BIRDS OF THE PASTURE AND FOREST. 129 



THE FLICKER. 



We are all familiar with the notes of this Woodpecker, 

 that resemble the call-notes of the common Robin, but 

 they are louder and more prolonged. Audubon compares 

 them to the sounds of laughter when heard at a distance. 

 According to the same writer the males woo the females 

 very much after the manner of our common Doves. They 

 build in holes in trees, but you never see them climbing a 

 tree like other Woodpeckers. They take their food chiefly 

 from the ground, and devour great quantities of ants. 



The Flicker, though not attractive when seen at a dis- 

 tance, is found to have very beautiful plumage on exami- 

 nation. On the back and wings it is chiefly of a light 

 brown, with black bands on the wing-feathers, giving 

 them a kind of speckled appearance ; a scarlet crescent 

 on the back of the head, and a similar shaped black patch 

 on the throat. The under surface of the wings is of a 

 golden yellow. Hence it is sometimes called the Golden- 

 winged Woodpecker. Samuels relates that if the eggs, 

 which are of a pure white, be removed from the nest 

 while the bird is laying, she will continue to lay like a 

 common hen. He has known this experiment to be tried 

 until the bird had laid eighteen or twenty eggs, though 

 her usual number is but six. 



THE ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. 



We must pass out of the woods again, where we can 

 bask in the sunshine, and obtain a view of fields and 

 farms, to hear the voice of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. 

 This bird was not an acquaintance of my early years. 

 Certain changes of climate or soil, either here or in its 

 former habitats, have caused it to be a regular sojourner in 

 New England for twenty years past, and the species arrive 

 every year in increased numbers. Formerly their residence 



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