Variation of yellow-shafted northern flicker? - Ask Extension
Can you help identify this bird? Closest I can find is a Yellow-Shafted Northern Flicker, but the distinct white stripe under the black collar is in...
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Variation of yellow-shafted northern flicker? #824888
Asked April 08, 2023, 8:12 PM EDT
Can you help identify this bird? Closest I can find is a Yellow-Shafted Northern Flicker, but the distinct white stripe under the black collar is inconsistent. It is about the size of a big Robin. The last photo came out blurry, but shows the splash of red on the back of its head…
I observed this evening, April 8 about 7:15pm in Orion Township on partially wooded yard adjoining low land marsh and hardwood forest.
Oakland County Michigan
Expert Response
Hello,
This is a Northern Flicker. They do often have a bit of white below the color, although not often as distinctive as yours. With that said, it is not unexpected and you can find other examples of similar plumage flickers on eBird. In particular when the plumage is fresh or worn (bird grown new feathers and replace old ones every year) the feathers can appear to have extra colors or be washed out. Also there is genetic variation that creates some variability so bird books are a model but can not capture all the variation that may be encountered in the wild.
You can learn more about Northern Flickers here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/overview#
You can see more pictures of other flickers here: https://media.ebird.org/catalog?taxonCode=yesfli&sort=rating_rank_desc&mediaType=photo
This is a Northern Flicker. They do often have a bit of white below the color, although not often as distinctive as yours. With that said, it is not unexpected and you can find other examples of similar plumage flickers on eBird. In particular when the plumage is fresh or worn (bird grown new feathers and replace old ones every year) the feathers can appear to have extra colors or be washed out. Also there is genetic variation that creates some variability so bird books are a model but can not capture all the variation that may be encountered in the wild.
You can learn more about Northern Flickers here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/overview#
You can see more pictures of other flickers here: https://media.ebird.org/catalog?taxonCode=yesfli&sort=rating_rank_desc&mediaType=photo