The gilded flicker (''Colaptes chrysoides'') is a large

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family (biology), family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme ...

(mean length of ) of the Sonoran, Yuma, and eastern Colorado Desert regions of the

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

and northwestern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, including all of

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

, except the extreme northwestern region. Yellow underwings distinguish the gilded flicker from 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 specie ...

(''Colaptes auratus'') found within the same region, which has red underwings.

Taxonomy

Four subspecies are recognized: * The Cape gilded flicker (''C. c. chrysoides'') resides in southern Baja California. * The brown gilded flicker (''C. c. brunnescens'') resides in northern and central Baja California. * Mearns' gilded flicker (''C. c. mearnsi'') resides in extreme southeastern California to Arizona and northwestern Mexico. * The Mexican gilded flicker (''C. c. tenebrosus'') resides in northwestern Mexico from northern Sonora to northern Sinaloa.

Habitat

The gilded flicker most frequently builds its nest hole in a

saguaro The saguaro ( , ; ''Carnegiea gigantea'') is a tree-like cactus species in the monotypic genus ''Carnegiea'' that can grow to be over tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountains ...

(''Carnegiea gigantea''), excavating a nest hole nearer to the top than to the ground. Less frequently, they will also nest in desert washes with cottonwood or willow. Cavities in saguaros are excavated a year before they are inhabited. The cactus defends itself against water loss into the cavity of the nesting hole by secreting sap that hardens into a waterproof structure that is known as a saguaro boot. Northern flickers, on the other hand, nest in riparian trees and very rarely inhabit saguaros. Gilded flickers occasionally hybridize with northern flickers in the narrow zones where their ranges and habitats overlap.

Diet

The gilded flicker's diet mostly consists of ants, as well as other insects such as beetles or termites. They forage on the ground by picking up insects or using their tongues to probe anthills. They also feed on fruits and berries.

References

Gallery

Image:Gilded Flicker (Colaptes chrysoides) in flight.jpg, In flight Image:Gilded Flicker (Colaptes chrysoides) by nest hole in saguaro cactus.jpg, By a

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

hole in a

External links