136 A-BIRDING ON A BRONCO. 



what might happen to some of my small tenants, 

 though I reassured myself by remembering that 

 the facts prove the maligned hawks much more 

 likely to eat gophers than birds. 



In the back of the stub occupied by one of 

 the sparrow hawks it was a pleasure to find a 

 flicker excavating its nest. Planting its claws 

 firmly in the hole with tail braced against the 

 bark, the bird leaned forward, thrusting its head 

 in, over and again, as if feeding young. It used 

 its feet as a pivot, and swung; itself in, farther 

 and farther, as it worked. Si5ch gymnastics 

 took strong feet, for the bird raised itself by 

 them each time. It worked like an automatic 

 toy wound up for the performance. When tired, 

 the flicker hopped up on a branch and vented 

 its feelings by shouting tf-if-if-if-if-if-if, after 

 which it quietly returned to work. The wood 

 was so soft that the excavating made almost no 

 noise, but it was easy to see what was going on, 

 for the carpenter simply drew back its head and 

 tossed out the glistening chips for all the world 

 to see. At the end of a week the flicker was 

 working so far down in its excavation that only 

 the tip of its tail stuck out of the door. 



The nest of another Colaptes, I found by 

 accident a fresh chip dropped from mid-air 

 upon my riding skirt. Just then Canello gave 

 a stentorian sneeze and the bird came to her 

 window to look down. She did not object to us, 



