FLICKER. 



Kee-er! 



that sounds like an ungreased cart wheel, and he also 

 beats a rolling tattoo like the others of his tribe. 



He is a bird of character otherwise he would never 

 have accumulated so many labels. Mr. Chapman says that 

 there are thirty-six, but a few of the most familiar ones 

 will show the tendency of man to poke fun at him 

 Wake-up, Yarrup, Piut, High-hole, Woodwall, Yellow- 

 hammer, Yucker, Flicker, Hittock, Clape, Harry Wicket, 

 etc. He is a revelation of complex color when he is 

 surprised on the ground and rises, showing his under- 

 neath gold, and a joker in the fullest sense when one 

 catches sight of him bowing and scraping to the other 

 sex in a series of bobs up and down with tail and wings 

 stiffly outspread, uttering the while a significant, you- 

 see, you-see! Audubon testifies to the cheerful dispo- 

 sition of the bird, especially when in captivity, as 

 follows : " The Golden-winged Woodpecker never suf- 

 fers its naturally lively spirits to droop. It feeds well, 

 and by way of amusement will continue to destroy as 

 much furniture in a day as can well be mended by a 

 different kind of workman in a week." The food of this 

 Woodpecker, who visits the ground much of tener than 

 is the custom of his kind, is mostly grubs, ants, worms, 

 bird-cherries, and the fruit of the sour gum. 



ORDER MACROCHIRES. GOATSUCKERS, 



SWIFTS, ETC. 

 Family Caprimulgidce. 



NlGHTHAWKS, WHIP-POOR-WILLS, ETC. 



This is a family of forest-inhabiting birds distinguished 

 by their method of perching lengthwise on a limb or 

 branch, and their habit of capturing their food while on 

 the wing ; the expansive mouth and the surrounding 

 long, stiff bristles (characteristic of some species) are 

 especially adapted to catch insects. Some of the species 

 possess remarkable vocal powers. 



*5 



