Northern Flicker

Most woodpeckers spend almost all of
their time in trees, but the Northern
Flicker is often seen on the ground
foraging for insects. For a long
time, the "Red-shafted Flicker"
(found west of the Rocky Moun-
tains) and the "Yellow-shafted
Flicker" (found east of the Rocky
Mountains) were considered dif-
ferent species, but now they are
recognized as subspecies of the
Northern Flicker. In the early
morning, you may hear this
woodpecker advertise its territory
by drumming On the noisiest
thing it can find—a metal drain-
pipe, for example.
The Northern Flicker will excavate
a nest cavity in any suitable object,
such as a dead tree or a fence post.
In subsequent breeding seasons,
many other animals such as birds of
prey, owls, songbirds and even squir-
rels adopt cavities abandoned by
Northern Flickers.

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