The Gila Woodpecker 
and sometimes, we fear, by downright theft. A nesting cavity in the soft 
bosom of one of these monumental cactuses is not a difficult thing to 
prepare; but it is a rather dirty job, and the delving bird gets his snuff- 
brown foreparts sadly smeared and stained with the slithery sahuaro 
juice. The excavation, moreover, requires a year in which to cure, that 
the surface of the cavity may develop a weathered shell which will be 
even measurably resistant to the percolating juices. In this cavity, then, 
the parent woodpeckers rear a first brood of young in April. In May or 
early June they are more apt to repair to the wooded bottoms, where 
covering foliage has now developed, to excavate a fresh nest for immediate 
occupancy, in willow, cottonwood, or mesquite. 
In the meantime, the chief business of the Uropygian day is to spy 
upon neighbors, to squabble, to chatter, to shriek and chase, and in 
general to constitute themselves a neighborhood nuisance. In the latter 
function is included a systematic search for birds’ eggs, especially those 
of the Lucy Warbler, Yellow Warbler, and Arizona Least Vireo. In case 
of the first-named, the eggs are devoured in spite of the most emphatic 
protests of the tiny parents; but eggs of Cardinal, Cooper Tanager and 
Towhee must be obtained by stealth. In the utter absence of jays upon 
our Lower Sonoran levels, the Gila Woodpeckers appear to enjoy an 
undisputed field. My son once saw a Gila enter, in the absence of the 
owner, the nest of a Gilded Flicker which contained eggs,—enter and 
remain for some minutes. Yet in this instance no material harm resulted. 
The bird was just taking notes upon her neighbor’s menage. 
Curiously enough, the home life of these feathered burglars is prac¬ 
tically ideal. The devotion of the male, especially to the eggs and young, 
is fairly pathetic. Supposing it to contain a full set of eggs, I once chopped 
out a hole in a mesquite tree, after having first thrust in a handkerchief 
to arrest falling chips. Upon removal of the cloth a male Gila was dis¬ 
closed. He had abundant opportunity to escape—in fact, was urged to 
do so; yet he preferred to remain and to strike savagely at the encouraging 
finger. Judge of my surprise when, upon forcing him off from below, I 
found two perfectly fresh eggs—an incomplete set! 
The young are hatched mother-naked, and, since they have no need 
ot clothes for decency’s sake nor yet lor warmth, long remain so, the 
scandal of creation when dragged forth to light. When this disenchanting 
operation is attempted, the parents dance close attendance and pour out 
a flood of petitions-—as though they had not themselves refused a dozen 
prayers that very day! Ah, me! consistency!—oh, well, you understand; 
we put the youngsters back. 
We have only time left to take a drink with the Gila. Drink, Old 
Top, and forget old scores! I sat at an encouraging but observant dis- 
1036 
