156 THE CONDOR Vol. XX 
little snow on the ground and practically no water in the lake. A search was — 
then made through the aspen grove which in former years had stood in its en- 
tirety in from two to seven or eight feet of water, with the result that Mr. 
Flickinger discovered a fresh hole forty feet up in a live aspen growing 
close to the lake shore. Enough chips lay at the base of the tree to indicate 
that the cavity must be nearly finished. The birds were not in evidence, so the 
nest was examined. It was found to be completed, but contained no eggs. 
Allowing ten days for the birds to lay a complete set, the nest was 
visited again on May 12, by Wells and Flickinger. We had great confidence 
that on this trip we would finally get a set of this prince of woodpeckers. When 
we reached the tree a smart rap on the trunk brought the old bird to the en- 
rance with an anxious expression on her face and we knew this time that we — 
would soon have the eggs. She flew a short distance away and was soon joined 
by her mate. We hid in the brush and waited about thirty minutes, when the 
female returned and entered the nest. We thus felt positive that the nest con- ~— 
tained a full set of eggs, and Wells accordingly strapped on his irons and ~ 
climbed the tree. His exultant shout proclaimed that the eggs were there—a 
set of four fresh glossy eggs. The nest cavity was eighteen inches deep by 
about six in diameter, while the entrance was nearly four inches across. 
The nest was visited again on June 1 by both of us, and to our surprise we 
found that the birds had used the same cavity for a second set of eggs, four in 
number, which were three-quarters incubated. The short time intervening be- 
tween the two sets shows that the birds did not lose any time after their first 
set was lost to them. The locality was again visited on June 30 and we found 
that the birds had finished another cavity about two hundred feet from the 
first tree and apparently the female was brooding a third set. We did not dis- 
turb the bird and hope that she successfully raised her brood. 
Inasmuch as the lake contained no water at this point we made a careful 
search of the upper end of the basin with the result that twenty cavities in all 
were located in various trees in what is usuaily the lake or very close to its 
shores. Most of these eavities were in live aspens. Apparently this pair of 
birds has nested here for a great many years, for although we have carefully 
worked the surrounding country for miles in every direction we have never dis- 
covered other birds or their cavities. Inasmuch as the food supply is abund- 
ant, and hunters rarely visit the region, it is assumed that the species: is simply 
an extremely rare one for this portion of the Sierra Nevada. 
The two sets of eggs are identical in shape, size, and other characters. 
They are small for the bird, being but little larger than eggs of the Red-shafted 
Flicker. In their glossy surface, pyriform shape and hardness of shell they 
are distinctively eggs of the Picidae. The average measurements of the four 
eggs are about 1.29x0.99 inches. 
Oakland, Califorma, February 24, 1919. 
Pink were 
et 
ge gat BB obs 
