J^ott^ from ifielb antr M^^V 



A Bird Battle 



In front of a house in Princeton, N. J., 

 stands an old linden. Several years ago the 

 upper part of the trunk became decayed, 

 leaving a condition that has proved in pre- 

 vious seasons very alluring to Flickers in 

 search of a nesting-place. For some weeks 

 this spring a pair of that species had been 

 busily chiseling a hole into the trunk. The 

 nest was apparently about ready for their 

 brood when a pair of Starlings arrived to dis- 

 pute the possession of it. Birds of the latter 

 species like to lay their eggs in the hollow of 

 a tree, but as nature has not equipped them 

 with an excavating apparatus, they often ap- 

 propriate holes made by other birds. 



When the pair of Starlings arrived for the 

 attack, only the male Flicker was on guard; 

 the female did not put in an appearance at 

 all. The defender would pause in his efforts 

 to enlarge and complete the nest, in order to 

 put to rout first one and then the other of the 

 Starlings, but the latter proved very spry in 

 dodging and very persistent in returning to 

 a branch in the immediate neighborhood, 

 sometimes alighting on the trunk itself, either 

 just above or below the hole. Their manner 

 of sitting near and opening their beaks, as if 

 'making faces' at the defender of the hole, 

 all the while emitting their discordant notes, 

 must have been peculiarly irritating to the 

 Flicker, who would dart after the intruder 

 and pursue him through the air and over 

 branches, but would never quite come up 

 with him. 



In the course of one of these chases, one of 

 the Starlings plunged into the hole. There- 

 upon the Flicker, bracing his feet and tail 

 against the trimk, proceeded by a succession 

 of rapid thrusts of head and beak into the 

 hole to pull the offender out. The Starling 

 at first resisted successfully, but in the end 

 he was slowly dragged out, and, after a short 

 tussle in the air, made his escape. 



Both Starlings then resumed their tactics, 

 as if trying by flight t o lu re the Flicker away 

 from the spot that he was guarding. If that 



(243 



was their game, they succeeded, for, taking 

 advantage of the Flicker's momentary ab- 

 sence, one of the Starlings entered the hole 

 and a few seconds later the other popped in 

 too. On this second occasion, despairing of 

 being able to pull the two out at long range, 

 so to speak, the Flicker also plunged into the 

 hole. Then followed a battle royal, lasting 

 for what seemed minutes. It was rather 

 ghastly to imagine the blows that were being 

 dealt at closest quarters; not a soimd was 

 emitted, but one could imagine what was 

 going on within the hole by the feathers that 

 flew from it. The first bird to emerge — that 

 is, to be pushed out, by fractions of an inch — 

 was one of the Starlings, which then flew 

 away. The fight between the other two 

 birds then continued out of sight until some- 

 thing appeared at the mouth of the hole. 

 This proved to be the tail of the Flicker. 

 When he had backed out of the hole into view 

 once more, it appeared that he and the re- 

 maining Starling had clinched in a desperate 

 grapple. With the latter gripping one of the 

 wings of the Flicker, they fell, fluttering and, 

 fighting, a distance of nearly 40 feet; but 

 just before touching the ground, they parted 

 and flew in different directions. After that, 

 each was apparently too much exhausted or 

 too busy in trying to heal his wounds to 

 renew the battle, and so the shades of night 

 fell, leaving neither side triumphant. 



The above events occurred a fortnight ago. 

 Since then the Starlings have been in full 

 possession of the hole of contention. The 

 Flicker has appeared once or twice in that 

 neighborhood but has not dared or cared to 

 dispute their title. — Sydney Richmond 

 Taber, Princeton, N. J. 



Cardinal and Other Birds 

 at Kellogg, Minn. 



I should like to report a rare visitant for 

 this part of the country. Last Sunday, while 

 I was hiking along a railroad track at the 

 foot of a large hill north of town, I was sur- 



