32 THE FLICKER. 



female takes flight, and then he at once pounces upon him. — 

 I^ynds Jones. That the males do not always conduct the 

 courtship is proven by Mr. Benj. T. Gault's experience while 

 collecting in the sunken lands of Arkansas and Missouri — the 

 vSt. Francis river region. He says : On March ord, '94, while 

 visiting Griffin island, on the Arkansas side of the river, m\' 

 attention was drawn to a small troop of these birds, four in 

 number, clustered together near the top of a dead snag. As 

 other birds were interesting me at the time, slight attention 

 was given to them, but on returning to the same spot an hour 

 or so afterwards, and finding them still there, my glasses were 

 turned upon them ; somewhat to my surprise the lot, consisted 

 of three females and one male, the latter holding the most ex- 

 alted position on the snag, the evident pride of the gentler sex, 

 who were indulging in quite an animated discussion, idolizing 

 his lordship — so to speak — but in tones so low they were 

 scarcely audible from where I stood. I more than judged 

 their earnest intentions by the peculiar swaying motions of 

 their heads, which were very amusing to witness. Never hav- 

 ing seen the female do the waiting upon before or since that 

 time, I think their actions were a little out of the ordinary. 

 J. N. Baskett describes a .similar scene of two females courting 

 a male, in the Osprey. These are the only in.stances on record, 

 I believe. 



When mated the birds become very affectionate and insepa- 

 rable, few of our native birds excelling them in this respect. It 

 is constantly calling or answering, the male drumming a long 

 rolling call and singing the common song at the top of his voice 

 to equal or excell that of his nearest neighbor ; when .suddenly 

 mis.sing the female, his calls amount to a perfect .shriek, and 

 an answer results in a swift galloping flight as he gurgles a 

 scanny exclamation ; alighting beside her he indulges in a 

 series of bows and we-cup notes, in which she joins for a time. 

 As the more .serious side of life begins, the selection and con- 

 struction of a nesting place, he becomes less and less noisy, and 

 finally almost .silent altogether, except the early morning and 

 before or after shower song, although fully as attentive and 

 helpful to his mate as ever. 



