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Northern Flicker — printable fact sheet
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Northern Flicker
Colaptes auratus
Colaptes auratus is a woodpecker that has largely given up on wood. It spends most of its time hopping on the ground digging into ant nests, and ants make up around half its diet — more than for any other North American bird. Its tongue can extend roughly 5 cm past the bill tip …
Did you know?
- Unlike most woodpeckers, Northern Flickers are frequently seen on the ground searching for ants, which make up to 45% of their diet.
- The white rump patch that flashes when a flicker flushes is one of the most reliable field marks in North America and is visible far longer than the bird itself. Flickers are among the few woodpeckers that migrate, with northern populations moving south in loose flocks in autumn. Rival males and females settle disputes with a slow, weaving "fencing duel," bills raised, bobbing head to head in an almost balletic display while a watching mate looks on.
What I learned
Draw the northern flicker
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