Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)

The Northern Flicker is a large, distinctive woodpecker with brownish plumage barred with black, a white rump visible in flight, and a black crescent on the breast. Unlike most woodpeckers, they frequently forage on the ground for ants and beetles.

Rich brownish-gray background heavily barred with black transverse bands, featuring large, striking white or pale buff rounded spots along the edges of the vanes. The central shaft (rachis) is distinctly yellow or golden near the base, characteristic of the yellow-shafted subspecies form.

Pennaceous vane with tightly interlocked barbs and barbicels along the upper portion, becoming slightly less rigid near the base. No afterfeather is present, which is typical of woodpeckers.

Stiff, smooth, and relatively glossy with strong structural rigidity, particularly along the rachis and distal vane.

Large white spots on a brownish-gray and black-barred background combined with a yellow-tinted central rachis.

Open woodlands, forest edges, clearings, suburban parks, and semi-open country with scattered trees and snags for nesting and foraging.

Widespread across North America, breeding from Alaska and Canada down through the United States and into Central America. Northern populations migrate south for the winter.

Primary cavity nester that creates holes used subsequently by numerous other secondary cavity-nesting birds and mammals. They also help control ant and insect populations.

Red-shafted Flicker (Colaptes auratus cafer), which features reddish-orange coloration on the rachis and underwings instead of yellow.

Northern Flickers are one of the few woodpecker species that are strongly migratory and heavily reliant on ants for food, consuming thousands in a single day using a specialized sticky tongue.

Good condition with minor wear at the extreme tip, typical of normal use and preening.