They are so comfortable with the dirt that even in nesting they will sometimes forgo a tree cavity to raise their young in a hole in the ground say, an old kingfisher or bank swallow tunnel. They chisel at bark like other woodpeckers, but most of their foraging is actually done on the ground, where they lap up ants and other insects, as well as fruits and seeds. Buffleheads, the most common black and white duck you’ll see on the river in winter, rely almost exclusively on flickers for nesting cavities.įlickers live close to the earth. Many kinds of birds nest in woodpecker cavities, but flickers, because of their large size, are crucial to other large-cavity nesters.
They provide for other species, however naively. Preening with them may improve the ants’ palatability by reducing their remaining acid content. It’s hypothesized that the ants’ formic acid helps protect the birds from mites and lice. Before eating ants, they may rub them over their bodies, or simply allow the ants to crawl over them. Pet python found safe in Northern California home during North Complex Fireįlickers interact thriftily with other species.T he thing with feathers: Care for birds also improves life for humankind.Two more mountain lion cubs rescued from Zogg Fire burn area.As in some other species, rivals face each other, bills to the sky, and they bob and weave together, perhaps calling out, until one seems to decide the other has rights and flies off with no harm done. But they have evolved a ritualized solution to their disputes. They communicate with one another, singing a one-pitch staccato trill to call far and wide, or drumming on hollow wood in various cadences, or murmuring to closer birds with a silky weeka-weeka-weeka call.įlickers are not immune to conflict, particularly when finding mates. Where red- and yellow-shafted flickers meet, they associate impartially. Small groups routinely stick together, several flocking together through the woods. Mated pairs share the work of nest construction, egg incubation and child-rearing.
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