The Audubon Societies 



373 



Lead the class to discover the difference between the male and the female. Mr. 

 Flicker has a moustache. Madame Flicker, of course, has not. If all of the colors of 

 the plumage were not seen on the trip, they should be noted now. 



Compare the arrangement of the toes with that of the Robin. The Flicker has two 

 toes in front and two behind, the Robin has three in front and one behind. Who remem- 

 bers something the Woodpecker was doing that it could not have done as well if its 

 toes had been arranged like the Robin's? (Clinging to the side of the tree.) What was 

 the position of its tail when it was clinging to the trunk? (It was bent under against the 

 tree.) Look closely at the tail and tell how it differs from the Robin's tail. (It has sharp- 

 pointed, stiff feathers.) What use does the Flicker make of such a tail? (Helps hold 

 itself on the trunk.) We call this kind of tail a prop. Tell the different ways in which the 

 Woodpecker is fitted to cling to tree trunks. (The toes are arranged like ice-tongs for 

 nipping, and the bird braces itself with its tail.) Why does the Flicker want to cling to 

 the side of the tree? (To excavate for grubs, or to build a home.) What tool does the 



Fig. 



FEMALE FLICKER, REDHEADED AND HAIRY WOODPECKERS MALE FLICKER 



Flicker use for this work? (The bill.) In what way is its bill a good instrument for this 

 work? (Sharp-pointed, stout and hard.) 



The teacher may now tell the class the following story, using material such as is 

 shown in Fig. i to illustrate the point. Yesterday, we found places in the apple tree 

 where Dr. Woodpecker had performed a surgical operation. (Open the sticks, which 

 have been split.) Inside of this tree were 'worm tracks' such as are seen here. Worms 

 did not make these borings, but young beetles called grubs. They correspond to the 

 <:aterpillar stage of the butterfly. Dr. Woodpecker came along and saw where Mr. 

 Grub had broken entrance and decided that here was a good meal. Now he did not 

 start to get baby beetle by boring in at the place where the grub entered, as perhaps you 

 and I would do. He held his head close to the trunk and listened. The hard, dry wood 

 is a good telephone, and he heard the grub clicking away as he was digging his tunnel. 

 Dr. Woodpecker, after his diagnosis, determined the nearest way to the worm and 

 began to drill. How could he get the worm out after drilling the hole? He has just the 

 right kind of an instrument for such work, his tongue. He thrust his tongue through the 

 white grub, drew him out and ate him. His tongue is covered with a sticky substance 

 which enables him to catch ants. Three thousand ants have been found in the stomach 

 of one Flicker. 



The Flicker is a carpenter, as well as a doctor. I am going to tell you how he builds 



