Page:Condor17(4).djvu/18

 160 THE CONDOR Vol. XVII date I have recorded being September 4th. Most of the birds leave for their breeding grounds about the first of April, though I have recorded them as late as April 15. They sometimes join the Gila Woodpeckers in feeding on the stored corn on the roofs of the Indian homes. Mearns Gilded Flicker (Colaptes chrysoides mearnsi) is abundant through- out this region, and is found in cottonwood and willow groves as well as wher- ever the giant cactus grows; The giant cactus is to this Flicker and the Gila Woodpecker, what the bamboo is to the inhabitants of some of the eastern islands. The cactus could get along without the flickers, though it probably would not feel properly ventilated without a few nest holes, and it would not look at all natural without them. The cactus furnishes the birds with home, shelter, food and possibly drink. They roost in the holes and seek them as re- treat from rain storms. More than once when driving through a heavy rain have I seen a flicker's head thrust from a hole in an inquiring way as though to say "look who's here". The Gilded Flickers are much quieter than the Gilas, and are not so much in evidence around homes, though they do not appear to be very timid. They are simply less sociable I presume. They resort regularly to the Indian corn- cribs and are seen in corn fields though I have never noticed them actually engaged on an ear of green corn as I have the Gilas. They probably attack the green corn but are quiet about the work instead of advertising their pres- ence. They eat largely of the cactus fruit and possibly of the pulp at certain lean seasons. They are very fond of watermelon, and eat freely of it when it is placed on bird tables or on the ground in shade of tree or shed. They ap- pear to feed frequently on the ground in the way the Red-shafted does, and are probably after ants most of the time. I have seen them at work on an ant hill and even pecking into the ground after the insects. When melon is placed both on the tables and on the ground, they resort more often to that on the ground while the Gilas prefer the tables. However, I have never seen the flick- ers drink from the pool of water provided, though the Gilas occasionally do. They are peaceable and impress me as being eminently practical and mat- ter of fact. Each one minds his own business and seems willing to live and let live. They do not assemble in numbers as the Gilas do sometimes, but are solitary or in pairs. They have the same habit of pecking the walls of build- ings as have the led-shafted Flickers, and one has worked spasmodically at the shingled gable of the school house here for the past three years. I take it to be the same individual, for he is rather tame and roosts each night above one of the window casings. A few times I have seen a Gila Woodpecker at work at the same point in the wall but usually his time is put in on a telephone pole in the yard. The notes of this flicker are quite similar to those of the Red- shafted, but not so frequent nor quite so loud. The nests are found in giant cactus, cottonwood and willow, and in that order as to frequency, the giant cactus leading. Nests are in the giant cactus or Saguaro as it is called, far from water, and in cottonwood and willow along the river, on banks of the canals, or even standing in stagnant water pools. Of twenty-seven nests examined, containing eggs or young, twenty-one were in the Saguaro, four in willow, and two in cottonwood. Others were seen in cot- tonwood but too difficult of access, and many in the cactus were out of reach. If careful count were made I believe about ninety per cent would be found in the cactus. Nests in cottonwood and willow ranged from five to twenty-five