Northern flickers are large woodpeckers that are commonly found in open woodlands and residental areas. Their brown-barred back, black bib and white rump are good field marks and their hysterical call often greets the day on spring mornings. Many suburbanites are also familiar with their habit of drumming on metal vent pipes, apparently having learned that they resonate better than dead wood.
Come autumn, flickers begin to move about in small flocks, often perching in trees in the manner of crows. While they hunt for insects in trees and fallen limbs like other woodpeckers, flickers also feed on the ground, sifting through leaves or drilling the soil for beetles and grubs.
