They may also be observed hopping along tree branches and moving both vertically on and around tree trunks, where they “hammer” at the trunks to search for and access prey (Peterson 2010). However, Northern Flickers do not forage exclusively in the ground. Wiebe and Gow have also found that Flickers maximize foraging efficiency by tracking the density of ants on the ground surface which results in a shift from foraging in the open when it was cold to foraging in shaded habitats when it was hot (2013). They commonly select foraging sites where ants are abundant and trees are nearby to offer protection. With 45 to 99 per cent of their diet consisting of ants, they eat more of them than any other bird (Bent 1939, Gow, Wiebe and Higgins 2013), including genera such as Aphaenogaster, Camponotus, Cremastogaster, Formica, Lasius, Messor, Myrmica, Pheidole, Phrenolepis, Solenopsis, Tapinoma, and Tetramorium (Elchuck and Wiebe 2002).
They will repeatedly use their strong bill to probe into soil and extend their long tongues to capture ants and larvae found in the soil and under rocks and lichen (Wiebe and Moore 2008). Supplier: Eileen from Birding with EileenĪs insectivorous woodpeckers with a preference for ants, Flickers often hop around and scratch at the ground to move leaves and expose ant nests (Bent 1939). Northernmost Red-Shafted Northern Flickers are migrants who breed in northern Canada and Alaska and winter further south in the United States, while those in California and the Rocky Mountains are known to partake in altitudinal migration, with some movement from higher elevations to lower elevations during the winter (Wiebe and Moore 2008). With such a wide geographic area, and in concordance with the ‘bounded hybrid superiority’ model of non-isolative reproductive stability, this hybrid zone is thought to be an ecotone for the species (Moore and Koenig 1986). Along the Rockies and through the western Great Plains, as far south as Texas and north to Alaska, the well documented hybrid zone of Red-Shafted and Yellow-Shafted Northern Flickers is around 185-310 miles wide and 2,500 miles in length (AOU 1983 in Flockhart and Wiebe 2008). While Red-Shafted subspecies range west from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast, Yellow-Shafted populations range east from the Rockies to the Atlantic coast (Moore and Koenig 1986). The Northern Flicker is the most common woodpecker in North America (Flockhart and Wiebe 2008). Red-Shafted Northern Flicker Distribution
Northern Flickers play an important role in forest communities and are often considered a keystone species due to their excavated tree cavities that provide important nesting habitat for many secondary-use species (Martin and Eadie 1999). A slight sexual dimorphism is exhibited by red-orange malar stripes that are characteristic of males, but lacking on the plain gray-brown head of females (Sibley 2003). With black barring on the back and black spots on the belly, its black crescent-shaped breast band and white rump are also very distinctive features. The western Red-Shafted subspecies of the Northern Flicker, as seen on the Evergreen campus and throughout Olympia, is identifiable from the bright red-orange rachis of the bird’s flight and tail feathers that stand out against its predominantly light brown-grey body. The Northern Flicker is a large woodpecker -12.5” L, 20” WS, 4.6 oz- with two distinct subspecies, including the Red-Shafted ( Colaptes auratus cafer) and Yellow-Shafted ( Colaptes auratus auratus) (Sibley 2003). While the Red-Shafted Northern Flicker is found in western North America and the Yellow-Shafted Northern Flicker is found in the east, they maintain a stable hybrid zone in the middle of the United States (Moore and Buchanon 1985). Latinized from Greek, kolapto, to chisel or peckĪurata, golden or gilded, from aurum, goldĪfter South Africa, a mistake made in 1788 by Johann Gmelin who believed they originally inhabited the area of the Xhosa, “Kaffir” people Source: Lederer and Burr Artist: John James Audubon
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