286 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



well out from the north shore of Lake Erie, is another favorite crossing 

 place; here, according to L. L. Snyder (1931), "the flight observed by 

 Mr. James Savage on September 30, 1930, was very remarkable, indi- 

 viduals estimated to be from one to two hundred yards apart, form- 

 ing a scattered and straggling flock, passed in an almost steady stream 

 throughout the morning hours." 

 Mr. Burns (1903) writes: 



In south New Jersey, in the region of the Upper Delaware Bay. which runs 

 due south, some time in October of every year the migrating Flicliers are found 

 flying north just previous to and during a northwest storm. At this time the 

 wind is generally high and the birds fly against it. This peculiarity of flight 

 affects a large territory extending inland from the east shore of the bay some 

 fifteen or twenty miles. While the birds prefer to breast a wind, it is also prob- 

 able that they are reluctant to cross the lower part of the bay during such a storm 

 which would tend to drive them seaward, rather preferring to return northwad 

 to the more narrow river where they could cross in comparative safety. 



Winter. — ^Winter finds most of the flickers gone from the northern 

 States and southern Canada. Most of the birds wintering in New 

 England seek the milder climate of the seacoast, where they feed in 

 the extensive bayberry patches and on the semidormant insect life in 

 the rows of drift seaweed along the beaches. The few that remain in- 

 land during mild winters are usually to be found in sheltered hollows 

 or along the sunny sides of the woods, feeding on the ground or on 

 what berries and dry fruits still remain on the bushes, often in com- 

 pany with merry little winter parties of j uncos, tree sparrows, chicka- 

 dees, nuthatches, and perhaps a downy or hairy woodpecker. Favor- 

 ite resorts at that season are the southern slopes of the hills overgrown 

 with thick stands of red cedars, mixed with staghorn sumacs, barber- 

 ries, and other berry-bearing bushes. They probably seek shelter at 

 night in the dense cedar swamps or in the holes excavated for that 

 purpose in icehouses or other buildings, or in hollow trees. 



L. H. Walkinshaw, of Battle Creek, Mich., writes to me that there, 

 "in deep winter, flickers can be found in the deep tamarack swamps, 

 coming to the edge during periods of the day. They often flush, even 

 when snow is deep, from mounds on the ground or from dead or dying 

 stubs along the border." 



O. A. Stevens says in his notes : "At my farm home in Kansas, the 

 flickers caused some annoyance by seeking entrance to the barn for 

 winter nights. They enlarged other openings for this purpose and 

 sometimes started openings which would not lead them inside. One 

 bird at least, enlarged the opening about the hayfork track and 

 roosted on the iron track just inside the door." 



Dr. Paul L. Errington (1936) writes an interesting story on the 

 winter-killing of flickers in central Iowa. By a careful study of the 

 droppings of the three birds that he studied, it appeared that they were 

 much weakened by improper food, too large a proportion of indigest- 



