Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted or Red-shafted)

The Northern Flicker is a large, distinctive woodpecker with brownish plumage barred and spotted with black. Unlike most woodpeckers, they spend a significant amount of time on the ground foraging for ants. Their flight is strong and undulating, and they possess a loud, ringing call.

Dark brownish-gray background with distinctive round white or off-white spots arranged in rows along the vanes, characteristic of upperparts plumage

Pennaceous vane distally with a plumulaceous base showing loose barbs

Smooth and matte vane with a soft, fluffy base near the calamus

Dark brown or grayish background prominently marked with clean, rounded white or buff spots in a barred or dotted arrangement

Open woodlands, forest edges, clearings, and urban parks with scattered trees and snags

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

Flickers are important keystone species; as primary cavity excavators, the hollows they abandon provide essential nesting and roosting sites for numerous secondary cavity nesters, including bluebirds, swallows, and small owls

Other woodpecker species such as the Red-bellied Woodpecker or Downy Woodpecker, though their spotting and barring patterns differ significantly in scale and contrast

Northern Flickers are unique among North American woodpeckers for their heavy reliance on ants as a food source, using a barbed tongue that can extend two inches beyond the bill tip to lap up prey.

Good condition with mostly intact barbs and only minor wear at the very tip