Nelson. ] 362 [ January 20, 



PICID^J. 



48. Hylotomus pileatus Baird. Pileated Woodpecker. 

 Not common; shot one specimen, a male, in a heavy pine wood. Its 

 note resembled that of the California gray squirrel (Sciurus fossor) 

 which I supposed it was until it began hammering on a dead limb, 

 making a noise like the strokes of an ax, but more rapid. This 

 specimen is much smaller than specimens from Illinois. 



49. Picus albolarvatus Baird. White-headed Woodpecker. 

 Common in thick pine forests until the last of November. Never 

 saw one of these birds on a hard-wood tree. They commence at the 

 base of a tall pine and gradually work up to the very tip, searching 

 carefully every crevice, then flying to the base of another tree to 

 begin again their search in the same manner. They are unsuspic- 

 ious, often alighting within a few feet of me while I was watching 

 them. They uttered only one note, which is like that of the Downy 

 Woodpecker. They do not seem to depend on pecking for their food 

 as much as Nuttall's and Gairdner's Woodpeckers do, but look for it 

 in the crevices of the bark. 



50. Picus sealaris var. Nuttalli Coues. Common, fre- 

 quenting oak woods until December.- Habits the same as the Gaird- 

 ner's Woodpecker. 



51. Picus villosus var. Harrisii All. Harris's Woodpecker. 

 Not common ; one pair obtained in oak woods in November. 



52. Picus pubescens var. Gairdneri Coues. Gairdner's 

 Woodpecker. Common until the last of November, frequenting 

 oak woods. Not so abundant about orchards as the eastern form. 



53. Sphyrapicus ruber Baird. Red-breasted Woodpecker. 

 First seen in October, after which date they were very abundant. 

 Moulted during October and November. Most abundant where the 

 large trees had been cut down and the young pines were thirty to 

 forty feet high. 



54. Melanerpes formicivorus Bonap. California Wood- 

 pecker. Very common. One of the most abundant birds until the 

 last of November. Found almost exclusively on oak trees. I do not 

 think that I ever saw one on a pine tree. I have counted nine on 

 one oak playing and running around the trunk like the Red-headed 

 Woodpecker, M. erythrocephalus. 



55. Asyndesmus torquatus Coues. Lewis's Woodpecker. 

 First met with the middle of October ; after this time they were 



