Family Picidce Flicker 145 



FAMILY 



82. FLICKER; HIGH-HOLE 



GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER 

 PIGEON WOODPECKER 



( Colaptes a u rat us . ) 



Male : upper parts in the main dull brown barred with black ; 

 head gray-brown with a scarlet band at the nape, and a black 

 cheek patch on either side of the mouth ; rump white ; throat 

 and forebreast lilac-brown shading into white on the belly ; 

 breast with broad black crescent, and under parts behind this 

 thickly marked with circular black spots ; wings and tail largely 

 yellow beneath. Beak large and strong, dark ; feet dark. Bird 

 considerably larger than a robin. Female : similar, save that 

 the black cheek patches are usually absent. 



THIS abundant and lively bird may be looked 

 for in any woodland, in parks or orchards, or even 

 on the open ground far from trees. When among 

 trees it often perches like ordinary birds, instead of 

 clinging against the trunk like other woodpeckers. 

 It is a strong flier ; and in a good light the golden 

 under side of the wings, appearing and disappear- 

 ing, lends a beautiful shimmer to its movements. 

 It is a resident, but less common in winter than 

 at other times. They usually appear in numbers 

 about the first of April. 



The nest is a hole dug out usually in the trunk of 



