The Travels of Tug 44 |
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Northern Flicker Yellow-Shafted Eastern Version |
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This guy is quite a dandy, he's a male Northern Flicker. The polka-dots on his belly, the red stripe on the back of his head, the bright yellow of the undersides of his wings and tail (you see a bit of yellow on the tail in this picture), and his dashing black mustache, is he a pretty boy or what? When they fly away, they show a bright white spot on their back end. The females look the same but without the mustache. high-res
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A better look at the red stripe on the head of this Northen Flicker. He is a Woodpecker, but he is more likely to make his living lapping up ants on the forest floor, using his long barbed tongue. high-res
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There are quite a few Northern Flickers in the woods around here, but they are hard to spot and harder still to get an unobstructed clear photo. high-res
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This male Northern Flicker was singing at me from a tree, with his hackles (neck feathers) raised. That black mustache makes him a male. The females look the same but without the mustache. high-res
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Not a very good photo, but it clearly shows why the east coast Flickers are known as "yellow shafted". The shafts of the wing feathers show through as yellow. The west coast version has red under the wings. high-res
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This male Northern Flicker was out in a hedge row between hay fields and I lured him out to the road by playing his call from my cellphone. He arrived rather excited and started hammering the telephone pole to remind me this is his territory and not mine.. high-res
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And then he spread his wings to show me how pretty he is ... it's bright yellow under his wings! high-res |
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