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

A medium-sized woodpecker with a brownish barred back and a black crescent on the chest. This feather displays the warm, salmon-toned hues found on the underparts of the Western populations, which rely on carotenoid pigments for their vibrant color.

Salmon-pink to peach-orange wash on the distal half, characteristic of the 'Red-shafted' expression. It features a distinctive dark brown or black subterminal spot or terminal margin common in flicker plumage.

Transitioning from plumulaceous (fluffy/loose) at the base to pennaceous (interlocked) at the distal end; distal barbs are stiff and well-defined.

Smooth and slightly glossy at the pigmented tip while the lower half is extremely soft, downy, and matte.

Diagnostic salmon-orange/pink coloration combined with a dark terminal spot and a fluffy, downy base.

Open woodlands, forest edges, yards, and parks; notably more terrestrial than other woodpeckers, often foraging on the ground for ants.

Common across North America; 'Red-shafted' forms are primarily Western, 'Yellow-shafted' Eastern, with a wide hybrid zone through the Great Plains.

Primary cavity nester; creates homes for many other 'secondary' cavity-nesting species like flycatchers and bluebirds. Acts as a major predator of wood-boring insects and ants.

Gilded Flicker (more yellow-gold), various larger Woodpeckers (lack the specific salmon-pink wash and spotting pattern).

Unlike most woodpeckers, Northern Flickers primarily eat ants and beetles they find by drumming and digging in the dirt with their slightly curved bills.

Good condition, though the tip shows naturally occurring splitting or light wear typical of a molted body feather.