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

This feather belongs to the Northern Flicker, a large, uniquely ground-foraging woodpecker. The bird is known for its barred brown back, black crescent on the chest, and spotted belly. In flight, they show a bright white rump and colorful undersides of wings and tail (yellow in the East, red in the West).

Bicolor pattern featuring a deep chocolate or grayish-brown distal portion and a pale, silvery-gray to white proximal / basal portion. The rachis transitions from dark to light.

Mixed: Pennaceous (tightly interlocked) towards the tip and along the outer edges; plumulaceous (fluffy/downy) at the base. Barbs appear slightly worn at the distal end.

Smooth and somewhat stiff in the dark area, transitioning to a very soft, silky, and insulating texture at the base. The surface is matte.

Distinct contrast between the dark brown tip and the extensive white downy base; lanceolate shape typical of woodpecker body plumage.

Open woodlands, forest edges, yards, and parks. Unlike most woodpeckers, they are frequently seen on the ground foraging for ants.

Common throughout North America, from the tree line in Canada and Alaska south to Mexico and the Gulf Coast. Northern populations are migratory.

Primary cavity nester; they create holes in dead trees that provide essential nesting habitat for many other 'secondary' cavity-nesting species like bluebirds and owls.

Red-bellied Woodpecker (usually more barred), Hairy Woodpecker (usually more stark white/black), or Mourning Dove (more uniform gray-brown).

Northern Flickers are ant specialists; a single flicker stomach has been found to contain over 5,000 ants. They are also the only North American woodpeckers that frequently migrate.

Fair to Good. There is some separation of the barbs at the tip (fraying) and the downy section is slightly matted, common in naturally molted feathers.