Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)

The Northern Flicker is a large, distinctive woodpecker with brownish plumage barred with black and a white rump patch that flashes brightly in flight. Unlike many other woodpeckers, they spend a lot of time on the ground foraging for ants.

Distinctive grayish-brown background with a bold black subterminal band or spot near the rounded tip, and fluffy white-to-gray basal fluff.

Pennaceous at the upper tip transitioning to plumulaceous (fluffy) downy barbs at the base.

Smooth and firm at the upper patterned vane, becoming soft and fluffy toward the base.

Grayish-brown ground color with prominent black spotting/barring and a characteristic dark subterminal mark.

Open woodlands, forest edges, suburban yards, parks, and agricultural areas with scattered trees.

Widespread across North America, ranging from Alaska down through the United States and into parts of Central America.

As cavity nesters, flickers are a keystone species, creating nest holes that are subsequently used by dozens of other secondary cavity-nesting birds and mammals.

Other woodpecker species such as Red-bellied Woodpecker or Downy Woodpecker, though their contour feathers generally lack the distinct rounded teardrop or barred pattern seen in flickers.

Northern Flickers are one of the few woodpecker species that are strongly migratory in the northern parts of their range, and they specialize in eating ants and beetles, using their slightly curved bill to probe the ground.

Good condition with minor wear at the edges, typical of a naturally dropped contour feather.