{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Taxon",
  "slug": "northern-flicker",
  "name": "Northern Flicker",
  "scientificName": "Colaptes auratus",
  "category": "Bird",
  "summary": "The northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) is a large woodpecker of North and Central America that does much of its feeding on the ground, where it digs for ants with its long tongue. It is brown with black bars and spots, a black chest crescent and a white rump. Eastern birds flash yellow under the wings and tail; western birds flash red. It is listed as Least Concern, though numbers are falling.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "An ant specialist",
      "body": "Flickers spend a lot of time on the ground, probing soil and anthills with a slightly curved bill and a long, sticky tongue. Ants are their main food, along with beetle larvae. In autumn and winter they turn to berries, fruit and seeds, which helps northern birds survive the cold."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Yellow-shafted and red-shafted",
      "body": "There are two main forms. Yellow-shafted flickers in the east have yellow undersides to the wings and tail, a grey crown and a red patch on the nape. Red-shafted flickers in the west have salmon-red flight feathers and a grey face. The two interbreed where they meet on the Great Plains. BirdLife International treats them as separate species; the IOC World Bird List keeps them as one."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Identification",
      "body": "Look for a brown, black-barred back, a black crescent on the chest, black-spotted underparts and a bright white rump that shows as the bird flies off in deep, bounding swoops. Males have a 'moustache' stripe (black in the east, red in the west) that females lack."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Status",
      "body": "Both forms are listed as Least Concern by BirdLife International (2025), which estimates about 12 million mature yellow-shafted flickers. Both are judged to be decreasing. Competition with introduced common starlings for nest holes is one problem identified in some areas."
    }
  ],
  "faqs": [
    {
      "question": "Why do northern flickers feed on the ground?",
      "answer": "Their main food is ants, which they dig out of the soil and anthills using a long, sticky tongue."
    },
    {
      "question": "Is a northern flicker a woodpecker?",
      "answer": "Yes. It belongs to the woodpecker family, Picidae, and still drums and excavates nest holes in trees like other woodpeckers."
    },
    {
      "question": "What is the difference between yellow-shafted and red-shafted flickers?",
      "answer": "Yellow-shafted flickers (eastern) have yellow under the wings and tail; red-shafted flickers (western) have red. Where they meet they interbreed, and some authorities treat them as separate species."
    },
    {
      "question": "How long do northern flickers live?",
      "answer": "Most live only a few years. The oldest recorded wild bird was 9 years 2 months old."
    }
  ],
  "sourceUpdate": null,
  "evidence": [],
  "conservationStatus": "Least Concern",
  "taxonomy": {
    "kingdom": "Animalia",
    "phylum": "Chordata",
    "class": "Aves",
    "order": "Piciformes",
    "family": "Picidae",
    "genus": "Colaptes"
  },
  "stats": {
    "weightKg": 0.13,
    "lengthM": 0.32,
    "topSpeedKmh": 0,
    "lifespanYears": 0
  },
  "facts": [
    {
      "label": "Scientific name",
      "value": "Colaptes auratus"
    },
    {
      "label": "Diet",
      "value": "Mainly ants and beetle larvae; berries and seeds in winter"
    },
    {
      "label": "Habitat",
      "value": "Open woodland, forest edges, parks and gardens"
    },
    {
      "label": "Length",
      "value": "30–35 cm (12–14 in)"
    },
    {
      "label": "Weight",
      "value": "Average about 130 g"
    },
    {
      "label": "Oldest known",
      "value": "9 years 2 months (yellow-shafted form)"
    },
    {
      "label": "Conservation status",
      "value": "Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2025)"
    }
  ],
  "range": {
    "nativeRange": "Most of North America from Alaska and Canada south through Mexico to Nicaragua, plus Cuba and the Cayman Islands.",
    "continents": [
      "North America"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "citation": "BirdLife International (2026). Species factsheet: Yellow-shafted Flicker Colaptes auratus. BirdLife DataZone. Checked 1 November 2026.",
      "url": "https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/yellow-shafted-flicker-colaptes-auratus"
    },
    {
      "citation": "BirdLife International (2026). Species factsheet: Red-shafted Flicker Colaptes cafer. BirdLife DataZone. Checked 1 November 2026.",
      "url": "https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/red-shafted-flicker-colaptes-cafer"
    },
    {
      "citation": "Animal Diversity Web: Colaptes auratus. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.",
      "url": "https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Colaptes_auratus/"
    },
    {
      "citation": "Tobias, J. A. et al. (2022). AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. doi:10.1111/ele.13898",
      "url": null
    },
    {
      "citation": "Gill, F., Donsker, D. & Rasmussen, P. (Eds). IOC World Bird List v15.2.",
      "url": "https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/"
    }
  ],
  "lastReviewed": "2026-07-16",
  "canonicalUrl": "https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/northern-flicker/",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY-NC 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
    "attribution": "Global Animal Guide — https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/northern-flicker/",
    "note": "Free to reuse for non-commercial purposes with attribution and a link back to the canonical page."
  }
}