Concord, Mass.
1899
May 13
(No. 5)
bird's tail projecting from the bush which was not over
5 feet above the ground. For a minute or more pecking
and whirring continued uninterruptedly, the tail wriggling
violently the while. Evidently the bird had carved in
the hole to just that point where she had less room to
work than she had had before or would have afterwards.
In other words she had just about reached the point
when the entrance hole must begin to be expanded into
a chamber & to turn downward. It seemed to me
that the whirring sound expressed rage or impatience. 
Perhaps it is the Flicker's form of swearing! Unfortunately
the bird heard me as I was trying to start off a little 
way to get behind the next apple tree & flew off in
alarm. I waited for sometime but she would not 
return. I had to move away for had I stayed she
would certainly come out of the hole with a 
mouthful of chips in the course of a minute or two &
discovered me. The [male] Flicker was shouting about 200 yards off.
  As I was crossing the opening beyond the swamp I
saw a hen Partridge perched on a little mound under
a pine in a crouching position. The ground over a space
of several yards around the mound was as smooth &
open as a well kept floor. I was less than twenty-five
feet away & the bird must have seen me as I
approached. She did not move until I stopped & put
the glass on her when she began walking slowly off
making the squirrel-like chickering sound & when she
got behind a tree she flew. I saw a cock Partridge a 
few days ago do nearly the same thing but he was standing
rather erect & as still as a statue in an opening. In both
instances the bird was only a few a few yards from dense bushes.
[margin]Partridge[/margin]
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