The Northern Flicker, often seen on the ground, prompts questions about its connection to typical tree-dwelling woodpeckers. Despite unique behaviors, flickers share many characteristics with their tree-pecking relatives, blending common woodpecker traits with distinctive features.
Flickers: Woodpeckers by Classification
Flickers are a type of woodpecker, formally classified within the family Picidae, which encompasses all true woodpeckers, sapsuckers, and piculets. This classification is based on shared anatomical features.
One such feature is their zygodactyl feet, characterized by two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward, providing a strong grip essential for climbing and clinging to vertical surfaces like tree trunks.
Another shared anatomical trait is the specialized hyoid bone, which supports their tongues. In woodpeckers, including flickers, this elongated bone wraps around the skull, allowing for a remarkably long tongue that can extend significantly beyond the bill. This adaptation is crucial for extracting insects from tight spaces.
While a flicker’s bill is somewhat more slender and curved compared to some other woodpeckers, it is still robust enough for excavating.
Flickers also exhibit behavioral patterns consistent with their woodpecker lineage, particularly in their nesting habits. Like many other woodpecker species, Northern Flickers excavate their own nest cavities in dead or diseased trees, or sometimes in large branches. This cavity-nesting behavior provides a secure place for raising their young.
Furthermore, flickers use drumming as a form of communication and territorial defense, a practice commonly observed across the woodpecker family.
Unique Traits of the Flicker
Despite their classification as woodpeckers, flickers possess several distinct traits that set them apart. A primary difference lies in their foraging behavior, as Northern Flickers spend a significant amount of time on the ground, searching for food. Unlike many woodpeckers that primarily drill into wood for insects, flickers are known for digging into the soil or anthills to find their preferred diet of ants and beetles.
Their tongue is specially adapted for this ground-foraging lifestyle, capable of extending up to two inches beyond the tip of their bill. This long, barbed, and sticky tongue is highly effective for lapping up large quantities of ants and their larvae, which can constitute a significant portion of their diet. Some research suggests their sticky saliva may even be alkaline, potentially neutralizing the formic acid produced by ants.
Flickers also exhibit distinctive plumage, contributing to their unique appearance. They typically have a brownish body patterned with black spots, bars, and crescents, along with a prominent white rump patch that is noticeable during flight. Regional variations exist, with “yellow-shafted” flickers in the eastern parts of North America displaying yellow under their wing and tail feathers, while “red-shafted” flickers in the west show red.
Their vocalizations are another distinguishing feature, often characterized by loud, ringing calls like “wicker, wicker, wicker,” “klee-yer,” or “flick-a flick-a flick-a.” While they do drum, their drumming is frequently for communication or territorial marking rather than primarily for excavating food, differing from the sustained pecking sounds of some other woodpecker species.
These unique adaptations, particularly their ground-feeding habits, allow flickers to occupy a specific ecological niche, coexisting with other woodpeckers.