Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted or Red-shafted Flicker)

The Northern Flicker is a large, distinctive woodpecker with brownish plumage barred with black, a white rump patch visible in flight, and a black crescent on the chest. Unlike most woodpeckers, they spend a significant amount of time on the ground foraging for ants and beetles.

Dark charcoal-gray to blackish background prominently marked with distinctive white to yellowish-white spots and bars along the edges of the vanes

Pennaceous vane with tightly interlocked barbs and barbicels, some slight fraying at the base near the calamus

Smooth, firm, and relatively stiff with a matte finish, designed to withstand aerodynamic forces during flight

Bold white or buff spotting/barring on a dark grayish-black background with a pale, sturdy central rachis

Open forests, woodland edges, woodlots, urban parks, and backyards with scattered trees and dead snags for nesting and foraging

Widespread across North America, extending from Alaska and Canada down through the United States and into parts of Central America and Cuba

Acting as a primary cavity excavator, the Northern Flicker creates nesting holes used by dozens of other secondary cavity-nesting birds and mammals, making them a keystone species in their ecosystem

Other woodpecker species such as the Red-bellied Woodpecker or Downy Woodpecker, which generally have different black-and-white ladder patterns rather than rounded spots on dark backgrounds

Northern Flickers have exceptionally long, barbed tongues that can extend nearly two inches beyond the bill tip to scoop up ants from underground colonies

Good condition with minor wear at the tip and slight fraying at the base, indicating a naturally molted feather

Backyard