Northern Flicker by Kathleen Scavone
Hit the reset button on your day and take a bird walk in nature’s living theatre. The beauty of a Northern flicker is not to be missed. You will probably hear one drumming on a tree or other object before you see it, since these birds communicate their territory in this manner. Relatives of the woodpecker, Northern flickers are medium in size at 12-14 inches in length. Adult flickers possess beautiful marks and spots along with dark scallops. Flickers are brown with black wings and black bars. Males sport a red stripe at the beak, and their tail is dark but shows some white plumage as they take flight. Photographs of this beautiful bird and its call can be seen and heard on Cornell Lab’s All About Birds website.
The informative little book, ‘1001 Questions Answered About Birds’ by Allan and Helen Cruickshank explains that the name for a flicker had over 100 names given by numerous indigenous tribes, and when Europeans came along, depending upon their region, they ascribed a similar amount of names to the bird. Could be confusing! Scientific names which adhere to strict rules aid in reducing confusion.
The ‘Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior’ gives some nitty-gritty facts about Northern flickers and tells us that they are classified within the Family Picidae in the Order Piciformes. Like all woodpeckers, flickers have strong bills. The Northern flicker’s bill is a bit more curved than some woodpeckers, which encourages foraging habits and allows for probing cracks and crevices to reach prey.
Flickers enjoy a diet rich with ants and beetles, so you might see flickers on the ground along the hiking trail. They consume seeds, fruit, and insect larvae as well, which are usually plentiful in the oak woodlands where the birds reside.
Like other woodpeckers, flickers create nests in tree cavities, but Northern flickers will also inhabit man-made nest boxes. Plans for construction for a Northern flicker nest box can be found on Cornell Lab’s All About Birds website. Flickers prefer their houses to be placed ten to thirty feet high.
In ancient times, the indigenous people in California utilized many of the elements in their surroundings for homes, tools, clothing, and more. Included in the materials used were feathers for regalia and basket making. Flicker feathers were important in Pomo basket making for specialized basketry. Other beautiful baskets could be adorned with feathers from mallard, acorn woodpecker, pileated woodpecker, western meadowlark and more. While some special baskets were completely covered in feather work, some were created with smaller surface areas utilizing feathers.
Here in Lake County we live in a birder’s paradise which is home to hundreds of species of birds. For a comprehensive list of birds visit Lake County’s Redbud Audubon Society webpage or Cornell’s ebird.org website. Your concentration on the wild winged creatures will be lavishly rewarded!
