THE FLICKER 65 
back, above the root of the tail. Every one who 
has ever walked much over grassy fields must 
have seen the bird and been struck by this con- 
spicuous light mark. He must have noticed, 
too, the bird’s peculiar up-and-down, “ jumping ”’ 
manner of flight, by which it goes swooping 
across the country in long undulations or 
waves. 
The flicker’s general color is brown, with spot- 
tings and streakings of black, and more or less 
of violet or lilac shading. On the back of its 
neck it wears a band of bright scarlet, and across 
its breast is a conspicuous black crescent. 
It is fond of old apple orchards, and often 
makes its nest in a decaying trunk. In some 
places, near the seashore, especially, — where it 
is commoner than elsewhere in winter, and where 
large trees are scarce, —it makes enemies by its 
habit of drillmg holes in barns and even in 
churches. I remember a meeting-house on Cape 
Cod which had a good number of such holes in 
its front wall— or rather it had the scars of 
such holes, for they had been covered with 
patches of tin. That was a case where going to 
church might be called a bad habit. 
In fall and winter, if not at other seasons, the 
flicker feeds largely upon berries. In years 
when the poison ivy bears a good crop, I am 
