Jans, 1921 ACORN-STORING BY THE CALIFORNIA WOODPECKER 13 
1920, had now gone so far that many of the meats were thoroughly black. And 
hesides, they now showed other clear evidences of deterioration. For one 
thing, they were more brittle than before. That they were well on the road to 
disintegration was clear. If not already beyond serviceability as woodpecker 
food, they surely soon would be if left unused. But with the new crop at hand 
and upon which the birds were already feeding, why should these old decay- 
ing nuts be eaten? Here was a store of several thousand acorns (6,000, say, 1 
tree A alone—see estimate on previous page) destined to great if not complete 
loss. For even if consumed at once the old nuts could be of small food value 
as compared with the new ones. ehh 
A fortunate circumstance made possible an observation at this time which 
is probably significant as bearing on the spoiling of the acorns. A hard rain, 
which had been in progress all the night before, was falling while I was exam- 
ining these particular trees. As a result of the downpour the acorns were 
thoroughly wet, the old ones especially being in a genuinely ‘‘water-logged 
condition. Such soakings of the acorns as this must hasten their deteriora- 
tion, especially since they are badly circumstanced for drying out. 
I was considerably surprised this time by noticing that many of the newly 
stored acorns were protruding from the holes—not infrequently as much as a 
quarter or even a half inch. Although my attention had not before been drawn 
to the point, I am quite certain that I have never before seen acorns so much 
exposed. Indeed, as a rule, they are, as previously mentioned, more likely to 
be sunk below the surface of the bark than to project above it. 
The point is significant as bearing on the exposure of the nuts to the depre- 
dations of squirrels and rats. Hundreds of the nuts of this year’s harvest pro- 
jected enough from the holes to make them easy plunder for the rodents; 
whereas as previously pointed out, when the nuts are counter-sunk, it is no 
simple thing for the marauders to get at them. Query: Is it possible that the 
absence of nuts projecting from the holes, as the rule is, is due to the fact that 
those left projecting when the new crop is garnered are soon taken by the rob- 
bers? Only much more observation than we now have on the actual perform- 
ances of both woodpeckers and rodents, can answer this question. In the 
meantime what we can say with certainty is that many acorns are so stored 
as to be easily accessible to rodents*. 
SUMMARY 
Our observations and reflections on acorn storing by the California Wood- 
peckers in the Cuyamaca region, having now been presented as a running nar- 
rative, the main results may profitably be summed up in a few brief statements. 
1. The storing habit of this woodpecker is an important element in the 
bird’s solution of its food problem, both the grubs contained in many of the 
acorns and the meats of sound acorns being utilized as food. 
2. There are indications that grubs are the chief objects of consideration 
and are eaten first after the new crop is garnered, while the meats of sound 
*Mr. Frank Stephens (California Mammals, p. 88) mentions that although the An- 
thony Gray Squirrel does not hibernate neither does it seem to ‘‘store up much food for 
winter use’. Can it be that pillage of acorns stored by the California Woodpecker is a 
real factor in enabling this squirrel to live without either hibernating or food storing? 
The question certainly deserves looking into carefully. 
: Since the. above was written the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology has received a 
piece of trunk of Q. douglasii (fig. 1) from near Gilroy, Santa Clara County, California, 
in which acorns of the same oak are stored, many of which protrude as did those de- 
scribed above. This specimen was taken in October, 1920, and as the acorns are of this 
year’s crop, not much time could have elapsed in which they could have been preyed upon 
by other animals. However, gray squirrels are said not to inhabit this locality. Conse- 
quently the nuts would not be in danger from this animal at least. 
