| Northern Flicker | |
|---|---|
 Yellow-shafted female | |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Piciformes |
| Family | Picidae |
| Genus | Colaptes |
| Species | C. auratus |
The Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus), also known as the Yellowhammer, is terrestrial woodpecker spending most of its time foraging for ants on the ground. There are two forms of this bird, the yellow-shafted in the East, and red-shafted in the West, which were formerly considered separate species.
Taxonomy[]
English naturalist Mark Catesby was the first to describe the Northern Flicker, identifying it by the common name "Gold-winged Wood-pecker" and the scientific name Picus major alis aureis. The binomial name was coined in 1758 by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus when he updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, writing it as Cuculus auratus. The specific epithet auratus is a Latin word meaning "gilded" or "ornamented with gold". In 1825, Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors introduced the genus "Colaptes" with the Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) as the type species.
Ten subspecies of Northern Flicker are recognized, one of which is now extinct. The subspecies were once considered subspecies of two separate species called the Yellow-shafted Flicker (C. auratus) and the Red-shafted Flicker (C. cafer), but they commonly interbreed where their ranges overlap and are now considered a single species by the American Ornithologists Union.
Appearance[]
Intergrade flickers show characteristics of both forms.
Northern Flickers are fairly large woodpeckers that are 11.0-12.2 inches (28-31 cm) long, weight 3.9-5.6 oz (110-160 g), and have a wingspan of 16.5-20.1 inches (42-51 cm). The head is slim and rounded; their long, flared tail tapers to a point. An extremely long tongue extends two inches past the tip of its slightly downcurved beak.
Northern Flickers are light brown overall with black barred upperparts, a black crescent on the breast, and a black spotted belly. Red-shafted flickers have a gray head and buffy forehead. Red underwings and tail can be seen in flight. Males have red mustaches. Yellow-shafted flickers have a grey forehead and crown with a red crescent on the nape. Instead of red, males have black mustaches. Hybrids look intermediate.
Occurence[]
Distribution
Northern Flickers inhabit open, wooded areas such as woodlands, forest edges, and open fields with scattered trees. In the western mountains, they inhabit most forest types up until the tree lime. They tend to avoid dense unbroken forest, as they require some open ground for foraging. Outside of breeding season, they also frequent other open areas, including suburban lawns and parks, grassland, sagebrush, and even sand dunes.
Migration[]
Northern Flickers are partially migratory, leaving the northern parts of their range and flying south for winter. Red-shafted Flickers tend to over-winter on their breeding grounds or migrate shorter distances than Yellow-shafted Flickers, but both tend to withdraw from higher elevations and winter. Birds that breed farther south typically do not migrate.
Life History[]
Diet[]
Northern Flickers can be seen visiting bird feeders.
Northern Flickers mainly eat insects, especially ants and beetles, which are obtained by hammering at the ground. They also climb tree trunks and tree limbs, occasionally flying out to catch insects in the air. In winter, they will perch in outer branches to eat fruits and berries as well as seeds and nuts. Northern Flickers have been reported catching young bats leaving their roost in Wyoming.
Behavior[]
When flushed, Northern Flickers often perch erect on thin horizontal branches rather than hitching up or around a tree trunk like most woodpeckers. Their flight has fewer undulations than most woodpeckers, rising and falling smoothly as they intersperse periods of flapping with gliding. Males defend nesting territory with calling, drumming, and a display sometimes called a "fencing display" that includes swinging the head back and forth, flicking the wings open, and spreading the tail to show off the bright underside, all the while drawing a loop or figure-eight pattern in the air. Courtship displays are similar, which take place in early spring and summer.
Life Cycle[]
Northern Flickers will occupy nests in May-June. Males, with the occasional help of the female, excavates a cavity in dead or diseased tree trunks or large branches, with pine, willow, and cottonwood being their favorites. Nests are generally placed 6-15 feet off the ground, but on rare occasions can be over 100 feet high. Northern Flickers often reuse cavities that they or another species have excavated in a previous year.
Red-shafted male with hatchlings.
The entrance hole is about 3 inches in diameter, with the cavity being 13-16 inches deep. The cavity widens at bottom to make room for eggs and the incubating adult. There is no lining added to the cavity except for the leftover woodchips. The female lays 5-8 white eggs that are 0.8-1.4 inches (1.9-3.6 cm) long and 0.6-1.3 inches (1.6-3.3 cm) wide. Both sexes incubate the eggs for 11-13 days, then brood the newly hatched young for about 4 days. Newly hatched young have bare pink skin and have closed eyes. They have an egg tooth at the tip of the bill to assist them in breaking out of the egg. Both parents feed the young through regurgitation. Once the nestlings are about 17 days old, they begin clinging to the cavity wall rather than lying on the floor. After 24 to 27 days, the young are able to leave the nest. The parents continue to feed the young after they fledge, which later the young follow their parents to foraging sites. Northern Flickers produce 1 brood per year, with the exception being in the South where they produce two broods.
Northern Flickers have an average lifespan of 9 years.
Sounds[]
Northern Flickers make a loud, rolling kew-kew-kew call with each note ascending at the end. The song lasts 7 or 8 seconds and is often heard in spring or summer while pairs are forming and birds are establishing territories. The flicker is also responsible for emitting a loud single-note call, often sounding like kyeer, about a half-second long. When birds are close together and displaying, they may make a quiet, rhythmic wicka-wicka-wicka call.
Both males and females make a loud, evenly spaced, rapid drumming sound by hammering against trees or metal objects. When drumming, the bird may pause, move its head just an inch or so away, and then continue drumming with a very different quality of sound. Flicker drumming lasts about a second, during which the bird strikes the tree around 25 times.
Conservation[]
Northern Flickers play an important role in forest ecosystems by providing nesting sites for species that cannot create their own. They are a common and widespread species, and have further expanded their range with the help of urban development. However, Northern Flicker numbers decreased by almost 1.5% per year between 1966 and 2012, resulting in a cumulative decline of 49%, according to North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 9 million with 78% spending some part of the year in the U.S., 42% in Canada, and 8% in Mexico. This species is rated a 10 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score and are listed as a Common Bird in Steep Decline. They are not listed on the 2014 State of the Birds Report. The decline in Northern Flicker populations can be caused by the introduction of starlings that compete with the flicker for nesting sites.