6 thp: fijckkr. 



Eastern Flicker. West. Its habitat from a western stand- 

 point. 



English Woodpecker. LongLsland; Newfoundland. Prob- 

 ably traceable to the early settlers, who doubtless considered it 

 nothing more nor less than a ' ' degenerate off.shoot " of a spe- 

 cies inhabiting that country. 



Fiddler. Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I feel pretty sure that 

 this name is derived from the peculiar sew-saw motions in- 

 dulged in b}^ the males while courting the females during the 

 early spring months. — Willard N. Clute. 



Flicker. This is the most popular and generally used 

 name. Some difference of opinion exists as to the exact deri- 

 vation of the term, .some contending that it is from the .song — 

 wicker and variations — hence onomatopoetic ; while others are 

 just as sure that it must have been suggested by the peculiar 

 twinkling or flickering of the bright shafts when the wings 

 open and close in flight. The latter would commonly suggest 

 the name before the bird had uttered a .sound. 



Flicker Woodpecker. Middle States. 



Flitter. P^astern Pennsylvania. A corruption of Flicker. 



French Woodpecker. New Hampshire. Probably derived 

 from the mongrel term, French-pie, which is one of the local 

 names in common u.se in .some parts of England for the Great 

 Spotted Woodpecker ( Piciis major. ) 



Gaffle Woodpecker. Hudson, Massachu.setts. Perhaps a 

 provincial corruption for "gaffer" — a talkative old man. — 

 Frank A. Bates. Or a corruption of " Yaffle," for which see 

 same. 



Gallie. Northern New Jersey. Pretty generally so called 

 by the l^ird-nesting boys. — Willard N. Clute. Evidently an 

 abbreviation of the old English title, "Galley-bird," which, 

 according to Charles Swainson in " Provincial Names of British 

 Birds," is the Sus.sex name for a woodpecker. The old time 

 supposition was that all of this tribe were doomed to "inces- 

 sant toil and .slavery;" hence the term. 



Gel Spechtt Gelb Specht. Penn.sylvania. German or "Penn- 

 sylvania Dutch." Pronounced gail .spycht. Yellow Wood- 

 pecker. 



Golden Sapsucker. Southern New Jer.sey. Conmion nanie 

 in that region. — Dr. Walter W. Maires. 



