388 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
come down into the open pine and oak woods well prepared to enjoy the 
loud, jolly ja-cobj ja-cob, ja-cob , ja-cob that greets you from a sportive 
band of the white-faced Acorn Woodpeckers, as they are well called by 
Doctor Coues. The name fits well, for acorns make up more than half 
Map 17. Mearns Woodpecker 
Shaded areas show breeding and general range 
their total food for the year. As the acorns, if allowed to fall and lie on 
the ground, would be carried off by rodents and other hungry or provi¬ 
dent neighbors, the birds have acquired the remarkable habit of storing 
them away, usually in the dead wood or bark of pines or other convenient 
trees. Circular holes are drilled close together in regular rows till a 
section of bark suggests a pepper box top, and into these holes the acorns 
are wedged so tightly that pilfering jays and squirrels can easily be 
