This week’s Bird of the Week, compliments of the Weminuche Audubon Society and Audubon Rockies, is the northern flicker.
Flickers don’t behave like a typical woodpecker. While most woodpeckers are adapted to extract insects from wood and spend their time foraging in trees, northern flickers spend a lot of time on the ground. They are the most widespread woodpecker in North America and are found in almost any habitat type as long as there is some open ground for foraging and trees for nesting.
Northern flickers are built for finding their favorite food — ants. They make use of a slightly curved bill to probe into soil, anthills and rotting wood to unlodge ants, grubs and other insects. Their tongues are extra long, extending 2 inches or more past the tip of the bill. Sticky alkaline saliva that coats the tongue traps unlucky ants and neutralizes the formic acid which causes the sting of their bite.
Intricately patterned plumage decorates this large, brownish-gray bird with black barring on the back, a spotted belly and a black bib. From the Rocky Mountains west, birds of the red-shafted race have red shafts on the flight feathers and tail. The eastern yellow-shafted race replaces the red color with yellow. A bold white rump patch flashes in flight. Western males display a red facial swoosh that is absent in females.
The flicker is as noisy as it is flashy. In spring, nesting territory is established by drumming, with the object being to make as loud a noise as possible. Sometimes, to the dismay of homeowners, a flicker discovers that a metal stovepipe is perfect for broadcasting its presence.
Their loud vocalizations are unmistakable. In spring and summer, when pairs are forming, forests resound with their rolling song. Single-note and rhythmic calls are also used to communicate with each other.
The fate of bird populations is intricately tied to that of the insects that they rely on for food. Pesticide applications on lawns and golf courses may be a contributing factor in the slow, steady decline of this woodpecker species.
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