190 GRAY LADY AND THE BIRDS 
the poor bird is weighed down by over thirty popular 
names, — Northern Flicker, Golden-winged Woodpecker, 
Wake-up, Gaffer, and Partridge Woodpecker being 
among them, though the Wise Men who settle these 
things for us have decided to call him merely ‘the 
Flicker.’ 
“Tn spite of the fact that, owing to his size and plump- 
ness, the Flicker has been until recently allowed to be 
shot as a game-bird, he is our commonest Woodpecker, 
and spring would not be the same in this woodland 
region if we did not hear the roll of the drum, as he beats 
on a branch, that announces the coming of the feathered 
procession of migrants. 
“Then, too, it is such a jolly bird, it calls out ‘wick, 
wick, wick,’ as soon as the ponds are free of ice, and 
this call he changes to ‘wicker-wicker’ as soon as the 
courting begins; at this time the birds show to the best 
advantage. The rival birds are perfectly friendly, but 
‘they play curious antics, each trying to outdo the other 
in the display of his golden beauty, that he may thus 
attract and hold the attention of the female. There is 
no fighting, but, in its place, an exhibition of all the airs 
and graces that rival dandies can muster. Their ex- 
travagant, comical gestures, rapidly changing attitudes, 
and exuberant cries, all seem laughable to the on- 
looker, but evidently give pleasure to the _ birds.’ 
—ForBusu. 
“The Flicker spends more time on the ground, itself, 
than the others of its family; and it has a slightly curved 
beak, but its tongue is very long, and the fine points 
on the end are set backward like the barbs of a fish- 
