The Gilded Flicker is a large woodpecker that lives in saguaro cactus forests in the North American southwestern deserts. They have a gray face and red mustache, looking similar to the “red-shafted” Northern Flicker, but with yellow wings like the “yellow-shafted” Northern Flicker. The red is usually a western bird, while the yellow is generally found in the east. Gilded Flickers nest in holes they dig in the saguaros. They eat insects, nuts, and seeds, although primarily ants.
Read here about the NORTHERN FLICKER.
Hmm… I know the northern flicker because they migrate each spring and fall but not the gilder woodpecker. The northern woodpecker has yellow shafts on his wings. The ones that I have seen here have bright orange feathers but they are also migrating birds leaving in the early spring. (Abiquiu, New Mexico
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Great capture, Tracy, what a beautiful bird.
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Thanks Laura!
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