ICO LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS 



the last of July, or the beginning of August, when the 

 season was remarkably favorable. 



The food of the young consists, at first, of caterpillars of 

 Anisoptcryx -ceniata* A. ponietaria, Zcrcnc catcnaria* 

 Hybcrnia tiJiaria, Clisiocampa anicrtcctiia, and the larva- 

 of Cratonychus cincrcus* Lachnosterna qncrciiia* and I., 

 hirticnla which are occasionally picked up from ploughed 

 soil, and other beetles; Aphis rostz* A. mail, and other 

 aphides : besides ants, and smaller lepidoptera such as Pcti- 

 thina porno n ell a, Orgy i a leiic'ostigtua, Spilosoma ~cirgin- 

 ica, Lithcsia miniata, Procris anicricaua, and numerous 

 tortricids and noc^iids. Later, Harpahis compar, II. 

 carbonarius, Pangus caJiginosns^ IfaJtica chalybea. 

 Macrpdactyla subspinosa, and other beetles. 



When the nest is placed in a tall oak, at a considerable 

 height, but perfectly secure from human intruders, the bird 

 which is not engaged, may be often seen clinging to the mar- 

 gin of the cavity, or busy puncturing the bark for the insects 

 beneath. The adult birds, during the drearv winter months, 

 eke out a precarious existence, by subsisting upon the few 

 coleopterous larva?, pupa:, and imagos. which they find in 

 their chosen retreats. Nor is their diet entirely of an insect 

 character, for we have observed them feasting upon the 

 berries of Juniperus \ irginiana^ % communis, Loniccra 

 periclymenum, Vacciniitm staminaim, and Gaultheria 

 procttmbens, which are met with in small numbers in the 

 places which they frequent. The seeds of grasses, and the 

 corn of our cribs which they often procure through their 

 open sides, serve to keep them from starvation. The 

 stomachs of specimens examined in the winter, revealed 

 indubitable traces of IIarpaltt$ pens\l~canicns* II. conipar, 

 Crdtonychus cincrcus. and other coleoptera. Early in the 

 spring, vast numbers of ants, chiefly Formica sanguined 

 and F. subterranea^ fill their crops. But. later, the larva 1 

 and imagos of most of the foregoing insects. 



The song of the Flicker, which is heard in all its force 



