimes, but rarely, in 
the limbs as well as the trunk. From thirty to fifty holes are 
often found in a square foot. In seasons when or places where 
acorns are rare, the woodpecker will put away hazel-nuts in the 
same manner. The squirrels often plunder the stores, and then 
the birds attack the thieves, darting down upon them and peck- 
