Sherman — Sign of Northern Flicker. 153 



routed from their nesting place shortly before a pair of Flick- 

 ers settled there. They had reared a lusty brood to about their 

 eleventh day, when the second generation of the plague, intro- 

 duced by the sparrows, broke out. There were some chicken 

 lice, but of chicken mites (Dermanyssus gallinae) there were 

 myriads. Drastic measures were necessary: the nest was scald- 

 ed with boiling water, then treated with a soap and kerosene 

 emulsion. Daily the little Flickers were hand picked for ver- 

 min, and dusted with sulphur until the plague was abated. 



This year trouble began because of three very cool days 

 when the temperature did not rise above fifty-five degrees, and 

 because there was a nestling twenty-nine hours younger than 

 the eldest one. Flickers, like other birds, feed more the young 

 that receive the food most readily. The youngster that has the 

 widest mouth, or can suck the hardest gets the lion's share. 

 Jostled to one side the baby of the brood soon became so weak- 

 ened by the cold and the lack of food that it would fall over in 

 its attempt to seize the parent's bill ; before it could rise again 

 perhaps the meal had been served. When it did secure the bill 

 it was so weak it could not suck with a strong pull and was 

 dropped by the parent in order to feed those that took the food 

 with greater ease. From cold and starvation the baby died, 

 aged four days. 



The next morning one of the twins was passing through a 

 similar experience. It was found very cold and straightened 

 out in the rigor of death, but gasped a little when taken in the 

 hand. It was carried into the house to the fire and warmed 

 thoroughly ; when returned to the nest it was too weak to hold 

 the bill after grasping it, and fell back unnourished. Then it 

 was that a human will rose up against what has been termed 

 Providence, which in plainer English is often merely parental 

 stupidity and indifiFerence among mankind as well as among 

 birds. Earthworms were dug, beheaded, and washed for the 

 little starveling, for which it eagerly opened its mouth, but it 

 could not swallow until the worm was started down its throat 

 by means of the bent end of a wire hairpin. This was true of 



