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Flickers love our Flicker House,
but unfortunately starlings do too. This design exploits the
Flicker's tree climbing ability. Approaching the entry from
below, the opening is protected from direct access by a Plexiglas
shield. This shield keeps starlings from accessing the bird house
since, unlike the Flicker, starlings cannot climb up the face of
the house. The front opens for clean out and comes with wood
shavings for nesting material. Flicker houses should be
mounted 6 to 30 feet high with the entrance hole facing
southeast.The Northern Flicker includes five subspecies:
Yellow-shafted Flicker, Red-shafted Flicker, Gilded Flicker,
Guatemalan Flicker and Cuban Flicker. The three subspecies found
on the North American continent are Yellow-shafted (east of the
Rocky Mountains), the Red-shafted (west of the Rocky Mountains)
and the Gilded (in the Southwest). Flickers live in a variety of
woodland habitats. They have adapted well to human habitation and
occur in urban, suburban, and rural areas, in parks, and near
farms and woodlots. They nest near clearings or other open areas,
at forest edges, and in forests interspersed with meadows,
fields, and clear-cuts. Nests are also found in savannas and near
swamps, ponds, and recently flooded areas containing snags. The
Gilded Flicker subspecies nests in saguaro cacti. The northern
populations of flickers return to their breeding ground from
mid-March to early April. A few weeks after their arrival,
courtship begins. By late April and early May, pairs have bonded
and begun to breed. The Northern Flicker will nest in boxes, but
boxes should be packed tightly with sawdust for the birds to
excavate. The more closely the nest box imitates a
"punky" tree, the more desirable it will appear to
Northern Flickers.
Dimensions: 16.75" high x 7.25" wide x
13.75" deep
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|  Northern Flicker Range Map
The Northern Flicker includes five
subspecies: Yellow-shafted Flicker, Red-shafted Flicker, Gilded
Flicker, Guatemalan Flicker, and Cuban Flicker. The subspecies
are distinguishable by a few morphological characteristics.
Male and female Northern Flickers look similar. They are grayish
brown woodpeckers with horizontal barring across the back and
wings. The tail is white with brownish black bars and solid black
tips. The breast is light brown to off-white and has blackish
brown spots. The upper breast has a black crescent-shaped patch,
or bib. The ventral surface and dorsal shafts of the wings and
tail can be either bright yellow or salmon, depending on the
subspecies. Subspecies also differ in throat color, crown color,
and the presence of a red blaze at the nape of the neck. Present
only in males is a malar stripe, or mustache, extending from the
base of the bill downward below the cheek. This mark is red in
some subspecies, black in others.
Juvenile plumage resembles that of the adult, but the colors are
less bright. Some features, such as the malar stripe and black
bib, are less distinct.
Northern Flickers are found throughout the North American
continent from below the tree line in Alaska and Canada to
Mexico, Central America, and Cuba. The three subspecies found on
the North American continent are Yellow-shafted (east of the
Rocky Mountains), the Red-shafted (west of the Rocky Mountains),
and the Gilded (in the Southwest).
Flickers live in a variety of woodland habitats. They have
adapted well to human habitation and occur in urban, suburban,
and rural areas, in parks, and near farms and woodlots. They nest
near clearings or other open areas, at forest edges, and in
forests interspersed with meadows, fields, and clear-cuts. Nests
are also found in savannas and near swamps, ponds, and recently
flooded areas containing snags. The Gilded Flicker subspecies
nests in saguaro cacti.
Northern Flicker numbers have declined over the past 20 years.
This decline is thought to result from a combination of factors,
including intense competition with the European Starling for nest
sites and reduction in possible nest sites due to the removal of
dead and dying trees. Although the decline hasn’t reached
threatening levels, it is important to monitor the population,
for these birds are one of the main species responsible for
excavating holes and providing nest sites for many secondary
cavity-nesting birds.
Northern Flickers are the most terrestrial of all North American
woodpeckers. These birds are commonly seen hopping along the
ground foraging for ants. In fact, flickers eat more ants than
any other bird species in North America. Flickers also forage in
the trees, where they hawk and glean beetles, wasps, and
caterpillars and probe into the bark for insect larvae. They also
eat worms, acorns, nuts, and grains. During late autumn, winter,
and early spring, flickers consume berries and other fruits of
wild trees and shrubs. Occasionally they visit feeders.
The northern populations of flickers return to their breeding
ground from mid-March to early April. A few weeks after their
arrival, courtship begins. By late April and early May, pairs
have bonded and begun to breed. These birds are monogamous and
mate for life, although a bird may find a new mate to replace one
that has died or disappeared.
Both the male and female aggressively defend a territory, which
consists of the prospective nest site and its immediate
surroundings. Vocalizations and "drumming" are used to
define and defend territory boundaries. Once incubation begins,
however, the pair spends less time defending their territory, and
other pairs often move into the vicinity and nest nearby.
Northern Flickers excavate their nest cavities. They are
considered weak excavators, mainly digging their nests in dead or
decaying trees that are weathered and have weak wood. It is
unknown which of the pair selects the nest site, but the location
depends on the presence of weak wood, not on the presence of a
particular tree species. In addition, flicker nests have been
found in poles, fence posts, haystacks, and ground burrows. These
woodpeckers also nest in boxes, but boxes should be packed
tightly with sawdust for the birds to excavate.
The more closely the nest box imitates a "punky" tree,
the more desirable it will appear to Northern Flickers.
The birds can take 12 to 15 days to excavate a cavity. Although
both sexes participate, initially the male does most of the
excavating, the female finishing the job. No additional nesting
materials are brought to the cavity.
Northern Flickers compete intensively with European Starlings,
squirrels, screech-owls, and American Kestrels for nest sites.
Shortly after the birds finish the cavity, the female begins
egg-laying. She lays semi-glossy, pure white eggs early in the
morning, adding one egg per day until there are five to eight
eggs laid. As few as three eggs and as many as 12 have been
reported in a clutch, but larger clutches usually represent eggs
from two females. Clutches laid early in the breeding season tend
to be larger than those laid later.
Once egg laying begins, the birds never leave the nest
unattended. Adults take turns remaining near or at the nest site.
The incubation period for Northern Flickers is 11 to 14 days, and
incubation begins one to two days before the female lays the last
egg. Both sexes incubate the eggs. The female is most attentive
toward the nest during early incubation, but later the male is
the more attentive of the pair and remains with the eggs at
night.
The young hatch within one to two days of each other. The female
broods the newly hatched young, but as the nestlings grow, female
attentiveness decreases and male attentiveness increases. The
male remains in the cavity with the nestlings at night. Shortly
after hatching, the young can produce a unique buzzing sound, an
ability that lasts until they are nearly full-feathered. The
nestlings make the sound whenever something approaches the nest
cavity and researchers speculate that the noise, which resembles
an agitated swarm of bees, may frighten away squirrels and other
nest predators.
The nestlings are fed regurgitant by both parents. After three
weeks, the young can climb to the entrance and meet the parents
for food. After 24 to 28 days, the parents coax the young to
leave the nest by withholding food and calling to them. When they
leave the nest, the fledglings can fly short distances and they
do not return to the nest site. The fledglings depend upon the
parents for food and protection for two to three weeks. Family
groups are often seen feeding together into late summer.
Northern Flickers usually raise one brood per breeding season,
but in the southern part of the range, pairs frequently raise
two.
Some populations of flickers are migratory. The degree of
movement depends on subspecies and region. Northern populations
tend to migrate in late autumn to the southeastern United States.
Migratory groups can consist of a few to a hundred individuals.
Southern populations are non-migratory. Although they don’t
migrate, these populations make small movements, seeking shelter
from winter weather in coniferous forests and swamps. Other
populations move from higher to lower elevations.
Flickers maintain winter home ranges, but we don’t know if
they defend these areas. First-year adults may return to their
natal area to breed for the first time. Older adults are highly
site-faithful, returning to a particular breeding site year after
year.
European Starling
Physical Description
Male and female starlings look similar. Both are
glossy black with purplish and greenish iridescence on the head,
back, and breast. Males have yellow bills in spring. Juveniles
have grayish brown plumage, and their bills are brownish in
color.
Distribution and Breeding Habitat
The European Starling was introduced to North
America in the late 1800s, when 100 birds were released in New
York City. Today, only a century later, their North American
population is believed to exceed 200 million. Starlings are
widely distributed all across the United States and Canada, and
they appear to be slowly expanding the northern and southern
boundaries of their range. Like House Sparrows, European
Starlings are habitat generalists, and their distribution is
closely associated with human habitation. They nest in areas
ranging from rural and agricultural to suburban and urban areas,
but they avoid heavily wooded, mountainous, and arid regions.
Starlings readily and aggressively displace nesting pairs of
other species from their nests, often destroying eggs and killing
nestlings. They often out-compete woodpeckers, Great Crested
Flycatchers, Tree Swallows, Eastern Bluebirds, and Purple Martins
for nesting sites. Consequently, the populations of these and
other native cavity-nesting species have declined.
Diet
European Starlings are dietary generalists, eating a
variety of invertebrates, such as snails, worms, millipedes, and
spiders, in addition to fruits, berries, grains, and seeds. They
forage in flocks year round; flock size depends upon the time of
year and availability of food. In winter, they often forage in
mixed-species flocks with cowbirds and blackbirds.
Pair Formation and Territoriality
Although European Starlings feed, roost, and migrate
in flocks, they tend to be solitary nesters, only occasionally
nesting near others. In February and March, males establish their
territories and begin advertising for mates. Soon afterward, the
females select their mates, but it is uncertain whether they are
choosing the male or the nest site he is defending. Once mated,
the male defends only the nest cavity, rather than a large area
around it. This species is monogamous, but in some populations
males are polygynous.
Nesting Behavior
Nest Building: Starlings nest in
tree cavities, rock crevices, and building structures, near open
fields, parks, and woodland edges.
European Starlings usually build their nests between
late February and early March. The male begins building a nest
before he has a mate, but the majority of the nest is built by
the female, after the starlings have paired. Females only build
in the morning, and it usually takes two or three days to
complete a nest. During this time, males closely guard their
mates to prevent other males from copulating with them.
The cup of the nest is constructed of coarse grass,
twigs, pine needles, rootlets, and straw and is lined with moss,
feathers, wool, and fresh leaves. These leaves are replaced
frequently and are believed to function as a natural insecticide
or bactericide.
Egg Laying: Within a population of
starlings, egg laying is synchronous; that is, most females begin
to lay their eggs within three or four days of each other. The
first eggs are laid around mid-March. Females lay one egg per
day, and the average clutch contains four to seven eggs. The
slightly glossy eggs are pale bluish- or greenish-white. Males
continue to guard females during this period.
Incubation: Females begin to
partially incubate the clutch after the first egg is laid. With
each subsequent egg, females increase the amount of time they
spend incubating. Full-time incubation begins the day the
penultimate, or next-to-last, egg is laid. Both sexes share
incubation duties.
Nestling Care: The eggs hatch after
12 to 15 days. Females and, to a lesser extent, males brood the
nestlings for about a week. Nestlings are fed soft-bodied
invertebrates immediately upon hatching, but as they grow older,
they are fed a larger variety of foods. Both adults remove fecal
sacs from the nest at first, but this behavior eventually ceases,
and the nest quickly becomes soiled. Males mated to more than one
female give little or no parental care to the brood that hatches
last. The nestlings leave the nest when they are 21 to 23 days
old, but they continue to be fed by their parents for a few days.
After reaching independence, the fledglings form flocks with
other juveniles.
Pairs reuse nest sites within the same season, as
well as in subsequent seasons. If the first clutch is successful,
most pairs do not raise another brood. If the first clutch fails
because of predation or weather, the pair will attempt a
replacement clutch. Double broods are more common in the southern
portion of the starlings' range.
Winter Movement and Dispersal
In winter, starlings in the midwestern United States
migrate, but starlings in the East tend to be residential. Young
birds migrate farther than older birds. Migrating flocks can
reach enormous numbers; flocks of 100,000 birds are not uncommon.
While juveniles do not return to their natal
territories in the spring, adults return to the same breeding
site every year.
The European Starling is not protected
by the United States government.
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