The Gila Woodpecker 



and sometimes, we fear, by downright theft. A nesting cavity in the soft 

 bosom of one of these monumental cactuses is not a difficult thing to 

 prepare; but it is a rather dirty job, and the delving bird gets his snuff- 

 brown foreparts sadly smeared and stained with the slithery sahuaro 

 juice. The excavation, moreover, requires a year in which to cure, that 

 the surface of the cavity may develop a weathered shell which will be 

 even measurably resistant to the percolating juices. In this cavity, then, 

 the parent woodpeckers rear a first brood of young in April. In May or 

 early June they are more apt to repair to the wooded bottoms, where 

 covering foliage has now developed, to excavate a fresh nest for immediate 

 occupancy, in willow, Cottonwood, or mesquite. 



In the meantime, the chief business of the Uropygian day is to spy 

 upon neighbors, to squabble, to chatter, to shriek and chase, and in 

 general to constitute themselves a neighborhood nuisance. In the latter 

 function is included a systematic search for birds' eggs, especially those 

 of the Lucy Warbler, Yellow Warbler, and Arizona Least Vireo. In case 

 of the first-named, the eggs are devoured in spite of the most emphatic 

 protests of the tiny parents; but eggs of Cardinal, Cooper Tanager and 

 Towhee must be obtained by stealth. In the utter absence of jays upon 

 our Lower Sonoran levels, the Gila Woodpeckers appear to enjoy an 

 undisputed field. My son once saw a Gila enter, in the absence of the 

 owner, the nest of a Gilded Flicker which contained eggs, — enter and 

 remain for some minutes. Yet in this instance no material harm resulted. 

 The bird was just taking notes upon her neighbor's menage. 



Curiously enough, the home life of these feathered burglars is prac- 

 tically ideal. The devotion of the male, especially to the eggs and young, 

 is fairly pathetic. Supposing it to contain a full set of eggs, I once chopped 

 out a hole in a mesquite tree, after having first thrust in a handkerchief 

 to arrest falling chips. Upon removal of the cloth a male Gila was dis- 

 closed. He had abundant opportunity to escape — in fact, was urged to 

 do so; yet he preferred to remain and to strike savagely at the encouraging 

 finger. Judge of my surprise when, upon forcing him off from below, I 

 found two perfectly fresh eggs — an incomplete set ! 



The young are hatched mother-naked, and, since they have no need 

 of clothes for decency's sake nor yet for warmth, long remain so, the 

 scandal of creation when dragged forth to light. When this disenchanting 

 operation is attempted, the parents dance close attendance and pour out 

 a flood of petitions — as though they had not themselves refused a dozen 

 prayers that very day! Ah, me! consistency! — oh, well, you understand; 

 we put the youngsters back. 



We have only time left to take a drink with the Gila. Drink, Old 

 Top, and forget old scores! I sat at an encouraging but observant dis- 



1036 



DSI 



