WOODPECKERS 291 



Washington ; abundant summer resident, (Boardman). York ; not common, 

 formerly abundant, (Adams) ; several remained in a sheltered valley among 

 the pines near Eliot through the winter of 1898, (W. L. Fernald). 



In the spring they occasionally arrive as early as April 6, 

 but more usually in the neighborhood of April 20 and remain 

 until late October or very exceptionally even until November 

 20, or even winter very rarely in southwestern Maine. The 

 species is common, generally distributed and readily seen and 

 recognized. 



In the spring soon after their arrival the call " kee-ah " is 

 usually the first indication that they are here, and this same 

 call is heard more or less during their sojourn with us but is 

 uttered more frequently in the early part of the season. I 

 have also heard the young birds while yet unable to leave the 

 nest, although nearly fledged, utter an abortive but still recog- 

 nizable call of this kind in answer to their parents. Another 

 call is a repeated " cuh, cuh, cuh, cuh, cuh, cuh, cuh, cuh, cuh, 

 cuh," or sometimes " yucker, yucker, yucker, yucker, yucker, 

 yucker," which I have heard only in the nesting season. 

 Another call is " pee-up," " pee-up," or occasionally " pee-on, 

 pee-on " or other variations. I have also heard a peculiar 

 low purring call uttered as the birds were about to caress each 

 other. 



In fact the Flicker is very talkative and voluble and has a 

 great range of expressions of the general types above mentioned. 

 On one occasion I listened to a most voluble chuckling, cluck- 

 ing, purring sort of subdued conversation which was going on 

 by the roadside, and on stealing cautiously up to see what 

 kind of man, bird or beast might be the cause of these peculiar 

 sounds I beheld a Flicker on top of a fair sized ant hill busily 

 engaged in gobbling up the ants and their beloved larvae, and 

 doubtless expressing satisfaction at the bountiful feast it was 

 enjoying. When the supply of ants became diminished it 

 would stir up the hill with its bill until a fresh supply of ants 

 were unearthed. Since then many a time I have found Flickers 



