Northern Flicker

The English naturalist Mark Catesby described and illustrated the northern flicker in his book The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands which was published between 1729 and 1732. Catesby used the English name "Gold-winged Wood-pecker" and the Latin '. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for its 10th edition, he included the northern flicker, coined the binomial name Cuculus auratus for it, and cited Catesby's book. The specific epithet is a Latin word meaning "gilded" or "ornamented with gold". The type locality is South Carolina. The northern flicker is one of 14 extant New World woodpeckers now placed in the genus Colaptes that was introduced by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1825 with the northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) as the type species.

Ten subspecies are recognized, one of which is now extinct, though it may be invalid. The nine extant subspecies were at one time considered subspecies of two separate species called the yellow-shafted flicker (C. auratus, with four subspecies) and the red-shafted flicker (C. cafer, with six subspecies, five living and one extinct), but they commonly interbreed where their ranges overlap and are now considered one species by the American Ornithologists Union. This is an example of what is referred to in science as the species problem.

*The southern yellow-shafted flicker (C. a. auratus) resides in the southeastern United States from Florida to Virginia. It is yellow under the tail and underwings and has yellow shafts on its primaries. It has a gray cap, a beige face, and a red bar at the nape of the neck. Males have a black mustache. Colaptes comes from the Greek verb colapt, meaning "to peck"; is from the Latin root , meaning "gold" or "golden", and refers to the bird's underwings. **It is the state bird of Alabama. The colloquial name "yellowhammer" originated during the American Civil War (1861–1865) to describe Confederate soldiers from Alabama. *The northern yellow-shafted flicker (C. a. luteus; formerly C. a. borealis) resides from central Alaska throughout most of Canada to southern Labrador, Newfoundland, and the northeastern United States. *The Cuban yellow-shafted flicker (C. a. chrysocaulosus) is restricted to Cuba. *The Grand Cayman yellow-shafted flicker (C. a. gundlachi) is restricted to Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands. The subspecific epithet is named after Cuban naturalist Juan Gundlach.

*The western red-shafted flicker (C. a. cafer) resides in western North America. It is red under the tail and underwings and has red shafts on its primaries. It has a beige cap and a gray face. Males have a red mustache. The subspecific name cafer is the result of an error made in 1788 by the German systematist Johann Gmelin, who believed that its original habitat was in South Africa among the Xhosa people, then known as the "Kaffirs". As the origin of the subspecies designation is regarded as offensive by some, proposals to change the scientific name of this subspecies to C. a. lathami have been presented to the American Ornithological Society. The Society, in accordance with the rules governing scientific nomenclature, has as of September 2018 declined to support a change of the subspecific name, but may consult with the ICZN on the matter. *The coastal red-shafted flicker (C. a. collaris) has a range that closely overlaps that of C. a. cafer, extending along much of the west coast of North America from the British Columbia Coast along the west coast of the United States to northwestern Mexico. *The dwarf red-shafted flicker (C. a. nanus) resides from western Texas south to northeastern Mexico. *The Mexican red-shafted flicker (C. a. mexicanus) resides in central and southern Mexico from Durango to San Luis Potosí and Oaxaca. *The Guatemalan red-shafted flicker (C. a. mexicanoides) resides in the highlands from southern Mexico to Nicaragua. It is now considered to be a separate species, the Guatemalan flicker (C. mexicanoides). *The Guadalupe red-shafted flicker (C. a. rufipileus)† is extinct and was formerly restricted to Guadalupe Island, off the northwestern coast of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. It was last recorded in 1906. It may be invalid. Individuals of an extant mainland red-shafted subspecies (which one is unknown) were observed breeding on Guadalupe Island in 1996. File:Southeastern Yellow-shafted Flicker, Kent County, DE, USA imported from iNaturalist photo 62634945.jpg|C. a. auratus, in Delaware File:Northern flicker pair.jpg|C. a. cafer female (left) and male (right), in Washington File:Northern flicker (Colaptes auratus chrysocaulosus) female.JPG|C. a. chrysocaulosus female, in Cuba File:Southwestern Red-shafted Flicker, Foothills Green, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA imported from iNaturalist photo 452304844 (cropped).jpg|C. a. collaris male, in Colorado File:Grand Cayman Flicker, Cayman Islands, Cayman Islands, Cayman Islands, KY imported from iNaturalist photo 35488401 (cropped).jpg|C. a. gundlachi, in Grand Cayman File:Northern Yellow-shafted Flicker, Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis, MN 55407, USA imported from iNaturalist photo 437335546 (cropped).jpg|C. a. luteus male, in Minnesota File:Colaptes auratus mexicanoides 84221588.jpg|C. a. mexicanoides female, in Guatemala File:Colaptes rufipileus (Guadalupe flicker).jpg|†C. a. rufipileus male, taxidermied specimen

This bird's call is a sustained laugh, ki ki ki ki, quite different from that of the pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus). One may also hear a constant knocking as they often drum on trees or even metal objects to declare territory. Like most woodpeckers, northern flickers drum on objects as a form of communication and territory defense. In such cases, the purpose is to make as loud a noise as possible, so woodpeckers sometimes drum on metal objects. Like many woodpeckers, its flight is undulating. The repeated cycle of a quick succession of flaps followed by a pause creates an effect comparable to a roller coaster.

According to an article published in Ibis, the availability of food affects the coloration of feathers in northern flicker nestlings. The article focused on the correlation between melanin spots and carotenoid-based coloration on the wings of nestlings with food stress via indirect manipulation of brood size. The article found that there was a positive correlation between the quality of the nestlings' diet and T-cell-mediated immune response. T-cell-mediated immune response was found to be positively correlated with brightness of pigmentation in flight feathers, but not related to melanin spot intensity.

A study from 2006 examined the mortality rates of male and female northern flickers over a six-year period using capture-tag-recapture techniques. The researchers observed that only one to two birds out of every 300 adults were 7 or more years old. This observation data correlated well with a mortality model that predicted a 0.6% 7-year survival rate. The data also illustrated that there were no significant differences between male and female survival rates for the general population. The oldest yet known "yellow-shafted" northern flicker lived to be at least 9 years 2 months old, and the oldest yet known "red-shafted" northern flicker lived to be at least 8 years 9 months old.

The northern flicker's breeding habitat consists of forested areas across North America and as far south as Central America. It is a cavity nester that typically nests in trees, but may also use posts and birdhouses if sized and situated appropriately. It prefers to excavate its own home, although it may reuse and repair damaged or abandoned nests. Often the old nests are created by belted kingfishers or sand martins. The common sounds a male makes towards a female is woikawoikawoika, symbolizing their relationship to one another and other birds. If the call is used towards a male, it is a territorial sign. Additional territorial signs towards other males can be head swinging when in close proximity to another or repeatedly creating loud noises with their beaks. Commonly used objects are wood or metal for a louder sound. Currently, there is no direct correlation between the birds' colors and mate choice. Rather, it plays a bigger role in territory. The northern flicker may also point its bill forward towards a competitor for territorial reasons. Juvenile northern flickers are often helpless against predators who enter the nest. The common predators are Cooper's hawks (Astur cooperii), sharp-shinned hawks (Accipter striatus), common raccoons (Procyon lotor), squirrels, and snakes. Full grown northern flickers are preyed upon by larger birds and hunting birds. The entrance hole of their nest is roughly wide. The hole entrance is often facing east to southeast. On average, the northern flicker can have one to two clutches each breeding season. A typical clutch consists of six to eight eggs whose shells are pure white with a smooth surface and high gloss. The eggs are the second-largest of all of the North American woodpecker species, exceeded only by the pileated woodpecker's. Incubation is by both sexes for about 11 to 12 days. Commonly the male will sit on the eggs overnight, and both the male and female will incubate the eggs during the day. The young are fed by regurgitation and fledge about 25 to 28 days after hatching. File:Northern-flicker-males-territorial-display.jpg|Two males in a territorial display during spring File:Northern Flicker - 51159532100.jpg|Spreading wings to show off its size and colors in a dominance display File:Flicker hole in CP (31848).jpg|A male guarding its nest cavity File:Northern-flicker-feeding.jpg|An adult feeding a juvenile at a nest cavity entrance File:Northern Flicker (m) carrying Fecal Sac from nest (53009673598).jpg|A male carrying a fecal sac away from the nest

Northern flickers are partial migrants, some southern populations being completely non-migratory. Those that do migrate tend to begin their spring migration towards the beginning of April and make their return between September and October. Individuals that breed farther north travel greater distances than their migratory southern conspecifics, often resulting in the convergence of northern and southern populations at wintering sites. Northern flickers are divided into eastern and western populations by the Rocky Mountains, with each population having a unique migratory pathway. Additionally, the species' propensity for roosting in cavities is not mitigated during migration. On average, 75% of individuals spend their nights in a cavity during migration, even in completely unknown locations. Furthermore, breeding individuals exhibit intense site fidelity, with pairs consistently returning to the specific nest cavity they used in the previous year.