Yellow-Shafted FlickerOctober 2006
 


The yellow-shafted flicker is a woodpecker with highly distinctive marking.

For instance, if you were to look up and see something like the following photo, you could conclude that either an alien has landed or . . .
 

Flicker from below
   
You were watching a yellow-shafted flicker.

Both male and female flickers have a red patch on the back of the neck, and in addition, a male has a mustache. So the fellow below is a mister.
 

Yellow-shafted flicker
 
  In flight, a flicker flashes a lot of yellow, either above or below the wing.
 
Flicker in flight
 
  Another distinctive characteristic of a flicker in flight is the white patch on the rump.

Photo note: I used a Pentax *ist D, with the SMC 1000mm reflex lens for these photos. The first was taken during spring 2006; the second two are from October 2006.



My Pennsylvania bird list

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