Page:Condor17(4).djvu/9

July, 1915 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS OF SPRING CANYON, COLORADO 151 Dendroica aestiva aestiva. Yellow Warbler. One of the common warblers. Ar- rives May 8; breeds (June 1). Oendroica auduboni auduboni. Audubon Warbler. The commonest warbler .during migration. Arrives April 17. Seluru$ noveboracen$i$ norabills. Grinnell Water-thrush. One specimen in the college museum, taken in the 'canyon. Oporornl$ tolrniei. Macglllivray Warbler. One of the common warblers of the can- yon. We have no record of its breeding. Geothlypi$ tricha$ occidentalis. Western Yellow-throat. Abundant. Icterla vlrert$ Ion[licauda. Long-tailed Chat. Not uncommon. We have no data on its spring arrival. Berry found it nesting, but failed to record the date. Wil$ortia pusIlia plleolata. Pfieolated Warbler. Common in migration. Setophaga rutloilla. RedstarL Not uncommon. Mlmu$ polyglotto$ leucopteru$. Western Mockingbird. Not uncommon; arrives May 9. No doubt breeds, but we have no record of it. Oumetella carolinen$i$. Catbird. Common. Arrives May 13; breeds (June 22). Toxostoma rufum. Brown Thrasher. Common. Arrives May 13; breeds (June 19). Salplncte$ ob$oletu$ ob$oletu$. Rock Wren. Common on the rocky walls of the canyon. A full set of eggs was taken from a hole in a sandstone ledge, June 7. Hylocichla fu$ce$cen$ $aliclcola. Willow Thrush. Rare. Only one record, a mounted specimen in the college museum, taken at the canyon in 1902. Hylocichla ustulata $wain$oni. Olive-backed Thrush. Common in migration. P[anesticu$ rnlgratoriu$ propinquu$. Western Robin. Common. Arrives March $; breeds (May 28). Sialia currucolde$. Mountain Bluebird. Arrives February 25; breeds (June 16). (?'olorado Agricultural College, May 1, 1915. WOODPECKS, RS OF THE ARIZONA LOWLANDS By M. FRENCH GILMAN WITH TEN PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR HE TERRITORY covered by these notes is a strip of country about three miles wide, on each side of the Gila River, extending from Blackwater at the east, to Casa Bianca and Snaketown on the west. Except for species peculiarly adapted to life on the desert, the country is anything but a wood- pecker's paradise. Mesquite and ironwood, comprising the bulk of the timber, probably make hard pecking, and except along the river bottoms there is not much growth suitable for the birds. Of the eight species of woodpeckers to be mentioned, only two can be called abundant, but these two make up for the lack of numbers of the others. The Cactus Woodpecker (Dryobates scalaris cactophilus) may be seen in limited numbers at all times of the year. It is seemingly at home in any loca- tion, in the open country working on the various species of cactus (Opuntia); in dense mesquite and screw-beau thickets; or in cottonwood and willow groves. The nest holes are made in any suitable tree or shrub, and average about 1.55 inches in diameter, with depth of six to eight inches. I have seen the nests in mesquite, screw-bean, ironwood, cottonwood, willow, palo verde, and cholla cactus (Opuntia fulgida). They may nest in the giant cactus also, but I have neveP found them there. The height of the nest varies from two feet to twenty or more, and the holes are excavated in dead or dying wood, though occasionally part of the hole may extend into green wood.