Phut J bj A. 1^. Princthoni 

 A PAIR OF FLICKERS, OR YHLLO\V-I[ AilMKRS, IX THEIR HOilE ( SEi; PAGE 69O ) 



^ The haliits, notes, and colors of this \vell-kno\vn bird are reflected in the popular names 

 which have been applied to it throughout its wide range. No less than 36 of these aliases 

 have been recorded. The flicker is a bird of character. Although a woodpecker, he is too 

 original to follow in the footsteps of others of his tribe. They do not frequent the ground, 

 but that IS no reason why he should not humor his own terrestrial pro])ensities, and we mav 

 therefore frequently flush him from the earth, when, with a low chuckle, he gties bounding 

 off through the air, his white rump showing conspicuously as he flics. 



With eacli other, and with such widely 

 different forms as humming-birds, wood- 

 peckers, parrots, and others, we would 

 reaUze still more clearly the remarkable 

 amount of variation shown by birds. This 

 great dift'erence in form is accompanied 

 by a corresponding variation in habit, 

 making possible, as before remarked, the 

 wide distribution of birds, which, to- 

 gether with their size and abundance, 

 renders them of incalculable importance 

 to man. Their economic value, however, 

 may be more proi:ierly spoken of under — 



TI-IE KEEATIO.X OF BIRDS TO MAN 



The relation of birds to man is three- 

 fold — the scientific, the economic, and 

 the jesthetic. Xo animals form more 

 profitable subjects for the scientist than 

 birds. The embryologist, the morpholo- 

 gist and the systematist, the philosophic 

 naturalist, and the psychologist all may 

 find in them exhaustless material for 

 stud}-. It is not my purpose, however, 

 to speak here of the science of ornithol- 

 ogy. Let us learn something of the bird 

 in its haunts before taking it to the labo- 



ratory. The li\-ing bird cannot fail to 

 attract us; the dead bird — v(jiceless, mo- 

 tionles.s — we will leave for future dis- 

 section. 



The economic value of birds to man 

 lies in the service tlie_\' render in pre^•ent- 

 ing the undue increase of insects, in de- 

 vouring small rodents, in destroying the 

 seeds of narmful plants, and in acting as 

 scavengers. 



Leading entomologists estimate that in- 

 sects cause an annual loss of at least two 

 hundred millicjn dollars to the agricul- 

 tural interests of the United States. The 

 statement seems incredible, but is based 

 upon reliable statistics. This, of course. 

 d(jes not include the damage done to 

 ornamental shrubber}-, shade and forest 

 trees. But, if insects are the natural 

 enemies of vegetation, birds are the nat- 

 ural enemies of insects. Consider for a 

 moment what the birds are doing for us 

 any summer day, \\'hen insects are so 

 abundant that the hum of their united 

 voices becomes an almost inherent part 

 of the atmosphere. 



In the air swallows and swifts are 



707 



