297 



Five to eight glossy white eggs are laid, directly upon the 

 bare floor of the house or what few chips happen to remain. 

 For the first week of their lives^ little Flickers are fed by 

 regurgitation, that is, food that has been partly digested 

 by the parent. During the remainder of their stay in the 

 nest, the little birds are fed largely upon ants, spiders and 

 small worms or caterpillars. They are very noisy when they 

 are nearly fledged, and their clamor is appalling when their 

 frequent meals come around, 



I have never been able to make little Flickers pose be- 

 fore the camera so as to secure a respectable picture. They 

 always get into the most awkward and uncomfortable posi 

 tions, and bite and claw one another so that it is almost im- 

 possible to keep any kind of order. Judging from the 

 squealing and confusion that always greets the return of 

 one of their parents to the nest, I doubt if the old birds can 

 make their youngsters behave much better than I have been 

 able to. 



Red-headed Woodpecker. 



This species is one of the most beautiful of woodpeckers. 

 The black, the white, and the red are distributed in such 

 large, clear-cut areas that the bird cannot escape unnoticed 

 when at rest or in flight. As a rule, I believe that birds of 

 this species are rather proud and wish to attract as much at- 

 tention as possible. They have loud, whining voices and, 

 especially during the mating and early nesting season, seem 

 to try to make all the noise they possibly can. 



In many respects, "Red-heads" are just the opposite of 

 Flickers. Flickers are peaceable birds, — never known to 

 start a neighborhood quarrel; but Red-headed Woodpeckers 

 are "bird-brawlers,"— never so happy as when engaged in 

 arguments, or even rough and tumble fights with some 

 neighbor. I am sorry to have to admit, too, that their ad- 

 versaries are seldom guilty of any offense but usually have 

 to protect themselves against the depredations of the Red- 

 heads. 



