Two members of the woodpecker family closely associated with the saguaro cactus are the GILA WOODPECKER and GILDED FLICKER. Called carpenter birds because they drill nest holes or pockets in the saguaro stems, both species are of particular interest because of their limited range and specialized habitat. Two other desert birds, sufficiently similar to be confused, are the red, black-faced CARDINAL and the gray-and-red PYRRHULOXIA, both of which have crests. Look for these species in the shrubs along washes. Several kinds of doves are found in the desert, including the common MOURNING DOVE and the WHITE-WINGED DOVE. Mourning doves are all-year residents, while the large white-wings drift in from Mexico in May, remaining long enough to raise families and join other animals in harvesting fruits of the saguaro. [Illustration: The gilded flicker drills its nest hole in the saguaro.] Seen and heard in the desert all year, the canary-voiced HOUSE FINCH raises its family among cholla and mesquite thickets. The tinkling song of the ROCK WREN is a familiar sound in the desert in winter. These gray ground dwellers go farther north or to higher elevations to nest. The PHAINOPEPLA is one of the most noticeable of the desert birds because of its silky crest, glossy black plumage, and habit of perching on the topmost branch of a tree while indulging in flutelike song. A permanent resident of the monument, subsisting on mistletoe berries and other vegetable matter in winter, it has a diet of insects, principally ants, during the rest of the year. Flycatchers are especially abundant and conspicuous during spring and early summer when the blossoms of trees, shrubs, and the larger cactuses attract swarms of insects. Among these birds are SAY’S PHOEBE and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER. The LESSER NIGHTHAWK lives on a diet of insects, which it catches while on the wing. It is especially noticeable from May to September as it skims the tops of the tallest saguaros in the dusk of evening. The lesser nighthawk also ranges up to the oak woodlands. [Illustration: The white-winged dove’s interest in the saguaro is in the nectar and fruit.]