SONGLESS BIRDS OF ORCHARD AND WOUDLAND. 261 
This bird often beats a long roll on a resonant branch. 
When flying away it is easily identified by the showy white 
patch on the rump, and when it flies overhead its golden 
wings and tail are plainly shown. 
It is rather a shy bird, and it has reason to be, for, in 
spite of the law protecting it, the Flicker is hunted in most 
parts of its range. It is not a typical Woodpecker. Its 
bill is slightly curved, 
and its tongue has fewer 
terminal barbs than any 
other North American 
species. But the tongue 
is one of the longest, it . 
is studded on the upper 
surface with fine points 
directed backward, and 
the salivary glands are 
large ; in fact, this bird 
is more of an ant-eater 
than a Woodpecker. It Fig. 118.— Flicker, male, about one-half natural 
frequents fields, or- see 
chards, and open spaces in the woods, where it strikes its 
long bill into anthills, and then thrusts out its still longer 
tongue, coated with sticky saliva, and licks up the out- 
rushing ants by the dozen. Ants constitute about forty-five 
per cent. of its food. Though useful in some ways, ants are 
often great pests. Many kinds are decidedly harmful, as 
they attend, protect, and help to spread many aphids that 
are known as plant, root, or bark lice, which are among 
the greatest enemies of certain garden plants, shrubs, and 
trees. Ants infest houses, destroy timber, and have other 
harmful habits. They are eaten by many birds, of which 
the Flicker heads the list. It also takes beetles, grasshop- 
pers, crickets, caterpillars, and other harmful insects. It is 
fond of wild cherries and wild berries, but takes very little 
cultivated fruit. Grass seed and weed seed are eaten to 
some extent. Occasionally it has been known to eat a little 
corn on the ear. Its most harmful habit is exhibited in 
southeastern Massachusetts, where, especially on Cape Cod, 
