•'>0 THE FLICKER. 



runts which are excluded from all averages ; such as I have 

 measurements of appear below : 



Toronto, Canada June 7, '95, in set of 8 eggs, .70x.56 



Grinnell, Iowa .67 x .58 



A verj^'s Island, La May 14, '95, in set of 6 eggs, .79x.62 



Port Hope, Ontario, Canada June 10, ,98, in set of 4 eggs, .79x .65 



Philo, Illinois May 11, '98, in set of 9 eggs, .83x.67 



In Other Birds* Nests. When the exact circumstance of 

 deposition is unknown, the owner of a ne.st in an old Wood- 

 pecker cavity is the bird placing the lining therein, the cham- 

 ber being vacant. It is hardly probable that the Flicker would 

 intrude unless its own nest had been destro^^ed before the 

 completion of its quota. On June 6th, '89, while collecting 

 near Lake Assawamsett in Plymouth County, Mass., Mr. A. 

 C. Bent explored an old orchard. One tree contained a Blue- 

 bird's nest with five eggs of the owner and one of the Flicker's, 

 and in a neighboring cavity a deserted nest of a Tree Swallow 

 with the same number of eggs. A not much frequented place 

 and while possibly the work of .some boys, it is hardly proba- 

 ble. A .similar instance is recorded by E. G. Elliot, Bradford, 

 Mass., May l()th, '84, of a .set of five eggs of Bluebird and 

 one of Flicker, nest of grass and feathers. Records of Euro- 

 pean House Sparrow and Red-headed Woodpecker eggs in 

 freshly excavated quarters with one or more eggs of the Flicker 

 are not uncommon, and upon investigation the latter proved to 

 be the aggrieved party in every instance. In the Oologist, Vol. 

 XII, p. 70, Walter Draper, Barahoo, Wis., gives an interesting 

 account of an " Eccentric Flicker. ' ' He observed a Mourning 

 Dove's nest in process of construction on a limb of an oak tree 

 near a path, and a few mornings later was surprised to see a 

 female Flicker on the nest. She was not disturbed at that 

 time, but returning at noon to investigate, the Dove was 

 flushed from her own two eggs and a cracked &g^ of the in- 

 trudor found near the edge where it had probably been shoved 

 by the proprietor. 



