136 LIFE HISTORIES OP FOETH AMERICAN BIRDS; 



Mr. Waltei' E. Bryant gives the following: "One of these was in a bridge 

 bulkhead, a few feet above the Carson River, Nevada. The interior of the 

 structure was filled with gravel and large stones, among which the eggs Avere 

 deposited. Another pair used a target butt, at a much-frequented range, as a 

 substitute for a stump. A third nest was in a sand bank, 3 feet from the top and 

 10 from the creek. This hole was apparently specially prepared, and not one 

 made by a ground squirrel, such holes being sometimes used by these birds." ^ 



Mr. Charles A. Allen, of Nicasio, California, found a pair of Red-shafted 

 Flickers nesting in a similar situation in a creek bank, the burrow containing 

 seven eggs, which he took. About ten days later, happening to pass the same 

 spot, he examined the hole again and found it occupied by a California Screech 

 Owl, which in the meantime had deposited four eggs. Some two weeks subse- 

 quently he examined it for a third time, and on this occasion the tenant proved 

 to be a Sparrow Hawk, which was setting on five handsome eggs. There was no 

 nesting material present on any occasion, the eggs lying on some loose dirt. 



Near Fort Lapwai, Idaho, on June 2, 1871, I found a pair of Long'-eared 

 Owls and Red-shafted Flickers nesting in an old cottonwood stump; the Owls 

 occupied a natural cavity, and the Flickers had excavated their nesting site 

 directl}^ over that of the former, the entrance holes, although on difiPerent sides 

 of the stub, were not over 2 feet apart. The Red-shafted Flicker's eggs, seven 

 in number, were on the point of hatching, while those of the Owls were about 

 half incubated. These birds evidently lived on good terms with each other. 

 Occasionally, after incubation has commenced, additional eggs are laid at different 

 intervals by this species. On June 6, 1875, near CamjD Harney, Oregon, I found 

 a pair of these birds nesting in a rotten pine stump, on the southern slopes of 

 the Blue Mountains, the entrance hole being 3 feet from the ground. This nest 

 contained three young birds, apparently just hatched, and two eggs already 

 chipped, besides five perfectly fresh ones, one of these being a runt egg. In this 

 vicinity the Red-shafted Flicker was very common, and nested mostly in juni- 

 pers, usually from 3 to 12 feet from the ground; but I have also seen them 

 entering holes in the dead tops of large pines, fully 70 feet above the ground. 

 Besides the usual insects and larvse upon which this species feeds, I have seen it 

 catch grasshoppers, both on the ground and on the wing, and it is likewise very 

 fond of wild strawberries and service berries. Considered from an economic 

 point of view, the Red-shafted Flicker is as beneficial as the preceding species, 

 and, like it, deserves the fullest protection. 



The numl^er of eggs in a set varies from five to ten, sets of six or seven 

 being most common. These are indistinguishable froiu those of the preceding- 

 species, excepting that they aA^erage a trifle larger, and the same description will 

 answer for both. 



The average measurement of one hundred and fifty-two eggs in the United 

 States National Museum collection is 28.34 by 21.68 millimetres, or about 1.12 

 by 0.85 inches. The largest egg of the series measures 32.76 by 22.35 milli- 



' Bulletin California Academy of Sciences, II, August 2, 1887, pp. 451, 452. 



