Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted or Red-shafted subspecies)

The Northern Flicker is a large, brownish woodpecker with a black bib and spotted belly. In flight, it flashes brilliant under-wings and tail colors (yellow or red/orange depending on the region). It is unique among woodpeckers for its habit of hopping on the ground to eat ants.

Distinctive bright orange to reddish-orange rachis (shaft). The vane is primarily dark brownish-black to black, with large, rounded white spots or notches along the outer edge of the vane.

Tightly interlocked and pennaceous throughout most of the vane to provide rigidity; barbs are densely packed and the tip is exceptionally stiff.

Smooth, glossy, and remarkably stiff/rigid to the touch; the surface has a slight waxy sheen characteristic of healthy woodpecker plumage.

The most diagnostic feature is the brightly colored orange/red shaft combined with a dark vane and bold white spotting/notching on the outer edges.

Open woodlands, forest edges, yards, parks, and agricultural lands; unlike many woodpeckers, they frequently forage on the ground.

Common across North America, from the treeline in Alaska and Canada south through the United States and into Central America; Red-shafted forms are western, Yellow-shafted are eastern.

Primary cavity nester and significant predator of ants; they create nesting holes used by many other 'secondary' cavity-nesting species like bluebirds and owls.

The Yellow-shafted Flicker has a yellow rachis; the Gilded Flicker (southwest US) is similar but prefers desert habitats and has different wing/tail color combinations.

Northern Flickers are polytypic, with the Red-shafted and Yellow-shafted forms interbreeding in a wide hybrid zone across the Great Plains, leading to orange-shafted individuals like the one shown.

The feather appears to be in excellent condition with no visible fault bars or heavy wear, suggesting a recent molt or a healthy individual bird.