365Caws is now in its 16th year of publication. If I am unable to post daily, I hope readers who love the natural world and fiberarts will seize those days to read the older material. Remember that this has been my journey as well, so you may find errors in my identifications of plants. I have tried to correct them as I discover them. Likewise, I have refined fiberarts techniques and have adjusted recipes, so search by tags to find the most current information. And thank you for following me!
Saturday, February 5, 2022
Northern Flicker, Colaptes Auratus
Day 115: Aside from the charming polka-dot costume, Colaptes auratus (Northern Flicker) is quite the acrobat. Utilizing his tail to form a third tripod point in conjunction with his feet, he is able to stabilize himself and get better leverage for pecking. Note that I have used a masculine pronoun. Males of the Red-Shafted race (Colaptes auratus cafer) sport a dashing red "moustache." That said, where the ranges of Red-Shafted and Yellow-Shafted overlap as they do in my area, the facial markings may vary. In flight, the two races can be distinguished more readily as their respective colours are revealed. The flight pattern is a distinctive repetition of "flap-flap-flap, glide" as the bird "flickers" from one perch to another.
Labels:
Colaptes auratus cafer,
Northern Flicker
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