WOODPECKERS. 55 
     
    
   
   
    
     is also a summer yisitant and one of our com~ 
     
     mon birds In the soft (lays of April we listen 
     
     for his calling with the early songsters of 
     
     the grove. In May we catch him on a retired 
     
    
   
   
    
     sunny perch cooing to his mate 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     a loving pair, 
     
     thrilling with emotion and true wilderness affection. 
     
     'l'hey sit close together on the perch, silent for 
     
     a moment, then they rise slightly, stretch out their 
     
     scarlet-banded necks, flutter their rich brown 
     
     plumage, spread out their beautifully marked, fan- 
     
     shaped tails, then turn half round toward each 
     
     other, dodging their bodies and uttering a low 
     
     whistling chuckle. 'l‘hat’s wild bird courting. In 
     
     the last of the month they have their nest dug 
     
     in a decayed stump about as high as one can 
     
     reach from the ground, They have twelve 
     
     beautiful white eggs. 'l‘hese birds are very fond 
     
     of ants and their nests are generally fragrant. with 
     
     the odor of formic acid. The Flicker, as he is 
     
     sometimes called, will occasionally stay here till 
     
     chill October is well advanced. Noisy and rest— 
     
     less in the first of the season, he is very quiet 
     
     and retired in autumn.