Northern Flicker
Colaptes auratus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPiciformes (Woodpeckers and Allies)
- FamilyPicidae (Woodpeckers)
- GenusColaptes (Flickers and Allies)
- SpeciesColaptes auratus (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 species that migrate. Over 100 common names for the northern flicker are known, including yellowhammer (not to be confused with the Eurasian yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella)), clape, gaffer woodpecker, harry-wicket, heigh-ho, wake-up, walk-up, wick-up, yarrup, and gawker bird. Many of these names derive from attempts to imitate some of its calls. Wikipedia →
40–50% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Flicker sighting in Grand Teton National Park, based on 1,102 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Grand Teton National Park
Hairy Woodpecker
Leuconotopicus villosus
Red-naped Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus nuchalis
Downy Woodpecker
Dryobates pubescens
Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
American Three-toed Woodpecker
Picoides dorsalis
Williamson's Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus thyroideus
Black-backed Woodpecker
Picoides arcticus
Lewis's Woodpecker
Melanerpes lewis
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Northern Flicker in Grand Teton National Park?
About 41% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Flicker sighting in Grand Teton National Park, based on 1,102 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Northern Flicker in Grand Teton National Park?
April has the highest sighting rate for Northern Flicker in Grand Teton National Park in our monthly data.