Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus

Yellow-shafted Flicker Colaptes auratus
(aka Northern Flicker)

Male Northern Flicker,Dezadeash Lake, Yukon, Canada, May 2009 - click on image for a larger view

Dezadeash Lake, Yukon, Canada
May 2009

The Yellow-shafted Flicker is distributed in North and Central America and the West Indies. The more northerly populations in Canada and the USA migrate southwards during the northern winter. It is found in a wide variety of habitats and the nest is excavated in a dead tree or a dead part of a living tree.

Female Northern Flicker,Dezadeash Lake, Yukon, Canada, May 2009 - click on image for a larger view

The male, seen here in photo 1 and in the nest hole in photos 3 and 4, has a black malar stripe which is lacking in the female seen in photo 2 and spreading her tail in photo 3 in what is part of a mating display.

This is the sub-species C. a. luteus which has a black malar stripe.

There are photos of the Cuban sub-species, C. a. chrysocaulosus here.

It has several vocalisations including a descending "peah" and a series of up to 70 "whit" notes.

Female and male Northern Flicker,Dezadeash Lake, Yukon, Canada, May 2009 - click on image for a larger view

Many authorities lump this species with Red-shafted Flicker C. cafer and Guatemalan Flicker C. mexicanoides under the English name Northern Flicker.

There is a map showing the distribution of Northern Flicker at NatureServe.

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