Birds of Oregon and WasJiijigton 53 



this prying creature, which hammers so often 

 and so vigorously against tree or house. And 

 as his eastern cousin is sometimes called the 

 " Yellow-shafted " Woodpecker, we may call this 

 the '' Red-shafted Woodpecker." 



Notice his loud call, salute or signal, from 

 some high perch : "■ Kee-yer, kee-yer." In spring 

 and sometimes at other seasons, his *' Wick, 

 wick, wick, wick," rapidly repeated, may be often 

 heard ; and his soft affectionate " Whee-hew, 

 whee-hew, whee-hew " during courtship or in 

 friendly company. This bird is beautiful in 

 color, in form, and in movement, whether the 

 movement be on the wing, in undulating flight, 

 or while searching the bark of a tree for grubs 

 or ants. It is a question how far our objections 

 to this splendid bird's noise about our houses, 

 and forcible entrance into them, might be re- 

 moved, if we came to love him as we do the 

 domestic pets, whose pother and destructiveness 

 we put up with. The Flicker nests in holes in 

 trees, which he makes with his strong bill. 



Particular Uescrh'tion. — Male and female: 

 Head and neck, gray (Anthony says, " rarely with red 

 crescent across back of neck ") ; back, grayish-brown 



