• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Help identify Me (1 Viewer)

In the midst of a heavy hail storm today... I heard a loud screeching sound. I had no time to run outside but was able to get a shot through the window. From my bird guide - Stokes Western, this appears to be a Northern Flicker. However, the colors aren't quite the same. Do you know if I am correct?

Lisa
 

Attachments

  • northern-flicker.jpg
    northern-flicker.jpg
    97 KB · Views: 389
My guess is female (no moustache) Red-shafted Flicker (Northern Flicker). We have the yellow version up north here but the red is in the south west of Saskatchewan as well. These woodpeckers spend alot of time on the ground looking for ants and taking dust baths. They use squished ants to wash themselves (formic acid kills the parasites in their feathers).
 
Northern Flicker - Red shafted form. Watch for it to flash it's white rump as it flys away.

dennis
 
I agree, probably a female Red-shafted (no red crescent on the nape). But don't forget that Red- and Yellow-shafted flickers interbreed widely throughout the US plains states and western Canada. There's a guy in Washington who has a website of photos of these intergrades; I'll see if I can find it and post. :t:
 
cavan wood said:
Red tail shafts and lack of red crescent definately say red-shafted, but is the head and nape colour diagnostic at all? Lisa's bird is lacking the brown as seen in this bird.
http://birdingbc.coolnewmedia.com/gallery/albums/userpics/Flicker0455.jpg

But then again, this one doesn't have much brown at all, sorta like Lisa's bird.
http://www.birdsasart.com/northern-...-nest-_H2D0367-Kamloops,-British-Columbia.jpg

Scott

I'm not sure what you are saying. Are you suggesting that it is supposed to have a brown face in order to be Red-shafted? The Yellow-shafted flicker is the one with the brown face. I don't see anything on Lisa's bird that would suggest anything besides Red-shafted.
 
Sorry, I was actually asking if brown on the nape and crown was more common in red-shafted, and suggesting that this bird didn't have as much as what some photos show. Clearly it's red-shafted, but I was wondering if colouration on the head in northern flicker gives us any indication of intermixing, or is it just a highly variable trait as suggested by the two photos links.

Scott
 
Wow, this is from a long time ago. Btw, just so this isn't a wasted post, I agree, female Red-shafted Northern Flicker.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 18 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top