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Sunday, May 13, 2012

Flicker Revealed

 
This post can be brought to you because the Flicker came to a sad end. She flew into a window and broke her neck. I found her within a few hours, and there was no decomposition yet. It's sad, but it allows me to show you the beautiful coloration of the feathers. Technically, this is the Yellow-shafted Flicker, Colaptes Auratus, because the feather shafts of wings and tail are... yellow.

yellow-shafted flicker

There is a western variant of the species, the Red-shafted Flicker. I haven't ever seen one. Keep in mind, this is a woodpecker. Now for the beautiful surprise. I'll turn the bird over.

yellow-shafted flicker

Pretty spectacular, eh? If you prefer to see one alive, follow the link below.

See Northern Flicker
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9 comments:

john bain said...

A sad but beautiful sight.

Duxbury Ramblers said...

Beautiful bird.

Secondary Roads said...

While I see them regularly around here, I've never noticed that much yellow on one before. It's a pity about the circumstances that made this post possible.

Libby said...

Poor bird.

Stephanie V said...

I've never seen a yellow one...our red-shafted flickers peck at our house - especially the metal flashing on the roof. makes a spectacular noise LOL

Imagine the yellow as a brilliant tangerine and that's what I see almost every day.

Lynn Proctor said...

so sad but beautiful

Ann said...

I was thinking what a pretty bird and then when you showed the second picture, oh my, that's a really pretty bird. So sad that it flew into a window.

Lin said...

Aw, darn. I don't like when I find them like that. :(

Those flickers, while lovely, are very LOUD, aren't they? They are some noisy birdies!

RNSANE said...

What an incredibly beautiful bird! I've never seen one. Sad that it met its demise in such a tragic way. I hope it was a quick death without too much suffering.