THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 



39 



The Flickers' Dance 



TWO flickers stood on the lawn some three feet apart, facing each 

 other. Suddenly they commenced nodding their heads up and 

 down in a dignified, rhythmical unity, continuing some four or five times; 

 and then, holding their heads up as high as they could, they turned their 

 beaks sidewise but still pointed upward and held them there rigidly for 

 a few seconds, when they resumed their nodding, again throwing up 

 their heads and beaks. 



Sometimes the beaks were turned to the right and then to the left. 

 At times one beak would point to the right and the other to the left, 

 and sometimes both pointed the same way. 



They repeated this stunt some five times, when they disappeared 

 in the woods, where, I presume, Mr. Flicker treated Mrs. Flicker to an 

 ice cream cone. — William C. Egan. 



Favorite Lake for Birds Saved to Minnesota 



SWAN LAKE, a valuable and unusual body of water about 10,500 

 acres in area, located in Nicollet County, Minn., has been saved 

 to the State through the efforts of the State Game and Fish Com- 

 missioners, the Biological Survey of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture and landowners and local conservationists of the region. 

 A movement to lower the level of the lake four feet, eventually drain- 

 ing it entirely, was successfully opposed and defeated at two hearings 

 after an examination of the wild fowl and food plant value of the lake 

 had been made by three representatives of the Biological Survey. 



In deciding this case the District Court in Minnesota laid emphasis 

 on the great importance to the public welfare of such bodies of water as 

 Swan Lake. Its favorable location, its relatively shallow fresh water, 

 and its abundant growth of vegetation suitable for cover, nesting sites, 

 and food have made it an attractive resort for many kinds of waterfowl. 

 Its margins and wooded islands are a valuable asset in the conservation 

 not only of game birds but also of insectivorous birds useful to farmers. 

 Among the water birds that breed on the lake are several species of 

 ducks, including mallards, blue-winged teal, redheads, lesser scaup, and 

 ruddy ducks; sora rails, Florida gallinules, American coots, four species 

 of grebes, black terns, and black-crowned night-herons are also common. 



At least 50 kinds of plants valuable as food for water birds grow in 

 this lake, including practically all the best duck food plants of the 

 United States. There is also an abundance of fresh-water snails of sev- 

 eral species liked by water birds. Lowering the level of this lake mate- 

 rially would eventually cause the disappearance of its present kind of 

 vegetation and gradually destroy its value as a waterfowl resort. 



