264 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Florida: 18 records, March 25 to July 18; 9 records, April 16 to 

 May 18, indicating the height of the season. 



Illinois: 22 records, April 30 to May 30; 11 records, May 13 to 21. 

 Michigan : 16 records, April 17 to June 24 ; 8 records, May 12 to 30. 

 New York: 15 records. May 13 to June 15 ; 8 records. May 25 to 29, 



COLAPTES AURATUS LUTEUS Bangs 

 NORTHERN FLICKER 



Plate 36 

 HABITS 



I can remember as clearly as if it were only yesterday my boyish, 

 enthusiastic admiration for this beautiful bird, though it was between 

 50 or 60 years ago that my father first showed me a freshly killed 

 flicker. I was simply entranced with the softly blended browns, the 

 red crescent on the head, the black crescent and bold spotting on the 

 breast, and, above all, with the golden glow in the wings and tail. 

 Few birds combine such charming colors and pleasing contrasts. I 

 have never lost my admiration for it, and still consider it one of 

 nature's gems. 



It, and its close relative, the red-shafted flicker, together are widely 

 distributed over nearly all the wooded regions of North America. 

 Consequently it is widely Imown and over most of its range is a com- 

 mon and familiar species. Its prominence and popularity are attested 

 by the long list of vernacular names by which it is locally known. 

 Franklin L. Burns (1900), in his monograph of the species, lists 123 

 such names ; and later he adds nine more, bringing the list up to 132 

 names. These are far too many to be quoted here, and many of them 

 are "very local or very slight orthographical or cacographical vari- 

 ants." I have always loved our local name "partridge woodpecker," 

 suggestive of my boyhood days, when flickers, meadowlarks, and robins 

 were considered legitimate game. But now the name yellow-shafted 

 flicker seems appropriate to distinguish it from the red-shafted flicker. 



The haunts of the flicker are almost everywhere in open country or 

 lightly wooded regions ; it can hardly be called a forest-loving species, 

 though I have often found it nesting in more or less extensive decidu- 

 ous woods; its favorite haunts during the summer seem to be in the 

 rural districts among the farms, orchards, and scattered woodlots ; it 

 seems to be at home, also, in villages and small towns, and even in some 

 of the smaller cities, where spacious grounds and gardens provide suit- 

 able surroundings. In fall and winter it is more apt to wander about 

 in open woodlands, fields, and meadows or seek shelter in coniferous 

 woods or swamps. 



Spring. — ^Although many flickers remain all winter in the Northern 

 States, there is a decided spring migration of the great bulk of north- 



