Northern Flicker
Colaptes auratus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPiciformes (Woodpeckers and Allies)
- FamilyPicidae (Woodpeckers)
- GenusColaptes (Flickers and Allies)
- SpeciesColaptes auratus (Northern Flicker)
About the Northern Flicker
The northern flicker or common flicker (Colaptes auratus) is a medium-sized bird of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker species that migrate. Over 100 common names for the northern flicker are known, including yellowhammer (not to be confused with the Eurasian yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella)), clape, gaffer woodpecker, harry-wicket, heigh-ho, wake-up, walk-up, wick-up, yarrup, and gawker bird. Many of these names derive from attempts to imitate some of its calls.
The English naturalist Mark Catesby described and illustrated the northern flicker in his book The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands which was published between 1729 and 1732. Catesby used the English name "Gold-winged Wood-pecker" and the Latin Picus major alis aureis. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for its 10th edition, he included the northern flicker, coined the binomial name Cuculus auratus for it, and cited Catesby's book.
The specific epithet auratus is a Latin word meaning "gilded" or "ornamented with gold". The... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Saguaro National Park
Gilded Flicker
Colaptes chrysoides
Gila Woodpecker
Melanerpes uropygialis
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Dryobates scalaris
Red-naped Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus nuchalis
Acorn Woodpecker
Melanerpes formicivorus
Lewis's Woodpecker
Melanerpes lewis
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus varius
Williamson's Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus thyroideus
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus ruber
Hairy Woodpecker
Leuconotopicus villosus
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Northern Flicker in Saguaro National Park?
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Flicker sighting in Saguaro National Park, based on 6,299 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Northern Flicker in Saguaro National Park?
January has the highest sighting rate for Northern Flicker in Saguaro National Park in our monthly data.