The northern flicker (*Colaptes auratus*) is a large, distinctive woodpecker found throughout North America, and unlike most of its relatives, it spends a great deal of time foraging on the ground rather than in trees, feeding heavily on ants and beetles with its long, barbed tongue. It is a beautifully patterned bird, with a brown, black-barred back, a creamy underside dotted with bold black spots, a prominent black crescent bib across the chest, and a bright white rump patch that flashes conspicuously in flight. There are two main subspecies: the yellow-shafted flicker of the East, which displays brilliant yellow under its wings and tail, and the red-shafted flicker of the West, which shows salmon-red in the same areas — and where their ranges overlap in the Great Plains, the two interbreed freely. Males of both forms sport a distinctive "mustache" mark, yellow or red depending on the subspecies, that females lack. The northern flicker inhabits open woodlands, forest edges, parks, and suburban areas, and is a cavity nester that excavates holes in dead trees, sometimes reusing old cavities, while also being one of the few woodpecker species that is partially migratory, with northern populations moving south in winter.
