Northern Flicker (Red-shafted), Common Flicker

The Northern Flicker is a large, brownish woodpecker with a black ‘bib’ and spotted underparts. Unlike most woodpeckers, it often hops on the ground to eat ants. In flight, it reveals a brilliant flash of color—red in the West and yellow in the East—under the wings and tail.

Salmon-pink to reddish-orange on the shafts (rhachis) and the underside of the barbs; the upper surface is a grayish-brown or 'olive-brown' with subtle transverse dark banding. This vibrant orange/red color is the diagnostic trait of the 'Red-shafted' western subspecies.

The barbs are tightly interlocked (pennaceous) throughout most of the vane for aerodynamic efficiency, with some plumulaceous (fluffy) barbs visible near the base; the barbicels (hooklets) are strong, maintaining a stiff plane.

Smooth and glossy on the upper surface, with a stiff, resilient texture designed for durability against tree trunks; the underside has a bright, almost waxy sheen reflecting the carotenoid pigments.

Bright salmon-red/orange rachis (shaft) and internal vane color combined with a brown/gray barred outer exterior; asymmetrical flight feather shape characteristic of the Picidae family.

Open woodlands, forest edges, yards, and parks; uniquely among woodpeckers, they are frequently found on the ground in grasslands foraging for ants.

The Red-shafted form is found throughout western North America, from southern Alaska and western Canada through the Rocky Mountains to Mexico. They are migratory in the northern parts of their range.

Primary cavity nester; they create holes in dead or decaying trees that are subsequently used by dozens of other species (secondary cavity nesters) such as bluebirds and small owls.

Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker (identical pattern but with yellow shafts), Gilded Flicker (found in desert southwest, different barring and subtle color shifts), and various Hawk feathers (which lack the bright red internal rachis).

The Northern Flicker is one of the few North American woodpeckers that is strongly migratory. They have a specialized long, barbed tongue that can extend 2 inches past the beak to lap up ants from underground tunnels.

Fair to Poor; the feather shows significant damage, including 'unzipping' of the barbs (loss of cohesion), fraying at the tip, and some twisted or broken barbs, suggesting it was naturally molted or left following a predation event.