Gilded Flicker

Overview
Gilded Flicker: Large woodpecker with dark barred and spotted brown back, brown cap, pale gray face and throat, red moustache stripe, white rump, thick black crescent on upper breast, and black spotted, pale buff underparts. It was named for the gold color of its underwings and tail.

Range and Habitat
Gilded Flicker: Resident from southeastern California and central Arizona south into Mexico. Preferred habitats include saguaro deserts, cottonwood-lined streams, and towns.

The Gilded Flicker has a relatively expansive range reaching up to generally 380,000 square kilometers. This bird can be found only in Mexico and the United States. This bird is found in both tropical and subtropical forests and shrublands, but also favors dry, hot desert locations as well. The global population of this bird is estimated to be around 1.1 million individual birds. It is not believed that the population trends for this species will soon approach the minimum levels that could suggest a potential decline in population. Due to this, population trends for the Gilded Flicker have a present evaluation level of Least Concern.

INTERESTING FACTS
In the 1960s, taxonomists grouped the Gilded Flicker with the Red-shafted and Yellow-shafted flickers as a single species, the Northern Flicker, in recognition of the extensive interbreeding of the forms. The limited hybridization of the Gilded Flicker with the other forms, especially in light of their widespread hybrid zone, was the basis for the later change to recognize the Gilded Flicker as its own species. A study reported that European Starlings had no effect on the nesting success of the Gilded Flicker in saguaro cactus, even though the two birds compete for nest holes. A group of flickers are collectively known as a "guttering", "menorah", and "Peterson" of flickers.