#58 Northern Flicker Patch

While most woodpeckers stick to trees, the Northern Flicker digs for ants and beetles on the ground with its long, slightly curved bill. There are two forms, the Yellow-shafted in the east and Red-shafted in the west, which will interbreed where they overlap. Both have bright pops of color under their wings and tails when they fly. They range from Alaska to Nicaragua, but don’t expect to find them in large unbroken forests; they need at least some open ground to find those ants.