260 
They are among the most silent of the tribe, not only in respect to their notes, bnt in 
their manner of procuring food, the most of this being obtained from the crevices of 
the bark rather than dug out with the noisy hammerings characteristic of many of 
the family. No other of the tribe is so constant a resident of the conifers as this. It appears 
to live in them exclusively, and if it ever descends into the lower regions and frequents 
the deciduous timber it must be only in the depths of winter. 
No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Hate. 
Collector. 
488 
9 ad. 
cf ad. 
Near Mount Whitnev. Cal... 
Sept. 19 
Oct. 11 
H. TV. Henshaw. 
560 
.do. 
Do. 
117. Hylotomus pileatus, (Linn.).—Pileated Woodpecker. 
Picuspileatus, Linnteus, Syst. Nat., i, 1766, 173. 
Dry copus pileatus, Woodh., Sitgreave’s Exp. Zuni & Col. Riv., 1854, 90 (Indian Territory, Texas, 
New Mexico.) 
Hylotomus pileatus , Bd., B. N. A., 1858,107.—Coop. & Suckl., P. R. R. Rep., vol. xii, pt. ii, I860,161.— 
Coop., B. Cal., i, 1870, 396.—Coues, Key N.A. B , 1872,192.—Bd., B., & R., N. A. B.,ii, 1874,550.— 
Nelson, Proc. Boat. Soc. Nat. Ilist, vol. xvii, 1875, 362 (California).—Bendire, Proc. Bost 
Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. xviii, 1875, 160 (Camp Harney, Oregon). 
This “Log Cock” is found in the Sierras as far south as latitude 37°, where I saw 
two individuals in October. It is not unlikely that the heavily-timbered districts may 
give this bird shelter throughout the extent of the Sierras. It was found near Nevada 
City by Mr. Nelson, but is more numerous farther north, becoming abundant, accord¬ 
ing to Dr. Cooper, near the Columbia. 
118. Melanerpes torquatus, (Wils.).—Lewis’s Woodpecker. 
I did not see this species till reaching Fort Tejou, in August. It was here, and at 
other places in the Sierras, common in certain localities. In summer, it seems to pre¬ 
fer the pineries of the mountains, but in fall descends, and then inhabits the oak-groves 
in common with the next species, without, however, mingling with them. 
In habits, the species is somewhat anomalous among its relatives. Like the Cali¬ 
fornian, it is rarely found alone, but associates in bands of many individuals, the gath¬ 
ering taking place as soon as the young are well on the wing. In the late fall, these 
companies appear to be pretty nearly stationary, not roving over the country at large, 
but remaining in some favorable spot where food is plenty. Here they may always be 
found either at play, chasing each other in and out the branches, or industriously 
hunting for insects. These are obtained with the expenditure of very little labor in 
digging, as they prefer to take them from the accessible crevices in the bark or even 
to capture them on the wing. Berries, too, when they can be had, form a part of their 
varied diet. Their peculiar manner of circling about the tree-tops in wavering circles 
is well known, and is one of the most noticeable characteristics of its appearance. 
They are endowed by nature with a shy, suspicious disposition, and always regard the 
appearance of man with distrust. 
No. 
Sex. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Collector. 
374 
cf inn. 
cf jun. 
cf ad. 
cf ad. 
Fort Tejon, Cal. 
A U2, 17 
H. W. Hensliaw. 
418 
Walker’s Basin, Cal. 
Aug. 27 
A U2 27 
Do. 
419 
.do.. 
Do. 
717 
.do. 
Nov. 11 
Do. 
119. Melanerpes formicivorus, (Swains.).—Californian Woodpecker. 
The habitat of this Woodpecker, in California as in Arizona, seems to be determined 
by the range of the oaks; the presence or absence of these trees, their abundance or 
scarcity, affording a pretty sure index of the numbers of this bird. In California, they 
are certainly the most abundant of the tribe, as they also are in Arizona in the sections 
they inhabit. 
The social instinct is developed in them to a degree equaled in no other species, and 
they are almost never found other than in large communities, while as often as other¬ 
wise they take up their residence in the oaks that overspread the farmers’ dwelling. 
Their most curious trait is seen in their habit, shared by no other Woodpecker, of stor¬ 
ing up a supply of acorns in holes drilled for that purpose in the trunks of trees, a 
custom which seems to admit of no adequate explanation. They were most industri¬ 
ously at this work at Fort Tejon the last of August, and during the day this seemed to 
keep them busy pretty nearly all the time. Judging from their cries and earnest man- 
