Northern Flicker
Custer State Park, SD
Jun. 2015

During my summer road trip I had the opportunity in the field to view both yellow-shafted and red-shafted Northern Flickers. Yellow-shafted flickers predominately live on the east coast, so my first sighting of a Flicker that looked “unique” was a highlight.

The particular bird above has the red nape and yellowish tinge of underlining on the wing. The lack of a cheek stripe indicates the bird is female.

Even after recognizing the different colored cheek stripe and lack of a red nape, it wasn’t until Yellowstone NP that I witnessed the brilliant red lining of the tail and wings that give the two varieties their names.

Northern Flicker
Yellowstone NP
July 2015

More photos of Flickers & Woodpeckers