Acorn Woodpecker, a clown of the oak forest

This bird is common in the mixed oak-pine forests of Southern California mountains. Usually traveling in small groups they noisily announce their arrival. Different than many woodpeckers, their primary reason for drilling holes in dead trees is not looking for insects; it rather to stuff the holes with acorns. Not unusual to find a dead tree with literally thousands of acorns stuffed into holes. Because of this and the inevitable loss of many of these acorns these birds are very important in the spread of the acorn seeds away from the parent tree.
This bird could hear the camera shutter clicking; hence the “stare-down” pose.