It was white with black spotted wings and a large black breast band across it's white chest. It's most distinguishing feature was the bright red crest on it's head. It also had a long black beak that it used to forage on the ground. In flight, the underside of it's wings took on a hint of gold. There were three of them in foraging in our yard which borders a small, low grass prairie.
I've been watching birds for two years and have never seen the likes of him. My Sibley bird guide didn't have anything like it in there either. Does anyone know what type of bird this is?
2007-10-09 11:27:10 · 6 answers · asked by Andrea 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Sounds like a Northern Flicker like some others are saying..but sounds like the gold you saw on the wings indicates you saw the Yellow-shafted form of this bird. Your Sibley guide should show both the Red and Yellow shafted forms.
Yellow-shafted Flicker:
http://www.gregscott.com/rwscott/rws_neg/012_Yellow_shafted_flicker.JPE
Red-shafted Flicker:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayernyc/51982491/
2007-10-09 16:04:04 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Where did you see it?
Flickers as someone else mentioned are ground foraging woodpeckers but they dont have any white on them nor do they have crests.
2007-10-09 13:04:21 · answer #2 · answered by Mimik 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's almost got to be a type of woodpecker. From your color description my guess would be a yellow-bellied sapsucker.
Although, it's much more common to see a Flicker on the ground.
2007-10-09 14:26:58 · answer #3 · answered by STEVE C 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm having a hard time visualizing it. It could be woodpecker (Hairy, Ladder-backed, Nutall's all come to mind when I think of a black and white bird with red on its head.)
It could also be a partial albino - but with three of them together wouldn't be as likely.
Try this site - you can search under various categories:
http://www.whatbird.com/
Just click on "Click to find your bird."
Hope it helps!
2007-10-09 12:20:11 · answer #4 · answered by Tiere13 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like a flicker to me too. Next time, watch for the white patch on the rump as they fly away.
2007-10-09 14:36:31 · answer #5 · answered by Strix 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like a Northern flicker.
here are some good pictures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Flicker
2007-10-09 11:48:06 · answer #6 · answered by dtbrantner 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋