FOREIGN BIRDS FOR CAGE AND AVIARY. 



many noxious ixisects and their larva;, a great many 

 of ■which aje gleaned from the ground, as it is far more 

 terrestrial in its habits than any other member of this 

 family. Its beak is frequently covered with soil from 

 digging in pastures after grubs and earthworms, and 

 also in ant-hills after these insects or their larvae, of 

 ■which it is especially fond ; it also feeds on hairless 

 caterpiUars. Different kinds of berries and fruit, such 

 as cherries, apples, persimmons, strawberries, mul- 

 berries, raspberries, ■wild grapes, dogwood, whortle, 

 poke, and sour-gum berries, and occasionally green 

 corn, are also eaten by it. The damage it does to culti- 

 vated fruits is ven- trifling, and this bird deserves the 

 fullest protection. 



"In the northern portions of its range nidification 

 begins about a couple of weeks after the birds arrive 

 from the South, and a suitable place is then selected 

 for a nesting site. It orefers open country, interspersed 

 here and there with groves and orchards, to the deeper 

 forests to nest in. It is easily pleased in this respect — 

 any old stump, a partly decayed limb of a tree, near 

 the outskirts of a forest, along the banks of a creek, 

 beside a country road, or in an old orchard, will answer 

 the purpose. A fi-esh cavity is usually excavated every 

 year, but -where suitable trees or stumps are not readily 

 available the same may be occupied for several seasons 

 in succession. In the vicinity of Washington, District 

 of Columbia, these birds nest in the oak, ash, chestnut, 

 elm, maple, poplar, willow, and sycamore ; spruce and 

 bii-ches are also used, but, on the whole, softwood trees 

 seem to be preferred to hard ones. In the Southern 

 States it breeds frequently in pines, and in the prairie 

 States it occasionally selects strange nesting sites. 

 Here it has Ijeen known to chisel through the weather- 

 boarding cf dwelling-houses, barns, and other outbuild- 

 nigs, and to nest in the hollow space between this and 

 the crossbeams ; its nests have also been found in gate- 

 posts where both people and stock pass constantly, in 

 church towers, and in burrows of Kinsfishers and Bank 

 Swallows in the perpendicular banks of streams." 



"Flickers nest occasionally in natural cavities, and 

 at distances from ihs gircran'd varving from 2^ feet to 

 60 feet, 'out mcst'.y betiween W fe€it and 20 feet. Old, 

 roititen situmps and dead or partly decayed trees are 

 preferred to live ones. The enltrance-ihole is usually 

 2i^ inches in diameter, and the inner cavity varies from 

 8 inches to 50 inches in depth. It is 'opadiiary enlarged 

 toward the bctifiom. and a layer of fine chips," on -wh'ch 

 the eggs a,re depo.«iteci. is " allowed to remain. Its 

 flight, altihoaiglh apparently laiborious, is strong and 

 swift, and, like thalt cii a.l] ^^'kx>dlpecke^s. undulaitin« or 

 ivave-Iike. It frequenttly perches on a limb instead of 

 clingmg to it. as do others of ifihe tribe. In tlhe eprirag 

 of the year it also induljes in drumming, but not to 

 the same extent as the majority oif tihis family." 



"Nidification in the southern portions of "its range 

 be'gins ordinarily in the last half of lilao-ch, and in the 

 North from four to fullv six weeks later. Bdth sexes 

 assist in the construition of the nesting site, as well 

 as in inculbaltion. a,nd the miale usually does ihis full 

 share of work at iboth. According to Dr. William L. 

 Ralph's ofcservations in Florida, the male usually sits 

 on the eggs during the night. In the Scwth fresh sets of 

 eggs may be looked for d-uxinig the first Tveek in April, 

 in the vicinity of Wjashingtcn. Distaiict of Columbia, 

 during the firsit half of May, ond in the more -northexn 

 parts of its range, in Alaska and the North-West Terri- 

 tory, aibout the first ten daTO in June." 



" From five to nine eggs are usually laid to a set, 

 mostly six or seven, but considerably larger ones are 

 sometimes found, possibly the product of two fem>ale8 



laying in the same nest ; but the fecundity of this 

 Woodpecker is known to be very great." 



"The eggs of the Flacker are glossy iwhite in colour, 

 and, when fresh, appear as if enamelled ; the shell is 

 very close grained, and exceedingly luetix>us, a.s if 

 polished." "They are quite variaible in shape; the 

 majority are ovate, others short and ellnptical ovate, 

 and a leiw approach subpyriform, while some are nearly 

 perfect ovals. An egg is deposited daily until the set 

 is «x>mpleted, and incubation lasts about fifteen days. 

 This ordinarily does not begin until the set is coim- 

 pldted, but now and then young birds and eggs in dif- 

 ferent stages of advancement are found in the same 

 nest. The young axe able to leave their nest in a,bout 

 sixiteen days; they crawl about on the limbs of the 

 tree for a couple of days before tihey venture to fly, and 

 return to the nest at ni'ght." 



Tliii'S species fh-st reached the London Zoological 

 Gardens in 1864, and suibsequently the Berlin, Amster- 

 dam, and other gardens in fair numibers. Buss observes 

 that it is by no means very rare in the market, but 

 nevertlheless it has (been exiceptional for aviculturists 

 to possess it. Undex the presenit iprotectiTe laws it will 

 be fa.r more exceptional in future. 



SItbiped op. Rated Woodpecker (Cldoronerpes 

 striatus). 



Above greenish yellow, the back and scapulaans 

 broadly barred -with black ; the rump more narrowly 

 Ibarxed ; upper tail-coverts crimson; wings black; the 

 coverts 'barred and spoitted with yellow ; flights with 

 the outer rwebs spotted -with yeUW. the inner Tvebs 

 brownex and spott-ed -with white; tail blackieih, 

 browner, and margined externally with sordid white on 

 outer fea:thers ; nasal pkmies, frontal iband, face, chin, 

 and throat duU ashy, browner Ibeihind ; crown and 

 nape crimson ; a large elongated black pa'tch on side 

 of neck, preceded by a patch of yellowish -iwhite ; Sore- 

 neck and ohcst bix>wn passing into yellciwislh alive on 

 a:bdomen, -which becomes duller on nndex tail-coveirt« ; 

 under fwing-coverts dull buffiish white ; upper mandible 

 black ; lower mandible wihitish horn-grey ; feelt. blue- 

 grey ; irides shiny white. Femaile slightly smaaUeir, 

 duller, and with black crown. Holb., St. Domingo and 

 Haiti Island. 



I have failed to find any account of the Tvild life of 

 this species, but quote the following aocoumt, (by tth© 

 late Dr. Buss, of a pair which he puircihased from L. 

 Riuhe. of Alfeild, near HanOTrex : — " Dnring ItJie days dn 

 which I lodged the highly-interesting birds, the pair 

 pro'\^ed themselves uncommonly pleasing, lovable in 

 their entire behaviour, tame and confiding. I would 

 only too willingly have retained the charming Wood- 

 pecicere in my hands if quite extraordinary circumstanices 

 had not prevented me — ^namely, the incursion of mice 

 into my bird-room. Therefore, the Woodipeckers passed 

 into the possession of an enthusiastic aviculturisit 

 abroad — ^Mr. Darviot. of Beaune, in France. Tihis gen- 

 tleman informed me some time after : ' Tlie Stxiped 

 Woodpeckers are in good health, and have already ibe- 

 corae quite tame. In mv bird-room more than 300 

 different ibinds of birds live togiether. towards which 

 the Woodpeckers s;how themselves neither unsociable 

 nor spiteful. As soon as I enter they fly on ito imy 

 shoulders or arms, climb over my clothes, and in this 

 way I can take a walk with them in the garden. In- 

 deed, if they fly away from me on to a. tree, they will 

 immediately return to me ■when I cill them. I never 

 saw more intelligent birds than these ; they even sur- 

 pass the Parrots in this respect.' " 



.So far as I can discover, this seems to "be the onJy 



