Find More Flickers

Take your eyes off the treetops and look for this flashy woodpecker on the ground.

- Rachael Liska

With eye-catching and distinct spotted plumage, northern flickers are arguably the most beautiful woodpeckers in North America. But their unique behaviors and characteristics are what really excite birders across the country.

Similar to downy and hairy woodpeckers, northern flickers are primarily insect eaters, but they are harder to entice to backyard feeders. Flickers forage for beetles, flies and moth caterpillars, but ants are their favorite treat, and they work hard to get them. Using their curved bills, they dig underground (the same way other woodpeckers hammer into wood) where the protein-packed larvae live.