266 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



and jerk tlieir heads about in a sort of weaving motion, frequently 

 uttering a note that is j)eculiar to this performance, a wick-wp or week- 

 up. The head motion is a series of backward jerks with the bill point- 

 ing up at an angle of perhaps 60° and the head at the same time 

 swinging from side to side. Sometimes a short, low wuck is uttered 

 from time to time during the performance. These bouts occur not 

 only between male and female, but frequently between two males 

 or two females. 



"In April 1934, for more than a week I saw a trio of flickers about 

 my house. Invariably the two females went through courtship antics 

 together, while the male fed on the ground nearby, apparently com- 

 pletely indifferent to them. One of the females was much more active 

 than the other, which usually kept a stiff pose with head drawn in, 

 only occasionally responding with feeble head-waggings. At no time 

 did the active female use any other disf)lay than the head-wagging, 

 and there was never any suggestion of combat or intimidation. 



"A year later, 1935, the flickers near my house behaved differently. 

 In the afternoon of April 24, the two males were singing loudly and 

 frequently in the woods, about an eighth of a mile away and at some 

 distance apart. By singing I mean, of course, the prolonged laughing 

 call of wick-wick-uyick^ etc. Presently they stopped singing, and one 

 flew toward the other, stopping about halfway. Very soon the other 

 joined him, and a long period of posturing and wick-up-mg ensued. 

 Both birds had the black mustaches of the male. The posturing was 

 the regular 'weaving' of the head and the fanning of the tail. The 

 notes, after the first at least, were much subdued in tone. There were 

 frequent intervals of quiet. The birds kept close together most of the 

 time, often with heads only tvvo or three inches apart, or perhaps less. 

 They flitted about frequently, sometimes clinging to the trunk of an 

 oak, sometimes perched on a horizontal branch, and once or twice they 

 alighted on the stems of underbrush. After a long period of postur- 

 ing, they met in a momentary tilt, and presently there was another 

 clash after more posturing, then a third clash, and after that they 

 separated. The same bird was the aggressor in at least two of the 

 clashes. As often in such encounters, the attacked bird stood his 

 ground and the attacker veered off. It was very mild warfare, if it 

 was really serious at all. 



"Two days after the bout of the two males, I saw two females 

 engaged in the dance in one of our pear trees. It lasted only a few 

 minutes, and I heard no notes. Not long after the dance of the two 

 females a prolonged 'sexual flight' took place. It lasted five or ten 

 minutes, as nearly as I could tell, with a few short intervals of resting. 

 I could at no time determine the sexes of the two birds thus engaged, 

 but occasionally a snatch of faint song was heard (wick-ivick-ioick) , 

 and I assume that they were male and female. They flew rather slowly 



