Concord, Mass.
1908
April 7
  Cloudy most of day. Very mild with light W. wind.
  At sunrise this morning a Flicker alternately
drummed and shouted near the house keeping it up for
ten or fifteen minutes. The drumming invariably preceded
the shouting, the two sounds being separated by only the
briefest possible interval. After making both the bird
would remain silent for a minute or more and then
drum and shout again. I assumed that there was
only one bird but there may have been two. I was in
bed at the time so could not investigate this point.
I am quite sure that on former occasions I have
seen a Flicker produce both sounds. Both, I think,
are characteristic of the mating or love season and
probably love notes. If so the bird has two distinct
sets of love notes. The female Flicker sometimes
shouts and perhaps drums also. The drumming is a simple
even roll indistinguishable by my ears from that of the Downy.
Flicker shouts & drums alternately
  Although I have seen Downy woodpeckers about
the house almost daily for the past two weeks
I have not heard one drum until this morning
when a bird was making the usual ever monotonous
note at short intervals for nearly two hours. His
drumming place was on a dead tree trunk in
the grove behind our barn.
Drumming of downy Woodpecker