The Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) is a large, brown woodpecker in the family Picidae, order Piciformes, known for its ground-foraging behavior and distinct white rump patch. It ranges across most of North America, from western Alaska to Newfoundland and south to southern Florida and parts of Mexico, Cuba, and Grand Cayman. Two primary forms exist: the yellow-shafted (eastern) and red-shafted (western).
Learn to identify
Adult male Northern Flicker of the eastern Yellow-shafted form (Colaptes auratus luteus).
Learning lesson · openly licensed photographs, labelled by BirdBot; labels checked against the cited sources and approved by AI
Red nape crescent: yellow-shafted birds have a red nape. Black mustache: males only; red on western birds. Black chest patch: like a necklace on the upper breast. Yellow in tail: bright yellow undertail and underwings. In flight, look for a white rump.
Western Red-shafted birds have salmon-pink in the wings and tail.
Sources: Audubon Guide to North American Birds: Northern Flicker · Wikipedia: Northern flicker (revision 1382180514)
Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; labels added by BirdBot.
Northern Flickers are large woodpeckers with a slim, rounded head, a slightly down-curved bill, and a long, flared tail. Their plumage is overall brownish, patterned with black bars, spots, and crescents. A bright white rump patch is a key field mark, visible when the bird is perched or in flight.
The two primary forms are distinguished primarily by the color of their underwings and flight feather shafts:
Both forms share a tan head, gray crown, red nape, and black breast crescent in males. Males in both forms also display a black mustache stripe (cheek patch), which is absent in females. Young females in their first plumage may show some black on the cheek, but adult females lack the distinct black moustache mark seen in males. The primary field distinction between the geographic forms remains the underwing color: yellow in the east, reddish in the west.
Northern Flickers occupy various habitats with standing trees and open ground. They are commonly found in wooded areas with dead trees, open areas, forest edges, clear-cut areas, burnt areas, agricultural lands, and residential areas. Their range extends from western Alaska eastward across Canada to Newfoundland, and southward across most of the U.S. to southern California, northern Baja California, southwestern Texas, the Gulf of Mexico coast, and southern Florida. In Mexico, they occur along the Sierra Madre Occidental and Oriental to northern Michoacan, northern Oaxaca, and in the mountains of Guerrero to southern Oaxaca. They are also present in Cuba and Grand Cayman Island.
Unlike many woodpeckers that primarily forage on tree trunks, Northern Flickers spend significant time on the ground. Their chief food is ants, but they also consume a variety of other insects including grasshoppers, crickets, termites, wasps, aphids, beetles, caterpillars, and spiders. In fall and winter, they eat significant amounts of fruit, including cherries, dogwood berries, and acorns. They fly in a deeply undulating path, a distinctive flight pattern that helps identify them at a distance.
Northern Flickers are best identified by their loud, rolling song, often heard during flight. The song is described as a rapid, repeated "wick wick wick wick wick." Individual notes may sound like a loud "klee-yer" or a squeaky "flick-a flick-a flick-a." These calls are distinct and carry well in open habitats.
Northern Flickers are cavity nesters. They excavate their own nests in dead tree trunks, dead parts of live trees, or telephone poles. Nests are usually built below three meters. They will also use nest boxes, which can be effective in attracting breeding pairs, particularly if installed before the breeding season.
The Northern Flicker is not currently listed with a specific IUCN conservation category in the AviList v2026 dataset. Cornell notes that before the taxonomic split in 2024, the combined group (which included Guatemalan and Northern Flickers) was considered a species of low conservation concern. This pre-2024 rating does not represent a current assessment specific to the narrower Northern Flicker species.
To find Northern Flickers, walk along forest edges or in open woods. Because they spend significant time foraging on the ground, watch the ground for birds pecking at ant mounds or leaf litter. Listen for their loud, rolling song during the day as they move between territories. When perched, look for the white rump patch and the black breast crescent. Use binoculars to observe from a respectful distance without disturbing their foraging or nesting sites. For more on ethical birding, see our guide index.
Refer to the Identification section for the full list of field marks, including the white rump and black breast crescent. The deeply undulating flight and loud 'wick wick' song are also key differentiators.
The primary field distinction is the color of the underwings: yellow in the eastern form and reddish in the western form. See the Identification section for shared plumage details.
Flickers sing during flight and are often heard during the day. Their loud, rolling 'wick wick' song carries well in open habitats.
Look in wooded areas with dead trees, open ground, forest edges, and clear-cuts. Watch for the bird dropping to the ground to forage for ants or listen for its song while observing open areas near trees.
.jpg){kind=link}