C. AURATUS : GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER. 83 



as to have received half a dozen popular names besides 

 those by which it is usually designated, as above. It is a 

 resident, but less common in winter than at other times, 

 as scarcity of food or other causes sends most individuals 

 southward during the most inclement part of the year. 

 It is a bird of wood-land, and nests after the manner of 

 others of its family by excavating a hole in trees : but 

 it is far from being con- 

 fined to the depths of 

 the forests, displaying its 

 gilded plumes and emi- 

 nent musical inability in 

 parks, orchards, and even 

 in fields, and by the way- 

 side remote from forests. 

 Its slightly curved bill is 

 less sharp and chisel-like 

 than most woodpeckers', 

 and its boring for insects 

 in wood is less habitual. 

 Much of its food consists 

 of fruits, and it is partic- 

 ularly fond of ants. To 



procure these insects it F,g. ,3. -Flicker. 



visits their hills, and finds no difficulty in capturing them 

 by means of its very extensible, lumbriciform tongue, cov- 

 ered with tenacious saliva, and capable of being thrust 

 out several inches beyond the point of the beak. Its body 

 sometimes acquires a smell of formic acid from such diet. 

 This is one reason why the Flicker is so often seen 

 away from trees, and foraging on the ground. Even 

 when in the woods, it is often observed perched upon a 

 bough in the fashion of ordinary birds, rather than 



