Identification
Posted by Dennis Borie on May 15, 2006
Q:
Can you Identify a bird for me. It was less than 1 foot head to tail. It had a red triangle on the back of its neck, and a black triangle on its breast. Its bill was long and narrow. It was digging through an old stump. When it flew off its tail was white. Overall brownish, had spots on is wing. Thank you for your help.
Habitat: suburban/yard
State: Maryland
Habitat: suburban/yard
A: From your excellent description it sounds like you observed a Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus). For clarification, The Northern Flicker is 12-14" long, has a conspicuous white rump,shows a black patch across its chest, and has a barred brown back. The male has a red patch on the back of its head. They prefer to eat ants, like the carpenter ants that may invest the stump you ecribed. They also are common in suburbia where they often "ant" in people's lawns.
Jim Berry ( May 15, 2006)