In general the woodpeckers choose to build their own houses. But as the Flicker is so unlike other woodpeckers in appearance and in certain of his well-known ways, it is not surprising to learn that he will readily take possession of an artificial bird house. Naturally, a woodpecker (and the Flicker is that) is scarcely an exception to the rule that bird-house tenants prefer something along the general lines of a woodpecker’s work. A section of a hollow trunk or branch of the proper dimensions inside may easily be transformed into an ideal Flicker house. Next best is the dugout type illustrated in Plate II. Finally, the semi-cylindrical or even rectangular house will do very well if the other specifications are about those given in Table I. The country or the suburbs, not too near to a residence, is the right environment for the Flicker.

A Flicker which took possession of a house I had placed for Crested Flycatchers spent days in audibly widening the rectangular chamber until a soft bed of chips was provided to receive the eggs. The moral is—make the sides of thick, soft wood, and let even a woodpecker furnish his own bedding. However, one or two handfuls of coarse sawdust thrown into the Flicker house will be quite welcome to this bird.