The Northern Flicker: A Woodpecker That Feeds on the Ground

After the downy woodpecker, the northern flicker is the most common woodpecker in American backyards. These charismatic birds are famous for their loud drumming on trees, roofs, and even metal gutters—but unlike most woodpeckers, they spend much of their time foraging on the ground.

Subspecies and Identification

North America hosts two main forms: the yellow-shafted flicker (eastern) and red-shafted flicker (western), which interbreed extensively in the Great Plains. Both show striking plumage—gray-brown with barred backs, spotted bellies, a black chest crescent, and a white rump visible in flight. The wing and tail shafts are either bright yellow or red depending on subspecies.

Males have a distinctive malar stripe ("mustache"): red in red-shafted, black in yellow-shafted. Females lack this mark. At 13 inches long with an 18-21 inch wingspan, flickers are larger than robins and unmistakable in flight.

Range and Habitat

Northern flickers range from the Canadian tree line south to Nicaragua. Northern populations migrate; southern birds are resident. They favor open woodlands, forest edges, parks, and suburban yards with mature trees.

Diet and Foraging

Flickers are primarily insectivores, with a particular fondness for ants and beetles—hence their ground-feeding habit. They also eat termites, crickets, grasshoppers, and caterpillars. In fall and winter, they switch to fruits, berries, nuts, and seeds. Their undulating flight pattern is distinctive.

Drumming and Vocalizations

Drumming serves as territorial announcement and mate attraction. Flickers drum on resonant surfaces: dead trees, metal roofs, gutters, siding, and signs. Their calls include a loud, rapid "kekekekekekeke" lasting up to 10 seconds, a sharp "kyeer," and a softer "flicka-flicka-flicka."

Nesting

Flickers excavate cavities in dead trees or snags. Both parents incubate 6-8 eggs and feed the young. Northern birds raise one brood; southern populations may raise two. They often return to the same nesting area annually.

Attracting Flickers to Your Yard

• Offer suet feeders (they rarely visit seed feeders)
• Provide a birdbath
• Retain dead limbs on trees (if safe) for foraging and nesting
• Install a flicker-sized nest box
• Plant berry-producing shrubs: hackberry, dogwood, Virginia creeper, blackgum

These handsome, beneficial birds consume vast numbers of pest insects. Tolerating their drumming is a small price for natural pest control and the joy of watching one of North America's most distinctive woodpeckers.