44S 



III-: ki-.i) sii \i"'ii:i) i-i.iC^Kk. 



oils l)irils liad ic- 

 iimvcil, not afliT 

 iIk- familiar pick 

 and kick fashiun 

 of most bank 

 'lcl\iiig species, 

 lull hy the heak- 

 fiil. as \\'«>o<l- 

 ])cckcrs sliriiild. 



I*r<im six t(j ten 

 liiglily ]K dished, 

 semi-traiis|)arent, 

 white ejjgs are 

 laid n])<)n the rot- 

 ten wood or 

 chips, whicli usu- 

 ally line a nest ; 

 and incnhation 

 begins customa- 

 rily when the last 

 egg is laid. Ben- 

 dire notes an in- 

 stance, in the 

 Hluc Mountains 

 of Oregon, of a 

 Flicker's nest 

 which coniaiiiefl 

 at one lime three 

 young birtis just 

 iiatched. two 

 pipped eggs, and 

 five perfect! y 

 fresh eggs, of 

 which one was a 

 runt. 

 The female is a close sitter and instances are on record where i)ebbles 

 dropped in upon her ha\e failed to dislodge her, or where once iK'ing lifted olT 

 she brushed passed the disturber to re-enter the iiest. .Mtho ])rovided with a bill 

 which might prove a formidable weapon, the I'licker is of too gentle a nature 

 to wield it in combat, and seldom otTers any resistance whatever to the intruder. 

 .After fourteen days young birds are hatched, blind, ugly. hel|)less. In a 

 few days more, however, they are able to cling to the sides of the nesting 



.•t ■ /'/uK.) by -I 



NEST AND F.CGS OF RED SII.MTKI) I-l.ICKKR. 



