2026 Feeder Bird of the Year: Northern Flicker

The Northern Flicker is actually part of the woodpecker family with black-scalloped plumage. Unlike most woodpeckers, you'll often find Northern Flickers foraging on the ground as they mainly eat ants and beetles. Their habitat includes most of North America with breeding grounds spanning across southern Canada and into some of Alaska while you can also find them in parts of Mexico.

Northern Flickers are often found in open woods and forest edges on the ground. If you are able to flush one out, you might see some color (either red or yellow) as they fly and their tell-tale white rump.

The Northern Flicker, though it can climb up trees, prefers to find its food on the ground. It digs in the dirt to find ants and beetles and uses its long, barbed tongue to flick them out to eat.

Attracting and Feeding Northern Flickers

Northern Flickers aren't commonly found at bird feeders, but you can attract them to your backyard and bird baths. You'll have more luck if your property includes some trees or neighbors some woods.

Another option to attract Northern Flickers is setting up a nest box for them well before breeding season with the height of their nesting occurring mid- to late May through the start of June. Find all the details to build and place your nesting box on Cornell Lab's Nest Watch.

READ: Attracting Backyard Birds for more insights on creating a welcoming backyard for birds!

The Northern Flicker is one of few North American woodpeckers that is migratory with many in the northern part of their range migrating south for the winter - though there are some that stay fairly far North all year long.

For more detailed information, you can visit the Cornell All About Birds guide.

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