Yellowhammer - Northern Flicker

Facts about Northern Flicker Woodpecker, "Scientific name for Northern Flicker Woodpecker is Colaptes auratus". Northern Flicker Woodpeckers are birds in the Class of "Aves". The Northern Flicker Woodpecker is a Colaptes type of woodpecker. Scientific name for Woodpecker is Picidae".

The Northern Flicker Woodpeckers hail from North America and some parts of Central America, the Cayman Islands and Cuba. The Northern Flicker Woodpecker is one among the few varieties in the family that migrates. The Northern Flicker Woodpecker usually live in open habitats close to trees, including forests, yards, edges and parks. They are also largely found in mountain forests in the western part of America.

Features

The Northern Flicker Woodpecker is fairly a big bird, with a body length, ranging from 11 inches to 12 13/64 inches (28 to 31 cm), with the wingspan that ranges from 16 1/2 inches to 20 3/32 inches (41.9 to 51 cm). They have a body mass that ranges from 3.9 pounds to 5.6 pounds (1.7 to 2.5 kg).

The Northern Flicker Woodpecker is strange among the woodpeckers of North America in a way that their general body color is brown instead of black and white. The back part of the body of the Northern Flicker Woodpeckers are brown in color, with black color barring, and their torso and belly appear with light tan color, with famous clear black color spots. The tail of the Northern Flicker Woodpecker breed is black in color, with white color rumps.

There is a wide, black color band across the bird’s upper chest. The Northern Flicker Woodpecker comes in two forms, such as the Red-shafted Northern Flicker and the Yellow shafted Northern Flicker. The flight feathers of Red-shafted Northern Flicker woodpeckers have reddish-orange color shafts, and their tail and wings are reddish-orange in color beneath. The Northern Flicker Woodpecker have a gray color head, nape and throat, and their forehead is brown in color. Male Northern Flicker Woodpecker breeds have a red color moustache, whereas the female ones have a pale brown color moustache. Usually, neither gender has a tinted nape crescent.

Northern Flicker Woodpeckers possess a protective ocular mechanisms for protecting its eyes from shaking from the pecking impact. woodpeckers show a restricted axial globe movement due to the tight fit within the fascial tissue connections and orbit between the sclera and orbital rim.
The eyes of the Northern Flicker Woodpecker are covered with a nictitating membrane (from Latin nictare, to blink)— a translucent and transparent third eyelid - that protects the Northern Flicker Woodpeckers eyes from flying debris while pecking.

The flight feathers of Yellow-shafted Northern Flickers have yellow color shafts, and their tail and wings are yellow in color below. The head of the Northern Flicker Woodpeckers are gray in color, and their face and throat are brown in color. Male Northern Flicker Woodpeckers have a black color moustache, whereas the females have no moustache. Both females and males have red color nape crescents.

Diet

Mostly, Northern Flicker woodpeckers feed on ants, but they also feed on other insects and some seeds, fruit and berries.

Male and female Northern Flicker Woodpeckers are able to drum hollow trees logs execrate. Since Northern Flicker Woodpeckers do not have vocal cords and don't sing, this pecking activity also plays an important role in communicating with each other. Northern Flicker Woodpeckers drumming is also to attract a mate, mark out territory, both sexes are known to drum.

Northern Flicker Woodpeckers tongue is up to 4 inches (10.16 cm) long. The length can be a little different depending on which species of woodpecker. Northern Flicker Woodpeckers tongue wraps around the reinforced skull structured and squashy bone, to even out the impact of the pecking force. Northern Flicker Woodpeckers have barbed tongues that helps them remove bugs from holes and tree bark.
Feathers that look like hairs on the Northern Flicker Woodpecker nostrils, prevent ingestion of wood particles.

When feeding, drumming and building a nest cavity, a Northern Flicker Woodpecker can peck up to 20 times per second, wow that's fast! or a total between 9,000 and 12,000 pecks in a day.

Northern Flicker Woodpeckers have a prominent surge in flight comprise of three rapid wing flaps, followed by a quick glide when the Northern Flicker Woodpeckers wings are tucked against its body rather than spread out like many other birds.

The average life span of a Northern Flicker Woodpecker in the wild is 7 to 11 years, depending on the species and environment

Woodpeckers are omnivores; meaning - an animal that eats food of both animal and plant and origin.

Northern Flicker Woodpeckers are monogamous meaning- the pair will mate for lifetime. Both male and female prepare the nest in the tree for babies and both will help feed them. The Northern Flicker Woodpecker female will lay between 3 and 5 eggs and the incubation period will lasts 11 to 14 days. After one month of hatching, young woodpeckers will leave the nest and venture out on there own.

There are more than 190 species of woodpeckers worldwide, but none of them are found in polar regions, Madagascar, New Zealand or Australia.

Northern Flicker Woodpeckers have zygodactyl feet, having 4 fingers, which means they have two toes facing the front and two toes facing the back, that helps them to have a strong grip on trees vertically. The Northern Flicker Woodpecker use these 8 fingers with their stiff central portion tail feathers to brace on trees as they climb.