l60 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Length 1 2-1 2.8 inches; extent 19. 3-2 1.3; wing 5.5-6.5; tail 4-4.8; 

 bill 1. 3-1 •5- 



Distribution. The Northern flicker inhabits eastern North America 

 from the limit of trees in Alaska, Ungava and Newfoundland southward 

 to Texas and North Carolina. In New York it is uniformly distributed 

 in every county of the State, being one of our dominant species. While 

 not so common as the Robin, it is one of the dozen birds well known to 

 every countr}" boy. It must be considered primarily a summer resident, 

 arriving from the South between the 20th of March and the loth of April 

 and gradually disappearing again between the 1 5th and the 30th of October. 

 Dates of earliest appearance and departure, however, are obscured by 

 the fact that many individuals of this species remain throughout the winter 

 in southern New York and even in the central and northern counties win- 

 ter specimens are by no means rare. A decided migratory movement at 

 about the dates mentioned is, however, of usual occurrence. The Flicker or 

 " High hole," as the countryman usually calls it, is a common or abun- 

 dant summer resident of our orchards, groves, shade trees, pastures and 

 forests. He is much more versatile in his propensities than the other 

 woodpeckers and is frequently seen far from groves and orchards, on the 

 open field or lawn and along the fences and telegraph poles. He is at 

 home in the midst of our villages and city parks as well as in the farm 

 lands and wildernesses. He perches on the twigs of trees more commonly 

 than any of the other woodpeckers and digs in the ground for grubs and 

 worms and tears open the ant hills in search of his favorite food. His 

 notes are as varied as his perching and feeding habits and three or four 

 dozen different names have been ascribed to him in different parts of the 

 country, mostly in imitation of his different calls or notes. In this State 

 he is commonly spoken of as the high hole or high holder, wake-up, yarrup, 

 yucker, clape, flicker, golden-winged woodpecker, yellow jay, yellow hammer 

 or pigeon woodpecker. In the spring while courting or endeavoring to 

 surpass his rivals in displaying his charms, spreading his wings and tail 

 and bobbing around before the admiring gaze of the female, he is often 



