Red-shafted Northern Flicker (Intergrade possible)

A medium-sized woodpecker with a barred brown back and a black crescent on the breast. Unlike most woodpeckers, they forage on the ground for ants. In flight, the 'Red-shafted' variety displays a diagnostic flash of reddish-orange under the wings and tail.

Salmon-pink to reddish-orange shaft (rachis) and underside. The dorsal (upper) surface is a muted olive-brown to grayish-brown with subtle dark barring visible towards the tip. The ventral (under) side shows the characteristic intense orange-red flash.

Tightly interlocked pennaceous barbs throughout most of the vane for flight rigidity; small plumulaceous section at the very base near the calamus; barbs are stiff and resilient.

Smooth, stiff, and glossy. The feather has a high structural integrity typical of woodpeckers who require durable plumage for life around abrasive tree bark.

Bright salmon-red/orange rachis and under-vane combined with a grayish-brown upper vane and asymmetrical flight profile.

Open woodlands, forest edges, suburban parks, and backyards with mature trees and open ground for foraging.

Western North America from Alaska through Mexico; intergrades with the Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker in the Great Plains.

Primary cavity nester; they create holes used by many other 'secondary' cavity nesters like bluebirds and small owls. They are also major predators of ants.

Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker (has yellow shaft/under-vane), Gilded Flicker (found in deserts, has yellow-orange shafts but different wing proportions).

Northern Flickers are one of the few North American woodpeckers that are strongly migratory. They are also famous for 'drumming' on metal objects like chimneys to amplify their territory calls.

Good to Fair; visible wear on the trailing edge (fraying) and some separation of the barbs near the base, likely a naturally molted feather.