The Northern Flicker

The Northern Flicker is a large, common woodpecker known for foraging on the ground for ants, unlike most woodpeckers, and for its distinctive flash of yellow, orange, or red under its wings and a white rump in flight. Found across North America, it has brown, barred backs, spotted underparts, and a black breast crescent, with males sporting a black (east) or red (west) "mustache" stripe. They inhabit open woodlands, forest edges, and suburbs, and are identified by their loud calls and drumming.

The Hairy Woodpecker is a large, black-and-white woodpecker with a prominent bill, distinguished from the similar Downy Woodpecker by its larger size and much longer bill, which is roughly the length of its head. Males have a red patch on the back of their head, while females do not. They are found in forests and woodlands, foraging for insects by probing and excavating bark, and communicate with loud, sharp calls and drumming.

The Downy Woodpecker is North America's smallest woodpecker, known for its black and white checkered plumage, white back stripe, and a small red patch on the back of the male's head. They are common in forests, woodlots, and suburban yards, foraging for insects in trees and visiting bird feeders for suet, seeds, and peanuts. They are easily distinguished from the similar Hairy Woodpecker by their much shorter bill.

The Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) is a western North American woodpecker known for its distinctive raspberry-red head and breast, and a bold white wing patch. It drills rows of "sap wells" in trees to drink sap and feed insects to its young, often in moist coniferous or mixed forests. This species is monogamous, forms long-term pair bonds, and is a common breeder in its range, which extends from the coast to the Cascade Mountains and into the Rockies.

A strikingly marked woodpecker of western mountains. A Williamson's Sapsucker may be found nesting in the same aspen groves as a Red-naped Sapsucker or a Red-breasted Sapsucker, but also occurs in pure coniferous forest. Quiet and inconspicuous at most times, although its staccato drumming and nasal mewing calls may be noticeable in spring. Males and females of this woodpecker look so different that they were first described to science as two separate species.