Red-shafted Flicker (Northern Flicker), Common Flicker

A medium-sized woodpecker with a barred brown back and spotted underparts. This feather showcases the iconic 'red' shaft and ventral glow that distinguishes the western subspecies from the 'Yellow-shafted' eastern variety.

Vibrant salmon-orange to reddish-pink on the rachis and ventral side. The dorsal side (visible) is warm brownish-copper with thin, pale transverse 'fault bars' or stress marks.

Densely packed pennaceous barbs with tight hooklets (barbicels) providing a rigid, wind-resistant surface for flight.

Smooth, glossy, and exceptionally stiff. The surface has a waxy appearance typical of woodpecker flight feathers, designed for durability against wood impact.

The distinctive salmon-orange/red rachis combined with the brown-toned primary vane and significant asymmetry.

Open woodlands, forest edges, suburban parks, and backyards; prefers areas where trees meet open ground for foraging.

Western North America from Alaska through Canada and the Western United States into Mexico.

Primary cavity nester; their abandoned holes provide essential nesting sites for secondary nesters like bluebirds, owls, and kestrels.

Yellow-shafted Flicker (has yellow rachis), Gilded Flicker (yellowish-orange, found in deserts), or Copper-winged parrots (different vane structure).

Unlike most woodpeckers, Flickers are ground-feeders that specialize in eating ants and beetles using their long, sticky tongues.

Good condition, though several 'fault bars'—thin translucent lines across the barbs—indicate periods of nutritional stress during the feather's growth.