i8o Bird-Land Echoes. 



abandon themselves to the rapture of ungovernable 

 drumming. I have known a golden-winged wood- 

 pecker to select a deserted bird-house in the orchard 

 for the scene of his operations, and drum away in 

 apparent ecstasy until he had almost rattled it to 

 pieces. Another suddenly discovered the zinc ven- 

 tilator on a school-house near by, and it evidently 

 struck him as a most favorable object. He surveyed 

 it critically, decided that it promised good results, 

 and gave it a preliminary drumming. The racket 

 was amazing, and the unexpected success which the 

 bird achieved frightened him almost into convulsions. 

 He fled precipitately ; but the fascination of the ven- 

 tilator was too great to be resisted, and he returned 

 with renewed courage. In a little while he became 

 familiar with his success, and as a result returned 

 again and again throughout the entire season. I 

 fear his brain was turned with a triumph which was 

 enough to make any woodpecker conceited." 



Occasionally, at home, this same bird — ''flicker," 

 as we call it — will cling to the side of the barn or 

 stable and even go so far as to peck a hole entirely 

 through a board. On one occasion it found a loose 

 end of a split board that, when struck, rebounded 

 and gave out a resounding drum-like note that could 

 be heard a long distance. The bird, like Mr. Cram's 

 woodpecker, was delighted with its discovery, — that 

 is, until I played a little trick on it. Going into 

 the barn-loft with a tube filled with flour, I waited 

 until it was wrapped up in its ecstatic drumming, 

 and then puffed a cloud of flour-dust into its face. 



