In fall and winter their diets change as ants become largely unavailable. As the ants crawl onto the rough tongue, the bird slurps them up. The birds don't actually spear the small, fast-moving morsels but prefer to insert their long (3 inch beyond the beak) tongues into the crevices. Over the years I've seen hundreds of flickers, although seldom more than two or three at a time, and have watched them on the front sidewalk or lawn during various ant-fests.
Yet, an adult bird is seldom heavier than 5-6 ounces. It measures a foot from beak to tail tip and has a 21-inch wingspan. Even young females have mustaches until their autumn molt.Ĭompared to most of its family members - with the exception of the pileated woodpecker - the flicker is a large bird. Strangely, young flickers show the plumage of the male, not the female, which is the case in most species. The male shows a black "mustache," the female doesn't. View a pair of flickers feeding side by side and the identity of the male and female can be quickly told.
#NORTHERN FLICKER CALL PATCH#
You'll also see a white rump patch and through a binocular the remainder of its distinctive plumage is seen: light brown back and wings, light underparts sprinkled with numerous black spots, a distinctive black bib, red nape and, of course, golden underwings. At a distance it appears mostly brown but should you spook one into flight, the flashes of bright yellow on the underwings and tail declare its identity. The flicker has enough obvious field marks to make it easy to identify, even by fledgling birders. It also does its share of chiseling holes in rotting trees where it supplements its strange diet with grubs and insect eggs. Ants of all sorts are cherished, the reason for the flicker's frequent appearances on lawns and in fields.
Instead, the flicker's choice meal is composed of ants, which it seeks on the ground and in rotting trees. It's also one of the few woodpeckers that has little interest in the sunflower seeds and suet at feeders, although a rare few may be regular feeder patrons. Yes, the yellow-shafted flicker is a solid citizen of the state and a common nester throughout.