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Gilded Flicker

Colaptes chrysoidesOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Woodpeckers (Picidae)

Gilded Flicker Breeding Male Portrait
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General

Gilded Flicker: Large woodpecker with dark barred and spotted brown back, brown cap, pale gray face and throat, red moustache stripe, white rump, thick black crescent on upper breast, and black spotted, pale buff underparts. Yellow underwings are visible in flight. Female lacks red moustache stripe.

Range and Habitat

Gilded Flicker: Resident from southeastern California and central Arizona south into Mexico. Preferred habitats include saguaro deserts, cottonwood-lined streams, and towns.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"wick-er", "kleeee-yer"

Interesting Facts

  • A study reported that European Starlings had no effect on the nesting success of the Gilded Flicker in saguaro cactus, even though the two birds compete for nest holes.
  • In the 1960s, taxonomists grouped the Gilded Flicker with the Red-shafted and Yellow-shafted flickers as a single species, the Northern Flicker, in recognition of the extensive interbreeding of the forms.
  • The limited hybridization of the Gilded Flicker with the other forms, especially in light of their widespread hybrid zone, was the basis for the later change to recognize the Gilded Flicker as its own species.
  • A group of flickers are collectively known as a "guttering", "menorah", and "Peterson" of flickers.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Gilded Flicker
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Colaptes chrysoides
Length10 - 12 Inches
Wingspan18 Inches

Gilded Flicker

Gilded Flicker: Large woodpecker with dark barred and spotted brown back, brown cap, pale gray face and throat, red moustache stripe, white rump, thick black crescent on upper breast, and black spotted, pale buff underparts. It was named for the gold color of its underwings and tail.

● Song: "wick-er", "kleeee-yer"

● Foraging & Feeding: Gilded Flicker: Eats insects, wild berries, and cactus fruits; forages on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Gilded Flicker: Three to five white eggs are laid in a tree or cactus cavity, utility pole, or birdhouse. Incubation ranges from 11 to 14 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Gilded Flicker: Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) has red nape and gray crown; male also has black moustache stripe. Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) has red underwings and gray nape; female also has pale brown moustache stripe.

Flight Pattern

Alternates several rapid shallow wing beats with short glides with wings folded to sides.
Gilded Flicker Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Gilded Flicker: Resident from southeastern California and central Arizona south into Mexico. Preferred habitats include saguaro deserts, cottonwood-lined streams, and towns.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationFairly common
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight3.9 Ounces