Northern Flicker (Red-shafted subspecies), Yellow-shafted Flicker, Common Flicker

The Northern Flicker is a large, unique woodpecker that brown-toned với black barring on the back and black spotting on the belly. While most woodpeckers forage on trees, flickers are often seen hopping on the ground eating ants. This specific feather is an insulating body feather that keeps the bird warm during High Desert winters.

Charcoal gray to brownish-black distal tip with a solid, dark appearance. The base transitions into a light gray or creamy-white downy section. This specific solid dark tip over a pale base is characteristic of many flicker body feathers.

The distal portion is pennaceous (stiff and interlocking) while the proximal half is highly plumulaceous (downy and fluffy) for thermoregulation.

Smooth and slightly glossy on the dark pennaceous tip; soft, airy, and silky in the downy proximal section.

The contrast between the dark, rounded vane and the extensive, pale plumulaceous base; the size is typical for a woodpecker of this genus.

Open woodlands, forest edges, suburban yards, and parks with scattered trees. Frequently seen foraging on the ground in grassy lawns.

Common throughout North America; in Bend, Oregon, the 'Red-shafted' subspecies is the year-round resident.

Primary cavity nester; their abandoned holes provide essential nesting sites for secondary cavity nesters like bluebirds and small owls. They also control insect populations.

Steller's Jay (lacks the brownish-black tone), American Crow (much larger and more uniformly black/stiff), Mourning Dove (usually more buff-colored).

Unlike most woodpeckers, Northern Flickers primarily eat ants and beetles they find on the ground. They have a long, barbed tongue that can extend 2 inches past the beak to lap up insects.

Good condition. The feather appears naturally molted. No significant fault bars or parasitic damage visible.

In backyard in Bend, Oregon