Male vs. Female Northern Flicker: Nesting Similar to other woodpecker species, northern flickers also build nests. In actuality, they occasionally use old nesting cavities made by other woodpeckers.

These two types of birds have nearly identical DNA, differing in only 0.01% of their genome, but those different genes matter, since they are what lead to the red or the yellow shaft.

Few birds have more common names than the northern flicker. This flashy woodpecker goes by cotton-rump, high-hole, yellowhammer and at least 150 other colloquialisms. All these monikers speak to ...