From Opus

Yellow-shafted form
Photo by KC Foggin

Colaptes auratus

[edit] Identification

• Brown with black bars on the back and wings.
• Beige breast and belly with black spots
• black "necklace"
• Dark tail, white rump.
  

There are two forms which were formerly considered separate species:

Female, Red-shafted
Photo by colorob

[edit] "Yellow-shafted" Flicker

Resides in eastern North America.

• Yellow under the tail and underwings and have yellow shafts on primaries
• Grey cap, beige face
• Red bar on their neck.
  

[edit] "Red-shafted" Flicker

Resides in western North America.

• Red under the tail and underwings and have red shafts on their primaries.
• Beige cap, a grey face
• Red mustache
  

These two forms interbreed where their ranges overlap.

[edit] Distribution

It is native to most of North America and parts of Central America.

Northern birds migrate to the southern parts of the range; southern birds are often permanent residents.

[edit] Taxonomy

The yellow-shafted and red-shafted forms have been considered separate species.

[edit] Subspecies

There are 9 subspecies^[1]:

• C. a. chrysocaulosus: Cuba
• C. a. gundlachi: Grand Cayman Island
  

Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)

• C. a. luteus: Central Alaska to southern Labrador, Newfoundland, Montana and north-eastern US
• C. a. auratus: South-eastern US
  

Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)

• C. a. cafer: Southern Alaska and British Columbia to northern California
• C. a. collaris: South-western US to north-western Baja and western Mexico (Durango)
• C. a. rufipileus: Formerly Guadalupe Island, Mexico. Extinct; last recorded 1906.
• C. a. mexicanus: Western Mexico (Durango) to San Luis Potosí and Oaxaca)
• C. a. mexicanoides: Highlands of southern Mexico (Chiapas) to Nicaragua

[edit] Habitat

Their breeding habitat is forested areas across North America, as far south as Central America. Also suburban areas

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Flight

Like many woodpeckers, its flight is undulating. The repeated cycle of a quick succession of flaps followed by a pause creates an effect comparable to a rollercoaster.

[edit] Diet

Flickers feed by probing with their bill, also sometimes catching insects in flight. Although they eat fruits, berries, seeds and nuts, their primary food is insects. Ants alone can make up 45% of their diet. They have a behavior called anting, during which they use the acid from the ants to assist in preening, as it is useful in keeping them free of parasites.

[edit] Nesting

It takes about 1 to 2 weeks to build the nest which is built by both sexes of the mating pairs. Damaged nests or previously abandoned cavities may be repaired. The entrance hole is roughly 5 cm to 10 cm wide. Flickers will sometimes be willing to use a birdhouse if it is adequately sized and properly situated. They nest in a cavity in a tree or post; this bird excavates its own home. Abandoned flicker nests create habitat for other cavity nesters. They are sometimes driven from nesting sites by European Starlings.

Typically 6 to 8 eggs are laid, having a shell that is pure white with a smooth surface and high gloss. The eggs are the second largest of the North American woodpecker species, exceeded only by the Pileated Woodpecker's. Incubation is by both sexes for approximately 11 to 12 days. The young are fed by regurgitation and leave the nest about 25 to 28 days after hatching.

[edit] Vocalisation

This bird's call is a sustained laugh, ki ki ki ki ..., more congenial than that of the Pileated Woodpecker. You could also hear a constant knocking as they often drum on trees or even metal objects to declare territory.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist

• List of references

[edit] External Links