Northern Flicker (Red-shafted subspecies)

A medium-sized woodpecker with a barred brown back and a black crescent on the breast. This feather exhibits the 'Red-shafted' form's signature underside color. In flight, the underwings and tail flash brilliant red.

Salmon-pink to vibrant reddish-orange on the ventral side and rachis, which is diagnostic for the 'Red-shafted' group. Underside is bright, while the dorsal side often appears more brownish-grey or muted red-brown.

Densely packed and stiff pennaceous barbs throughout most of the vane to provide structural support; minimal plumulaceous (fluffy) barbs at the very base of the calamus.

Relatively stiff and semi-glossy. The surface is smooth and lacks the soft fringe of an owl, as it is built for mechanical support rather than silent flight.

Salmon-red/orange rachis (shaft) and ventral vane; stiff, pointed tip characteristic of woodpecker tail feathers; lacks the typical woodpecker black-and-white spotting.

Open woodlands, forest edges, yards, and parks. Unlike many woodpeckers, they are frequently seen on the ground foraging for ants.

Western North America, from southern Alaska through the Rockies and Pacific coast down into Mexico. They interbreed with 'Yellow-shafted' flickers in the Great Plains.

Primary cavity nester; they excavate holes in dead trees that are later used by dozens of other species (secondary cavity nesters) like bluebirds and small owls.

Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker (has yellow shafts), Gilded Flicker (yellow-orange shafts, limited range in Sonoran desert), and various hawks (which lack the stiffened woodpecker tail architecture).

Northern Flickers are one of the few North American woodpeckers that are strongly migratory. They are also unique for their diet, consisting mostly of ants which they lick up with a long, barbed tongue.

Excellent condition. The vane is intact with no significant fraying or fault bars (stress marks), and the pigment is vibrant, suggesting it was recently molted.