Advertisemen
The young golden woodpecker's square measure able to fly, however they dallied at the nests edge, slightly cautious, reluctant to require flight. finally one daring young fellow will resist the "call of the wild" now not and, pushing his companions aside, essays with unsure flight to succeed in his oldsters, target-hunting by the direction of the sound. however it's going to be associate hour or maybe a full hour before his brother will muster the required spirit to follow, then a handful of hours or a lot of could glide by before the total family, one by one, has vacated the nest. The young glints ar} currently totally 3 weeks recent and measure eight inches from the purpose of the beak to the tip of the tail.
Flickers generally come to identical nest in consecutive years, and in early spring is also observed examining the previous home, evidently discussing its merits as an abode for another season. Being of a peaceable disposition they are occasionally deprived of their prospective quarters by other (even much smaller) birds in search of a residence. Our Georgia flicker was in the second year unfairly ousted from his domicile by a pair of bluebirds, who had discovered a passage thereto through the rotten wood at a lower level. After a brief squabble the flickers gave in and departed. But Fate was in their favor! The nest of the robber bluebirds having been espied and destroyed by wanton urchins, our flickers promptly returned, true to the familiar tree.
Last year's nest was carefully inspected, but now pleased them no longer, so the male bird set to work to excavate a new nest-hole at twice the distance up the trunk. Obviously, such faithful adherence to the old spot was deserving of reward in the form of practical aid, so with auger and chisel in hand the tree was scaled and our flicker helped along at his task, a goodsized aperture being made at the place where the bird had just started to bore. This assistance was appreciated and our industrious flicker followed it up with nearly a month's hard work, and in that space of time scooped out a cavity twenty inches deep.
To facilitate the study of flicker life, the writer now sawed the nest into sections, afterward replacing these removable members and fastening them with suitable catches. it absolutely was shocking however very little all this tinkering disturbed the flickers; it appeared nearly like they felt themselves to be in friendly company, for evincing no uneasiness, they diligently removed such chisel chippings as had remained within the nest, and, giving very cheap of the cavity a final bit to suit their style, the happy try quietly settled down in their new commodious home.
Advertisemen