Bird Directory

Northern Flicker

Click on picture to hear bird sounds.

Bird Name: Northern Flicker

Field Marks: The Northern Flicker is the only woodpecker that you might see on the ground. It is larger than a Robin. The male flicker is usually the one with the mustache. The male's back is brown with black bars while its belly is buff with black spots. There is a red crescent at the back of the neck. The Northern Flicker has a white rump patch that can be seen when it is flying.

Feeder Food: Suet, peanut butter, fruit, seeds

Natural Food: Insects, insect larvae, berries, seeds

Behavior: The Northern Flicker sometimes flashes its bright markings to startle an enemy. These color flashes also warn other birds danger may be near. This bird lives in woodlands and near farms.

Voice: wic and woika, klee-eer (loudly)

Pictures and sounds were reproduced by permission.

Sources:

Alden, Peter and Brian Cassie, National Audubon Society Feild Guide To New England, New York: Alfred A.Knopf, 1998.

Dawe, Neil and Karen, The Bird Book, New York: Workman Publishing, 1988.

Elliott, Lang, Know Your Bird Sounds (cassette), Minocqua, WI: NorthWord Press, Inc., 1994.

Forbush, Edward Howe, Birds of Massachusetts, Norwood, Massachusetts: Norwood Press, 1929.

Reed, Chester R., Bird Guide: Land Birds East of the Rockies, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1951.

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