WOODPECKERS 
217 
always have a great deal to say, whether it be in a canyon of the 
Guadalupe Mountains in New Mexico, where their chatter interrupts 
the solemn hooting of the band-tailed pigeon, or on the campus of a 
California university, where much is to be learned by silent listeners. 
But their small talk never seems to interfere with their work, and 
the acorn-filled tree trunks and telegraph poles attest their industry. 
Of all our woodpeckers they are the prime storers, and though they 
do not live in a land of snow, ground squirrels infest most of their 
territory and make it important to have secure cupboards. Dr. 
Mearns says their stores are the source of unending quarrels between 
them and their numerous pilfering enemies, and confesses that when 
short of provisions in the mountains he himself has filled his saddle¬ 
bags with acorns from under the bark of a pine. The birds are true to 
their Melanerpes instincts, although they do spend so much of their 
time storing acorns, and vault into the air after insects in regulation 
flycatcher style. 
407a. M. f. bairdi Bidgw. Californian Woodpecker. 
Like M. formicivorus, but with heavier bill and chest band solid black. 
Distribution. — Breeds in Upper Sonoran zone of the Pacific coast region 
from Oregon south to northern Lower California. 
Nest. — 15 to 25 feet from the ground in oaks, sycamores, cottonwoods, 
willows, and telegraph poles. Eggs : usually 4 or 5, white. 
Food. — Acorns during the greater part of the year ; also grasshoppers, 
caterpillars, ants, beetles, flies, small fruits, berries, and green corn. 
Subgenus Asyndesmus. 
Bill combining characters of Colaptes and Melanerpes; wings long, fold¬ 
ing nearly to end of tail; feathers of under parts and nuchal collar bristly. 
408. Melanerpes torquatus (Wils.). Lewis Woodpecker. 
( Adults. — Upper parts iridescent greenish black except for gray collar; 
face dull crimson; throat and chest 
gray changing to soft rose on belly; 
plumage of lower parts harsh and hair¬ 
like. J Young: head without red, neck 
without collar, under parts with less 
red. Length: 10.50-11.50, wing 6.50-6.80, tail 4.40-4.70. 
Distribution. — Breeds in Transition and Upper Sonoran zones from 
Black Hills and eastern slope of Rocky Mountains to Pacific slope; from 
southern parts of British Columbia and Alberta to Arizona; winters in 
southern California and western Texas; casual in western Kansas. 
Nest. — G to 100 feet from the ground, usually high up in tall pines or 
cottonwoods, or in decayed branches or stumps of oaks, sycamores, junipers, 
and willows. Eggs: usually 6 or 7, white. 
Food. — In summer mainly insects, such as grasshoppers, crickets, ants, 
beetles, flies, larvae, acorns, pine seeds, wild berries, and in cultivated 
districts fruit. 
When you reach the mountains on the west-bound Overland, from 
the car windows you recognize with delight the crow-like figure of 
Fig. 283. 
