Common flicker
Colaptes auratus
L 10½″
Habitat: Flickers are commonly found near large trees in open woodlands, fields, and meadows throughout North America. In winter, they occasionally seek shelter in coniferous woods or swamps. Previously three species were recognized: the yellow-shafted of the East, the red-shafted of the West, and the gilded of the southwestern desert. These are now considered a single species.
Nest: Flickers prefer to nest in open country or in lightly wooded suburban areas where park-like situations are plentiful (Bent 1939). Conner et al. (1975) reported that flickers usually nest in edge habitats and, in extensive forested areas, nest only in or around openings. Flickers excavate nest holes with a 2.75-inch entrance hole diameter in dead trees or dead limbs of many species of trees including aspen, cottonwood, oak, willow, sycamore, pine, and juniper. Nests are sometimes as high as 100 feet but usually between 10 and 30 feet (Scott and Patton 1975, Lawrence 1967).
Food: Sixty percent of common flicker food is animal matter. Of this, 75 percent is ants, more than taken by any other North American bird. Some flicker stomachs have contained over 2,000 ants. The rest of the insect material includes beetles, wasps, caterpillars, grubs, and crickets. The vegetable portion of the diet includes weed seeds, cultivated grain, and the fruit of wild shrubs and trees (Bent 1939, Forbush and May 1939).