NORTHERN FLICKER BIRD PATCH

There are migrants in the northern parts of their range. They can be found throughout the easternВ United StatesВ andВ Cuba. The yellow-shafted flicker is found from southernВ AlaskaВ andВ CanadaВ south to theВ Gulf States. Red-shafted flickers are reddish under the tail and wings.

NORTHERN FLICKER BIRD PATCH

The red-shafted flicker has a brown crown and doesnвЂ™t possess the red patch on the nape of the neck. The males have a black mustache or line at the base of the bill. Under the tail and wings, a bright yellow can be seen giving the flicker the name yellow-shafted. The yellow-shafted flicker has a red patch on the nape of the neck. Northern flickerвЂ™s have a conspicuous white rump that can be seen when the bird is in its deeply undulating flight. A wide black вЂњnecklaceвЂќ is also characteristic of both subspecies. Both subspecies are brown-and-black barred on the back and wings, and a buff-colored or whitish breast with black spots. There are two different subspecies of the northern or common flicker: Colaptes auratus auratusВ (yellow-shafted) and Colaptes auratus caferВ (red-shafted). They were called the вЂњyellowhammer companyвЂќ because of the brilliant yellow bits of cloth on the sleeves, collars, and coattails of their new uniforms. The northern flicker isВ AlabamaвЂ™s state bird where it is often referred to as the вЂњYellow-hammer.вЂќ The name вЂњYellow-hammerвЂќ comes from a term that was applied to a company of young cavalry soldiers fromВ Huntsville. Designated the offical state bird by the Alabama Legislature.В MODERATE CONSERVATION CONCERN. Fairly common to uncommon in all seasons and regions. Yellow-shafted flicker, red-shafted flicker, common flicker.Д«reeder.

Cooperative University Research Projects.

Saltwater Fishing Creel and Size Limits.

Freshwater Fishing Creel and Size Limits.

Physically Disabled Hunting and Fishing Trail.

Search the web for 'flicker nest box plans. Place nest boxes in the shade at a height of 8 feet or more. Flickers readily accept nest boxes built about 18-24 inches tall, with a floor of 7.25 x 7.25 inches, and an entry hole with a diameter of 2-1/2 inches about 14 inches from the bottom. You may attract flickers to your backyard feeders by offering suet or a peanuts. 'Pure' Yellow-shafted Flickers are rare in the West.ДЇlickers spend as much time on the ground eating ants as they do on trees. These appear in the Pacific Northwest primarily in fall and winter. Birds from these intergrade zones show odd or contradictory combinations of facial markings or yellow-orange wing linings. These forms intergrade in the Great Plains and western Canada. The face is brownish with a gray crown and a red nape mark. The form found in eastern North America has yellowish wing and tail linings. Males, such as the one pictured above, have a red malar (moustache) stripe. The breeding form in the Pacific NW is the 'Red-shafted' form, with salmon-colored (pinkish-orange) wing and tail linings. Two forms formerly considered separate species, Yellow-shafted Flicker and Red-shafted Flicker, were lumped in the 1970's into one species, Northern Flicker. They retreat from northern areas in winter. This widespread woodpecker breeds in woods and forests across North America from the treeline of Alaska and northern Canada south to Cuba and through Mexico. Will they note the robin-sized brown bird with black bars on the back probing on the ground with a long bill? Will they note the flashing orange wing and tail linings and white rump as it flushes away? Will they see a large white-breasted bird with round black spots and a black crescent on the chest sitting on their fence? Or will a person only 'discover' this bird as an unwelcome spring dawn alarm clock, declaring its territory by drumming loudly and incessantly on their home's downspouts or siding? Like the tale of the blind men describing an elephant, a new birder seeing this bird for the first time may be confused as to the identity of this unusual woodpecker. Northern Flicker, Rood Bridge Park, Hillsboro, Oregon on 13 March 2009 by Greg Gillson.

Northern flicker bird