232 BIRDS 



then silent, bestirs himself and begins to pout * chow-chow- 

 chow.* Careful attention discovers the pouting hermit tak- 

 ing his brief nooning in the middle heights of a twined tree- 

 trunk, or else darkly silhouetted against the wintry sky. 

 Here he hitches and grumbles by turns. 



"To me there is something uncanny about this ascetic 

 bird, who whiles away his winter hour in the seclusion of a 

 narrow cell, and in spring, scarcely less unsocial, retires to 

 the least frequented depths of the forest to breed. Far 

 from the haunts of man, and secure in the protection of 

 abundant leafage, the birds do unbend somewhat. At this 

 season they have a chirruping cry, which only the experts 

 can distinguish from the noisiest of the red-head's notes; 

 and another, a very startling expression of mingled incredu- 

 lity and reproach, * Clark.' This is evidently analogous to 

 the red-head's 'Queer.'" (Dawson.) 



The nest is usually placed in holes some twenty feet 

 from the ground, where four to six eggs are laid. 



FLICKER 



The red on the head, the black crescent on the cinnamon- 

 brown breast, the yellow lining of wing flashing in undulat- 

 ing flight, and white spot on rump are striking field marks. 



The Flicker, Yellow Hammer, Wake-up, or High-hold, 

 known by no less than thirty-six names, is probably the com- 

 monest woodpecker on this continent. The northern or 

 common flicker occurs in the eastern United States north 

 of the Ohio River and west to the Rocky Mountains. It is 

 a hardy bird, and, though migratory, does not pass beyond 



