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A BROOD OF FLICKERS AND HOW THEY WERE FED. 



By A. G. Kingston. 



In an article under the above title published in The Auk for July 

 last Mr. Wm. Brewster, the well-known ornithologist, of Cambridge, 

 Mass., recounts some highly interesting observations made by him on 

 the breeding and feeding habits of a pair of these woodpeckers. 



The decayed tree in which the nest had been excavated in this 

 instance was accidentally broken off when the nestlings were about a 

 week old, in such a way as to leave them almost entirely uncovered ; 

 and Mr. Brewster, by concealing himself not many feet away, was able 

 to view clearly all the operations of this woodland nursery. His notes 

 are given in minute detail. They show that in this species the young 

 are fed by regurgitation. 



The old bird used to visit the nest to feed the young at intervals of 

 from twenty to sixty minutes. It was seen that no food was carried in 

 the bill and apparently little or none in the mouth or upper throat ; but 

 looking down into the five clamourous and wide-open mouths, the 

 parent would plunge its bill deep into the first, "as if," says the writer, 

 " with the design of piercing its offspring to the vitals," and by a series 

 of quick, convulsive movements, would seem to pump up the food from 

 its own stomach and inject it into that of the young bird. And so with 

 the next nestling and the next, until all were satisfied or the store was 

 exhausted. The prey of the Flicker is known to consist largely of ants, 

 together with such larvae, &c. as inhabit dead wood ; and it is apparent 

 that by swallowing each insect as soon as captured, the bird would be 

 able to collect, and hold securely to the end of the trip, sufficient food 

 to supply the whole or a large portion of the family. 



It is pleasing to learn that in spite of the exposure to the weather 

 through the unroofing of their home, and in spite of the loss of the 

 mother bird, which seems to have been destroyed about the time that 

 Mr. Brewster began his observations, the whole five nestlings were 

 safely reared, at least until able to fly away from sight. 



Opportunities like this for studying the breeding habits of wood- 

 peckers and other birds that breed in holes are rare indeed, but they 

 may occur to any student of bird life. One who is lucky enough to 

 stumble on another such chance should not fail to use diligently both 

 eye and pencil. 



