FLICKER. 253 



It is by no means confined to tlie t'orest, hut is often seen ])eepiuf]f 

 from its hole in a stub l)y the roadside. When ahiihtinic upon a 

 tree, it perches on a bough in the ordinary mannei-, l)eing seldom seen 

 clinging to the trunk like other members of tlu^ family, excej)t when 

 entering its nest. In Southern Ontario it is seen till late in October, 

 but only on one or two occasions have straggleis l)e<'n olisorved 

 during the winter. 



This is at once the most al)undant and widely distributed wood- 

 pecker in Canada. Crossing our southern border, it works its wa}'^ 

 up north, leaving representatives in Manitoba, the North- West and 

 other territories through which it passes, till it finally reaches the 

 shores of the Arctic Sea. In Alaska, Mr. Nelson says of it: "This 

 handsome woodpecker breeds from one side of the Territory to the 

 other, wherever wooded country occurs. It has been sent to the 

 National Museum from the lower Anderson River, and is well 

 known to breed along the entire course of the Yukon, reaching to the 

 mouth of that river. 



"It is a regular summer resident at the head of Norton Bay, and 

 reaches the Arctic on the shore of Kotzebue Sound." 



It is also reported as an accidental visitor in Greenland. 



Albinos of this species are of frequent occurrence. Once when 

 driving north in the township of Beverley, a cream-colored specimen 

 kept ahead of me for half a mile. How beautiful he looked in the 

 rich autumnal sunlight, as with long swoops he passed from tree to 

 tree by the roadside ! I could not but admire him. and that was all 

 I could do, for I was unarmed. 



