1 82 BIRD-LAND ECHOES. 



know it, blends well with dead grass and the mot- 

 tled surfaces of old pastures, and by squatting they 

 could readily escape detection, notwithstanding that 

 the yellow quills and black feathers, when detached, 

 are such prominent objects. At this time of year 

 they associate in the most friendly way with robins, 

 and large loose flocks of these very dissimilar birds 

 may often be seen ranging over the meadows and 

 roosting together at night in the cedars of the 

 hill-side. These birds do not separate until after 

 the initial frost and thin ice of late October, and 

 even at this season, when a few warm days attempt 

 a new summer on the ruins of the old, they still 

 range the lowlands and, gathering in the tall shell- 

 barks, hold a wordy rather than a noisy conven- 

 tion. The woodpeckers do not think of drumming 

 now, or they would never miss the opportunity of 

 rattling the long strips of bark that cling like torn 

 ribbons to these meadow hickories. 



One feature of the flicker's habits should not be 

 passed by. They are not nocturnal birds, yet they 

 sometimes work all night at nest-building ; nor are 

 they quiet about it : the tap, tap, tap is loud enough 

 to attract every one of their enemies ; but if they 

 are aware of this, the fact does not disturb them. 

 Do the other woodpeckers labor at night ? In one 

 instance, where the birds worked on an apple-tree 

 quite near a farmer's house, they gave the im- 

 pression of burglars breaking in, and consequently 

 the family were kept painfully awake until morn- 

 ing. Only by accident was the truth discovered. 



