Northern Flicker
Another common backyard woodpecker, the northern flicker has a beautiful checkered back. Learn how to attract northern flickers to your yard, and listen to their song.
Photo: Roland Jordahl
- Scientific Name: Colaptes auratus.
- Family: Woodpecker.
- Length: 12-1/2 inches.
- Wingspan: 20 inches.
- Distinctive Markings: All male flickers have a mustache. Easterns have a black mustache, and westerns sport a red one. Females (like the one at right) have similar markings to the male, but they do not have a mustache.
- Nest: Males and females work together to excavate nesting cavities in dead trees, utility poles and fence posts. Lays six to eight white eggs.
- Song: "Flicka, flicka." Also a loud "wick, wick, klee."
- Habitat: Backyards and open woodlands.
- Diet: Insects, berries and weed seeds.
- Backyard Favorites: Attract with a large birdhouse high above the ground.
Listen to this bird’s song