Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted or Red-shafted)

The Northern Flicker is a large, distinctive woodpecker with brownish plumage barred with black and a white rump patch that is conspicuous in flight. Unlike most woodpeckers, they spend a lot of time foraging on the ground for ants and beetles. They are known for their rolling cackle and loud drumming.

Distinctive barred pattern featuring black cross-bars on a white or buff background, terminating in a prominent dark tip, with a yellowish or straw-colored rachis

Pennaceous upper portion with tightly interlocked barbs transitioning to a plumulaceous (fluffy) downy base

Smooth and firm along the upper pennaceous vane, becoming soft and downy near the proximal base

Black and white barred pattern with a dark tip and distinctive pale yellowish shaft

Open woodlands, forest edges, clearings, suburban parks, and semi-open country with scattered trees

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

Key cavity excavator that creates nesting sites used by numerous secondary cavity nesters, while controlling ant and insect populations

Other woodpecker species such as the Red-bellied Woodpecker or Downy Woodpecker, but distinguished by the specific bold black barring and yellowish shaft

Unlike typical woodpeckers that hammer trees for wood-boring insects, flickers specialize in eating ants and use their barbed tongues to lap them up from underground nests

Good condition with intact upper barbs and slight fraying at the fluffy base