NORTH AMERICAN- BIRDS. 267 



the entrance was a little larger than a silver half dollar. The eggs were pretty well ; 

 advanced in incubation; their sizes are .85x.66, .S7x.65, .82x.64, .85x-.66, .85x66, .84.x 

 .64.* They are of a pearly white. 



398. ABIZONA WOODPECKEB. Dryoiates arizonw (Hargitt.) Gebg. Dist.— 

 Southern Arizona to Northern Mexico. 



Mr. F. Stephens met with this species in the Santa Rita andChiricahua Mountains 

 in Southern Arizona; Although the birds were not uncommon he did not succeed 

 in obtaining the eggs. A nest was found May 16 in a sycamore tree which contained 

 young. Mr. W. B. D. Scott found this Woodpecker in the oak region of the San 

 Pedro slope of the Cataline Mountains where, except in midwinter, it is not uncom- 

 mon. Mr. Brown found it common on the Santa Rita Mountains^ Mr. Scott rarely 

 met with more than two in company; frequently in the fall a party was seen com- 

 posed of Arizona Jays, California Woodpeckers, various Titmice and Warblers, and a 

 pair of Strickland's Woodpeckers. They appeared mated late in January or early 

 in February. A nest containing three young, found May 27, was in an oak about 

 ten feet from the ground; it was much like that of the Hairy Woodpecker, but the 

 opening was a Httle smaller. The eggs are three or four in number, glossy white, 

 and average .84x.64 inches. 



399. WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER. Xenopicvs albolarratus (Cass.) 

 Geog. Dist. — Mountains of the Pacific coast, from Southern British Columbia to 

 Southern California (including the eastern slope of Sierra Nevada), and east to the 

 Blue Mountains of Oregon and West Central Idaho. 



This peculiarly-colored species is common in the pine regions of Washington, 

 Oregon and California. Dr. James C. Merrill, Assistant Siirgeon, U. S. Army, states 

 that this bird was first observed in the vicinity of Fort Klamath, Oregon, November 

 9; by December it became rather abundant, and so continued until the latter part 

 of February, but after the middle of March none were seen. Careful search during 

 the breeding season failed to reveal its presence near the Fort, nor was it found in 

 the higher mountains in July and August. Dr. Merrill rarely heard this Wood- 

 pecker hammer, and even tapping Is rather unusual with it. The bird uses its bill 

 as a crowbar rather than a hammer, pryhnj oif the successive scales and layers of 

 bark in a very characteristic way, which explains the fact of its being a quiet work- 

 er. As a result of the great abundance of food which these birds obtained, the 

 specimens killed were loaded with fat — scarcely surpassed in this respect by some 

 Sandpiper in autumn.f Capt. B. F. Goss has a set of three eggs of this species, 

 taken May 17, 1882, near Crockers, California. The nest cavity was in a small rotten 

 stub, thirteen feet from the ground. The eggs are pure crystalline white, exhibiting 

 the following sizes: .96x.75, .98x.74, .98x.77. Set No. 253 (oological collection of 

 Walter E. Bryant), consisting of four eggs, was taken at Blue Canon, Cal., by C. A. 

 Allen, May 27, 1879. The nest was in an excavation of a pine stump, five feet from the 

 ground. The eggs measure respectively 23x17.5, 23.5x18.5, 24x18, 24x18.5 mm.J 

 Set No. 815 in Mr. Bryant's collection was taken at Big Trees, Cal., by Chas W. Knox. 

 This set contains five eggs; they were taken from a hole in a dead pine stump, eight 

 feet from the ground. Their sizes are: 25x19, 23.5x18.5, 25x19, 24x19, 24x19.5 mm.§ 



• Bull. No. 2. Rldgway Ornithological Club, April, 1887: Chicago, 111., pp. 78-81. 



t Auk, V, p. 253. 



t .91X.69, .93X.73, .94X.71, i94x.73. 



S .98X.75, .93X.73, .98X.75, .94x.75, .94X.77. 



