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Show May 22-Ma- 28, 1980 y IE The Red Shafted Flicker The red shafted flicker is one of our most common woodpecker type birds. It has always seemed strange to me how a creature can consistently use his head in the manner of a jackhammer and still keep his senses, but this is exactly what the flicker does. The poundings serve two purposes, the first being A flicker will pound on a dead tree and then listen as dislodged bugs scurry about beneath the bark. Upon hearing a meandering morsel, the flicker deftly glides his six is communication. inch long tongue into the worm hole and snags out the tasty grub. The other purpose of the In much the same manner as native jungle drumbeats, woodpeckers send messages to one another via the resonance of wood. This time of year flickers are exceptionally active, and their drumming and laughing (not unlike Woody Woodpecker) call can be heard throughout the town and countryside. The reason for all this activity is, of course, spring courtship. The ritual arrives at completion as mated pairs of flickers mutually display their strikingly beautiful plummage. The last word in all this is a snug nest carved in a dead tree and a half dozen or so snow white eggs. The flicker, along with about two dozen other Utah birds, needs snags and dead trees for his homestead. In our own spring cleaning, we might leave a few dead trees standing and keep our skies bright with flickers and bluebirds. food-gettin- g. rat-a-tat--tat red-oran- ge M ' I Kayo Robertson ' I f mt I i I .1. , ' A, .'.W.'M.O.'.!. 1 I I - t I M I I f 1 I |