40 



OUR SOUTHERN BIRDS 



FLICKER 



To call over the many names by which this 

 bird is known in different parts of the country is 

 to suggest a number of his most striking char- 

 acteristics — High-hole ; Yellow-hammer ; Ground 

 Woodpecker; Yarrup; Golden- 

 winged Woodpecker, etc. Of 

 all these the last is perhaps 

 most descriptive, for his wings 

 are indeed lined with yellow 

 satin, and the larger quills are 

 bright as gold. All his mark- 

 ings are showy ; the red crown- 

 patch, the black cravat and 

 moustache, the gay polka-dot 

 vest and the barred brown 

 coat. 



His saucy calls and cries 

 are as various as his names, 

 and every country boy or girl 

 knows them. But not every 

 one knows of his curious 

 tongue, twice as long as the bill and hard- 

 pointed, which he uses in extracting grubs and 

 other denizens of deep crevices and holes. He 

 visits the ground much oftener than other Wood- 

 peckers, and picks up great numbers of ants. 

 The nest, like that of other Woodpeckers, is 



FLICKER 

 Length 13 inches 



