July, 1921 STORAGE OF ALMONDS BY THE CALIFORNIA WOODPECKER 121 
the nut was flush with the surface of the bark or even a little countersunk. 
Some few were inserted so as to protrude more or less. Some were inserted 
about a quarter of the length of the nut but very tightly at that. Here and 
there was a nut too small to fill the hole made for it, but the orifice of the 
hole was too small to permit the nut to be easily taken out. There were many 
empty holes and some holes only partly drilled. Many of the acorns had been 
opened and the shells left in the drilled cavities. We did not find any opened 
almonds (except in the one instance noted) although many empty holes were 
found where almonds had been or which had been drilled for almonds. The 
difference between holes drilled for almonds and those drilled for acorns is 
very marked. We could not detect any disposition to drill the holes so that 
they would not hold water. All were about horizontal. Several almonds ii 
the drilled holes looked as if an effort had been made to open them. The open- 
ing of an almond presents no difficulty to a bird that can cut a hole in dried 
oak. 
Of course, acorns must be abundant all about. Mr. Chalmers said there 
were two almond trees on the Thresher ranch and I was told that until this 
spring there had been an almond orchard less than a half mile to the north. 
Oak trees and California Wceodpeckers have existed together for so long 
a time that they may be considered coetaneous. But almonds are not indige- 
nous in California. The habit of storing acorns may have developed very 
eradually, but to whatever extent this bird has acquired a habit of storing 
almonds the development must have been of recent origin. The subject sug- 
gests many interesting possibilities and theories but I do not feel competent 
to go into that phase of the matter. 
A gentleman living at Liveoak told me he had seen almonds stored in 
electric light or telephone poles at Pennington, eight miles east of Liveoak, 
and that he had heard of walnuts being stored in the same manner, but he 
could not give any details about the walnuts. 
Berkeley, California, March 31, 1921. 
THE FLOCK BEHAVIOR OF THE COAST BUSH-TIT 
By R. C. MILLER . 
WITH MAP 
HE STUDY of birds has had a tendency in the past to be extensive rather 
than intensive. The ornithciogist has been engaged with the problems 
of distribution and speciation, of migratory instincts and migration 
routes, of coloration and adaptation, of food and economic importance, all of 
which, while thoroughly justifiable, have involved a generalized consideration 
of a large number of species. Ii has seemed to the writer that much is to be 
gained from a careful study of a single species, or even, as in the ease of this 
paper, of a single aspect of the life history and relations of one species. 
