THE YELLOW-SHAFTED FLICKER. 445 



No. 177. 



YELLOW-SHAFTED FLICKER. 



A. O. U. No. 412 a. Colaptes auratiis liiteiis Bangs. 



Synonyms. — Flicker. Northern Flicker. Golden-winged Wood- 

 pecker. Yellow-h.\mmer. High-hole. High-holder. Pigeon Woodpecker. 

 Wake-up. 



Description. — .Idiilt iiialc: Top of head and cervix ashy gray, with a vina- 

 ceous tinge on forehead ; a bright scarlet band on the back of the neck : back, scapu- 

 lars, and wings vinaceoiis gray with conspicuous black bars, brace-shaped, cres- 

 centic or various ; primaries plain dusky on exposed webs ; lining of the wing and 

 shafts of the wing-quills yellow; rump broadly white; upper tail-coverts white, 

 black-barred in broad, "herring-bone" pattern ; tail double-pointed, black, and 

 with black shafts on exposed upi)er surface; feathers sharply acuminate; tail 

 below, golden-yellow and with yellow shafts, save on black tips ; chin, sides of 

 head, and throat vinaceous, enclosing two broad, black, malar stripes, or mous- 

 taches ; a broad, black, pectoral crescent ; remaining underparts white with heavy 

 vinaceous shading on breast and sides, everywhere marked with sharply defined 

 and handsome round, or cordate, spots of black. Bill and feet dark plumbeous. 

 Adult female: Similar, but without black moustache. Sexes about equal in size. 

 Length 12.00-12.75 (304.8-323.9) ; av. of thirteen specimens: wing 6.13 ( 155.7) ; 

 tail 4.34 (110.2) ; bill' 1.34 (34). 



Recognition Marks. — Size not comparable to that of any better known bird ; 

 scarlet nuchal band; yellow "flickerings" in flight; pectoral crescent; white rump; 

 black-spotted breast, etc. 



Nesting. — Does not breed in Washington. Nest: an excavation in a tree or 

 stump, usuallv made by the l)ird. at moderate heights; unlined. save bv chips. 

 Ei/i/s: 4-10, usually 7 or 8, glossy white. Av. size, 1. 09 x. 85 (27.7x21.6). 



General Range. — Northern and eastern North America, west to tiie eastern 

 slo])e of the Rocky Mountains and Alaska. (Occasional on the Pacific slope from 

 California northward. Accidental in Europe. 



Range in Washington. — Casual during migrations — a straggler from Alaska. 



Authorities. — Dawson, Auk, Vol. XX\'., Oct. 1908, p. 484. 



Specimens. — Prov. E. 



THE true Yellow-shafted Ficker, the familiar bird of the Eastern States, 

 is occasionalh" taken as a straggler during the fall migrations. Mr. D. E. 

 Brown took a txpical specimen at Glacier, in 1904, and Mr. \^ictor Savings, of 

 Blaine, has shot one and seen se\-eral others. A specimen in Mr. Rathbiui's 

 collection was taken by Mr. Matt. H. Gormley, on Orcas Island, October 15, 

 1903. The bird is a male and is typical save for the faintest possible tinge 

 of salmon in the yellow, which marks him as a border-line specimen, pn)bably 

 a British Columl)ian l)inl whicli did not deflect eastward sufficiently in the 

 atitumn retreat. 



