190 IN A COLORADO NOOK. 



who differs from our familiar flicker only in 

 having red instead of yellow shafts to his wing 

 and tail feathers, and wearing the red badge of 

 his family on his " mustaches " instead of on his 

 collar, as does our bird. 



One day when I was watching the stump, a 

 male flicker came with food, and alighted at the 

 lower door, upon which a young bird put his bill 

 out and was fed in the murderous-looking fash- 

 ion of the flickers. Papa thrust his long beak 

 down baby's throat, and gave several vicious- 

 looking pokes, as if to hammer something down. 

 While I was musing over this strange way of 

 feeding, the bird left, and a female flicker ap- 

 peared. She glanced into the open door, and 

 then to my surj^rise slipj^ed half around the 

 trunk and a foot higher, and stopped before the 

 other hole, which I had not noticed till then. 

 Instantly a head came out, much bigger than the 

 first one, uttered the familiar flicker baby-cry, 

 and was fed. 



Then the question that interested me was, 

 Were there two nests, or one of two stories with 

 babies of different ao;es? Did both belong: to 

 one pair, or was that little dame peeping into 

 her neighbor's house? Much time I spent be- 

 fore that castle in the air, but never was able 

 to answer my own questions. No two old birds 

 came at the same time, and no difference could 



