Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted or Red-shafted)

The Northern Flicker is a large, distinctive woodpecker with a brownish body heavily barred with black, a white rump patch visible in flight, and a red or yellow wash under the wings and tail depending on the subspecies. This feather displays their characteristic high-contrast barring.

Brownish-gray background with bold, distinct black transverse barring across both vanes, featuring a pale or whitish tip

Pennaceous vane distally with a plumulaceous base showing a small afterfeather (aftershaft), barbs are generally intact with interlocking barbicels

Smooth and semi-glossy pennaceous upper surface with a soft, fluffy downy base

Distinctive dark brown or black transverse bars across a greyish-brown background with a rounded tip and a soft, downy base

Open woodlands, forest edges, clearings, suburban parks, and agricultural areas with scattered large trees

Widespread across North America, extending south into parts of Central America and the Caribbean, with northern populations migrating

Acts as an important ecosystem engineer by excavating tree cavities used by many secondary cavity nesters, and controls ant populations

Other woodpecker species such as the Red-bellied Woodpecker or Downy Woodpecker, though their patterns tend to feature more distinct spotting or ladder-like striping rather than heavy transverse bars

Unlike most other woodpeckers, Northern Flickers spend a great deal of time foraging on the ground, primarily eating ants and beetles using a specially adapted barbed tongue

Good condition with minor wear at the tip and intact barbs along the primary vane