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Northern Flickers are large, brown woodpeckers with a gentle expression and handsome black-scalloped plumage. On walks, don’t be surprised if you scare one up from the ground. It’s not where you’d expect to find a woodpecker, but flickers eat mainly ants and beetles, digging for them with their unusual, slightly curved bill. When they fly you’ll see a flash of color in the wings – yellow if you’re in the East, red if you’re in the West – and a bright white flash on the rump.
Coquitlam BC Canada
Wikipedia: The northern flicker or common flicker (Colaptes auratus) is a medium-sized bird of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker species that migrate. Over 100 common names for the northern flicker are known, including yellowhammer (not to be confused with the Eurasian yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella), clape, gaffer woodpecker, harry-wicket, heigh-ho, wake-up, walk-up, wick-up, yarrup, and gawker bird. Many of these names derive from attempts to imitate some of its calls. It is the state bird of Alabama.
Conservation status: Least Concern
....momentarily airborne before it dives for the feeders. In the background are autumn maple leaves on the October Glory Maple, or Acer rubrum. I had hoped to catch the flicker against that background.
Hadn't truly known how lovely October could look.
(from my archives)
The Northern Flicker is one of the few North American woodpeckers that is strongly migratory. Flickers in the northern parts of their range move south for the winter, although a few individuals often stay rather far north. This uncommon winter migrant was photographed on Hilton Head Island, SC, USA
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Very active and loud at my local conservation area, there are atleast four or five breeding pairs which make the woods a very active place!
This woodpecker’s a bit of an outliar—it doesn’t just peck on trees like its cousins; it’s often spotted hopping around on the ground, slurping up ants and beetles with its long, sticky tongue. That’s unusual for a woodpecker!
It’s a stunning bird with its polka-dotted belly and a flash of bright yellow or red under its wings, depending on where it’s found (yellow in the East, red in the West). And its call? A loud, “wicka-wicka” that sounds like it’s laughing at you. Total character, this bird!
Our beautiful world, pass it on.