132 THE STORY -OF THE BIRDS: 
vails quite extensively. Some of the most refined, as 
the purple finch and others, are noted as using it. 
Doubtless many others will yet be found with this habit, 
especially while the nestlings are very young. It is 
only rather recently that our Eastern flicker or golden- 
shafted woodpecker was discovered practicing this 
method exclusively. Here the parent drives his long 
sharp beak very forcibly down the nestling’s throat, 
and, while the youngster holds on for dear life and a 
dinner, a jong-continued wriggling process either 
pumps the baby full or the parent empty. Both 
parents feed the young, and both in this instance 
incubate. but where only the female sits she is 
usually fed by the male in the same manner that he 
feeds the children. 
While this regurgitation method is quite popular 
among the Picarian birds, this flicker is the only 
woodpecker, with us at least, that is known to prac- 
tice it. Others are seen to enter their holes with food 
in their beaks, and the redhead frequently sits outside 
and pounds and pulps the morsel before taking it in. 
In case of the flickers, one nestling usually occu- 
pies the opening of the hole till it is satisfied, when 
it drops back and another takes its place. In other 
cases it seems hard to determine how the parent 
knows which one she fed last, since all seem usually 
equally hungry. It is surprising how early the altri- 
cial nestling makes this demand for food. In a few 
minutes after the shell is off it lifts its little head 
and gapes from ear to ear—the most expressive sign 
in all Nature. 
