BIRDS OF KANSAS. 339 



bands of black. Neck above and on the sides ashy. Beneath, pale pinkish 

 brown, tinged with yellow on the abdomen, each feather with a heart-shaped 

 spot of black near the end. Bump white." 



Stretch of 

 Length. -wing. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. Bill. 



Male 12.50 20.00 6.20 4.50 1.10 1.30 



Female... 12.25 19.50 6.15 4.35 1.10 1.25 



Iris dark brown; bill slate blue; legs and feet ashy or light 

 lead color; claws horn blue. 



This well known, familiar bird is as much at home on our 

 prairies as within the wooded districts. Mr. Langille, in his in- 

 teresting work, "Our Birds in their Haunts," says: 



"Next to the Robin, Bluebird or Barn Swallow, few mem- 

 bers of the feathered tribes are better known than the 'Flicker,' 

 'High-hole,' 'Yellow-hammer,' etc., for the Golden-wing is 

 known by all these names. His several notes are among the 

 most characteristic sounds of spring, at which time he is thor- 

 oughly noisy. Coming from the South in large numbers, late 

 in March or early in April, ascending some tall, dry tree top, at 

 early dawn, he announces himself, either by a sonorous rapping 

 on the dry wood, or by a loud squealing, but jovial call, "Chee- 

 ah, chee-ah," which, once noted, is not easily forgotten. But 

 even this latter is not half so awakening as a certain prolonged 

 strain, nearly two syllables in regular repetition, something like 

 "Whric'k-ah, whric'k-ah, whric'k-ah, whric'k-ah, whric'k-ah, 

 whric'k-ah." This vocal performance, meant for a song, no 

 doubt, is a mere rollicking racket, toned down, indeed, amidst 

 the many voices of spring, and even rendered pleasing by its 

 good-natured hilarity. How significant is that little love note, 

 "Yu-cah," half guttural, half whisper, which he repeats at in- 

 tervals, as he flits about the solitude of the forest in spring, or 

 plays bo-peep with his lover, around the broken-off top or limb 

 of some dead tree. 



"His flight is swift, vigorous and dashing; is performed in 

 curves by a few flaps of the wings, curving upward several feet, 

 when alighting on the trunk of a tree, but ending horizontally 

 when alighting crosswise on a limb, after the manner of perch- 

 ing birds. In manner, as in structure, he is not precisely like 



