Northern Flicker (Red-shafted subspecies)

This feather displays the iconic 'red-shafted' coloration unique to western populations of the Northern Flicker. These birds are large, brownish woodpeckers with black scalloping and a prominent black crescent on the breast. Unlike most woodpeckers, they are frequently seen on the ground. When they fly, they reveal a brilliant flash of color under the wings and tail, which matches the hue found in this specimen.

Striking salmon-red to bright orange-red pigment on the rachis and the base of the barbs, lacking the black terminal banding seen in full tail feathers, suggesting a transition or wing element

Pennaceous and tightly interlocked along most of the vane, becoming slightly plumulaceous at the very base near the calamus

Smooth, glossy, and remarkably stiff/rigid to the touch; the surface has a waxy sheen indicative of high carotenoid deposition

Bright red/orange shaft (rachis), stiff structural integrity, and deep salmon-colored vanes without dark barring

Open woodlands, forest edges, yards, and parks; frequently seen foraging on the ground for ants

Western North America, from southern Alaska and western Canada through the Rocky Mountains and Pacific coast to Central America

Primary cavity nester; they create holes in trees that provide essential nesting habitat for dozens of other species like bluebirds, swallows, and small owls.

Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker (which has yellow shafts) and the Gilded Flicker (found in desert regions with a mix of features)

Northern Flickers are one of the few North American woodpeckers that are strongly migratory; they are also unique for their primary diet of ants, consuming thousands in a single day using a long, barbed tongue

Fair to Good; shows signs of wear and separation of the barbs (venting) along the trailing edge, likely a naturally molted specimen