116 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



shading to deep rose color on flanks and belly, face dark crim- 

 son; collarlight gray. Young, — same without collar orcrimsori face- 



NEST AND EGGS. 



Usually excavated close to the top of a tall stub of pine or 

 fir, often one hundred feet from the ground ; of large size- Eggs 

 6-7, white. 



HABITS. 



This bird is very local in its distribution, being very abundant, 

 even commoner than the Flicker in certain localities, while in 

 others, near by, it is never met with. It is a striking object 

 wherever seen from its large size and the contrast between its 

 greenish back and crimson belly, and also because it is not in 

 the least shy, but flies about a great deal in the open woods or 

 perches boldly in dead trees or on top of the stub which it has 

 chosen for a nest. The first one I saw was feeding young in 

 the nest, which was placed close under the top of a yellow pine 

 stub not more than twenty feet from the ground. Both parents 

 were very busy, having part of their large family scattered in 

 tall trees near by, while one, more backward, remained in the 

 nest. This one kept calling in a squealing tone, while the parents 

 answered with a two syllable cry, which sounded like "chut, chut." 

 Neither this call nor the ordinary rattling note is as loud as one 

 would expect from the size and bold nature of the bird. 



One curious habit I noticed in this pair, as well as in others, 

 which may account for their excavating their nest by preference 

 so near the top of a broken stub. When arriving with food they 

 would always alight on the top, which they used as a sort of 

 table, preparing the mouthful they had brought and returning to 

 it several times to get bits of a convenient size for their young. 

 In another nest, where I saw the last young one of a brood 

 venture out of the nest for the first time, after creeping about 

 and trying his wings from one brauch to another, he went up to 

 this table and foraged for himself, seeming to take much satis- 

 faction in gathering up the crumbs. After about an hour, during 

 which time he watched the broad, sweeping flight of his parents 

 through the air, and tried in vain to attempt to attract their 

 attention he launched out and joined the rest of the family in a 

 sustained and level flight of at least a hundred yards. I noticed 

 that he moved his wings more rapidly and constantly than the 

 old birds and did not close them entirely at any time as they 

 did, nor make sudden turns after the almost swallow-like manner 



