THE FLICKER. 59 



cap had vanished. Thi.s bird i.s in a very ragged condition. I 

 am inclined to ascribe the early disappearance of the red cap 

 to growth and abrasion in a similar manner to the small 

 patches of natal down in which man}- of the Altrices appear, 

 i. e. : the gray feathers growing beneath on the same stem 

 pnsh the red tips upward where they become dead and brittle, 

 rapidly crumbling away. The forehead does not always show 

 signs of molt and possibly may occasionally remain until the 

 following fall. 



In Penns^-lvania the renewal is complete b}^ the first of 

 October usually, often a week or so earlier. 



