COLAPTES CHRYSOIDES BRUNNESCENS Anthony
SAN FERNANDO FLICKER
HABITS
The gilded flicker of middle Baja California, between latitude 28° and latitude 30° N., is a well-marked subspecies. A. W. Anthony (1895b), naming it, characterized it as “differing from C. chrysoides in darker upper parts and slightly smaller size.” He says further: “It would be quite natural to expect specimens of Colaptes from the northern half of Lower California to be more or less intermediate between those of Arizona and Cape St. Lucas. They are, however, further removed from the type form from the Cape than are those from Arizona and northern Mexico, and in the series I have examined the Arizona skins are exactly intermediate in the color of the upper parts between a series from Cape St. Lucas and my skins from San Fernando.”
Ridgway (1914) describes brunnescens as “similar to C. c. chrysoides, but coloration decidedly darker and browner, color of pileum more rufescent (russet, or between russet and mars brown, in typical specimens), immaculate area of rump more restricted (sometimes whole rump spotted with black), wing and tail averaging shorter, and bill longer.”
Mr. Anthony wrote to Major Bendire (1895): “The Gilded Flicker is rather common in the heavy growth of giant cactus, Cereus pringlei, but not adverse to the candlewood forests which cover a large part of the peninsula between latitudes 28° and 30°.” The general habits of this flicker do not seem to differ from those of the species elsewhere.
The eggs of the San Fernando flicker are similar to those of the preceeding subspecies. Griffing Bancroft (1930) gives the average measurements of 24 eggs as 27.1 by 21.3 millimeters. I have the measurements of 5 others, which average 28.9 by 22.1 millimeters.