102 
THE COXDOR 
Vol. XIII 
point where I resided in the Dakota country, the crescendo chant of the Oven- 
bird {Seiiinis aurocapiJhis) was heard in spring and summer, and on two occasions 
I found the nest of this species. 
When the night falls, and near the water the frogs sing and croak; when the 
slight breezes cause the pines to sigh; when, like ghouls, the coyotes yelp and wail 
amid the moon-kissed hills, whereon, exposed to sunshine and to rain, rest the 
rude coffins of the Sioux — then the sound that, above all others, arrests the atten- 
tion, is the succession of curious utterances of the Long-tailed Chats {Icteria vireus 
in the undergrowth along the creek. Day and night for a consider- 
able period after the middle of May, I could hear them, and when I first witnessed 
the actions of the male as he mounted high in the air, and then descended in a 
series of short, jerky flights, I realized the appropriateness of one of his, common 
names — clown. And no mountebank ever was more gaily attired than he. 
Red -headed Woodpeckers, while not remarkably abundant, were common 
enough among the trees near the water-courses from May 20 to the middle of Sep- 
tember, and ever and anon, one or two could be seen working away at a post, or 
sitting on the ridge-board of a building. Or again, especially in the autumn, the 
young and old spent much time together engaged in flycatching. This, by the 
way, has become a very common trait of these birds. While I do not venture to 
prophesy, yet it may be said that from such small beginnings as this occasional 
recreation, marked changes in habit or structure often take their rise. Just at 
present it would be hard to believe that these birds might sometime be driven by 
natural selection to take regularly to this method of obtaining insect food. Still, 
should timber become exceedingly scarce, such a result might follow. Moreover 
I believe that at the present day, even, use and habit may be effecting slight 
changes in the Red-head’s ways of life. The habit of flycatching, which is in- 
dulged in by all the species of Melanerpes, the genus to which this bird belongs, is 
no doubt inherited; and it would be strange indeed if continued use of the muscles 
called upon did not strengthen and modify them, as well as enable the bird to at- 
tain skill in their exercise; and these acquirements would be transmitted to the 
progeny. Then, should the kinds of trees become scarce wherefrom the wood- 
peckers are wont to search out their food, it is possible to believe that natural se- 
lection would preserve those birds that were best enabled to make a living by fol- 
lowing the Kingbird’s trade, and that in a few thousand generations it would be 
difficult indeed for the shade of Audubon, on beholding the modified descendant of 
Melanerpes, to tell what manner of bird was before him! 
It is more than probable that the genus to which the common Flicker belongs 
was in remote times nearer than now to the typical woodpeckers, which lead a 
strictly arboreal life; and glancing from them to him w'e see the changes that have 
been wrought. Natural selection has operated upon the coloration of the Flicker’s 
upper parts and rendered them protective to the owner in that they make him in- 
conspicuous as he “hunts bugs” upon the ground, and directive to his companions 
as he rises therefrom in flight. Moreover, the same agency, assisted by use and 
wont, has effected other modifications. And why, in the light of these facts, 
should it be impossible to accept the view that the Red-head, also, may one day 
become altered in form and habit? But all such changes ultimately depend upon 
modifications in the environment; unless these occur the organism remains un- 
altered. 
I think it was when severe storms swept over the plains, driving the birds to 
the vicinity of the buildings and haystacks that I felt for and with them most, 
