132 LIFE HISTOIIIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



Columbia, these birds nest in the oak, asli, chestnut, chu, maple, poplar, willow 

 and jsycainore; spruce and birches are also used, but, on tlie ^vhole, soft-wood trees 

 seem to l;)e jjreferred to hard ones. In the Southern States it breeds frequently 

 in ])ines, and in the prairie States it occasionally selects stranya* nesting sites. 

 Hei-e it has been known to chisel thi-ough tlie weather-l^oarding of dwelling 

 houses, barns, and other outbuildings, and to nest in tlie liollow space between , 

 this and the crossbeams; its nests have also been found in gateposts where both 

 jieople and stock jiass constantly, in churcli tOAvers, and in burrows of Kingfishers 

 and l^ank Swallows in the perpendicular.banks of streams. Dr. G. S. Agersljorg, 

 of Vermillion, South Dakota, records finding a nest of a Flicker in an old wagon 

 liub, about 2 feet from the ground, and hidden b}- a rank growtli of weeds; Init 

 the most jjeculiar nesting site I have ever heard of is one described to me b}^ 

 Mr. William A. Brj^ant, of New Sharon, Iowa, under date of December 7, 1892. 

 He writesi "On a small liill, a quarter of a mile distant from my home, stood a 

 haystack wliicli had been placed there two years ])reviously. The owner, ihu-- 

 ing the winter of 1889-90, had cut the stack through the middle and luiided 

 away one portion, leaving the other standing with the end smoothly trinnned. 

 The following spring I noticed a pair of Yellow-shafted Flickers about tlie stack 

 showing signs of wanting to make it a fixed habitation. One morning a few 

 days latej-I was amused at the efforts of one of the \r.\h: It was clinging to tlie 

 perpendicular end of the stack and throwing out ( hiiiiied hay at a rate to defy 

 competition. This Avork continued for nearly a week, and in that time the pair 

 had excavated a cavity 20 inches in depth. The entrance Avas located 8i feet 

 above around, and was 2i inches in diameter and dug back into the stack for 6 

 inches, where it turned sharply doAVUAvard and Avas slightly enlarged at the 

 bottom. On May 28 I took a handsome set of seven eggs from the nest, the 

 eggs Iving on a bed of chipped hay. The birds lingered about the stack and 

 by June 14 had deposited another set of eggs. The}- remained in the vicinity 

 until autumn. During that winter the balance of the stack Avas remoAed. They 

 returned the folloAving spring, and, after a brief sojourn, departed for parts 

 unknown. I never could quite understand the philosophy of their peculiar choice 

 of this site, as A\-oodland is abundant here. A Avell-tinibered creek bottom Avas 

 less than half a, mile distant, Avhile large orchards and groves surround the place 

 on cA'ery hand." 



Flickers nest occasionally m naturax cavities and at distances from the 

 ground varying from 2h to 60 feet, but mostly betAveen 10 and 20 feet. Old 

 rotten stumps, and dead or partly decayed trees are preferred to live ones. 'I'he 

 entrance hole is usually 2;^ inches in diameter, and the inner cavity varies from 8 

 to 30 inches in depth. It is gradually enlarged toAvard the bottom, and a layer 

 of fine chips, on Avhich the eggs are deposited, is alloAved to ramain. Its flight, 

 although apparently lal)orious, is strong and sAvIft, and, like that of all Wood- 

 [leckers, undulating or Avave-llke. It frequently perches on a llml) instead of 

 clinging to it, as do others of the tribe. In the spring of the year it also 

 indulges In drumming, but not to the same extent as the majority of this family. 



