Spotted this male Northern Yellow-shafted Flicker a few weeks ago on a walk near our home. You can see the yellow under his tail and on the edges of his wing. I knew that we had the Yellow-shafted Flickers here in the East and that the Western U.S. had Red-shafted Flickers. What I hadn’t realized until I took a look at the Audobon Society Northern Flicker page, was that the red and yellow interbred wherever their ranges overlap.
This is a male Northern Flicker. There are several subtle markings that are different between the male and female Northern Yellow-Shafter (and Red-Shafted) Flickers that are described nicely at this Cornell Lab page. I think the dark “whisker” running from the beak to his neckline is the surest way to tell.
I haven’t posted in awhile, but I have been taking photos. I hope to have some more posts very soon.