Look at the size of that beak! Wow! This is a bird with a sharp, pointy bill!
The Common Flicker, or Northern Flicker, is member of the Woodpecker family, so it makes sense that their bill is so large.
These birds, as their name suggests, are common throughout North America and we saw one trying to get at one of our feeders the other day.
They are a ground-feeder, mostly taking grubs and ants, but will also take insects from fallen trees and logs and in mid-air! When insects are not available, such as now, they will eat fruits, seeds, and berries and that explains why ours was trying to get at the sunflower seeds in our feeder.
Their markings make them quite distinctive, and it is the black and white stripping on the top of the wings, the black spots on their chest and belly, plus patch of red on the back of the head that make them easy to identify. The beak helps too!
And they are big! Their wingspan is usually around 50cms (20”) and their bodies up to 35cms (14”). They like to live in forests and nest in tree cavities. Six to eight eggs are incubated by the mother and father for about 12 days and the chicks will fledge around 4 weeks.
They are still common but surveys have demonstrated that their numbers have been declining since the 1960s. Habitat loss is the biggest culprit.
