What do northern flicker birds eat?

Quick Answer

Northern flicker birds are omnivorous, meaning they eat both plant and animal matter. Their diet consists mainly of insects, ants, and beetles. They also eat seeds, berries, and nuts. Flickers use their long tongue to lap up ants and other insects from the ground or trees. They hunt by hopping along the ground and probing the dirt and bark crevices for prey.

Diet Composition

Northern flickers are opportunistic feeders and have a diverse diet. Here is a breakdown of what these birds eat:

Insects

Insects make up the majority of the northern flicker’s diet. Their favorite insect foods include:

• Ants – Flickers will eat ants year-round, but they are especially important in the diet during the breeding season when flickers need extra protein. Flickers have a long, barbed tongue that allows them to lap up thousands of ants each day by probing into ant mounds or rotten logs.
• Beetles – Beetle larvae and adults are eaten by flickers. Ground beetles, bark beetles, and wood-boring beetles are common prey.
• Caterpillars – The larvae of moths and butterflies are readily consumed by flickers.
• Grasshoppers – These insects are common prey for flickers in fields and meadows.
• Crickets – Excellent source of protein when found in leaf litter or the soil.
• Termites – An important food source, especially in the winter.
• Wasps and bees – Adults and larvae are eaten. Flickers may raid nests for the protein-rich grubs and pupae.
• Flies – Ideal prey that can be caught while in flight.
• Spiders – Provide flickers with extra protein.
• Centipedes – Flickers probe the ground in search of these invertebrates.

In some parts of their range, animal prey can make up over 50% of the northern flicker’s annual diet. They need a steady supply of insects and other invertebrates to meet their high protein requirements, especially during breeding season.

Plant Material

Northern flickers supplement their insect diet with a variety of plant foods:

• Seeds – Flickers eat seeds from trees, shrubs, and weedy plants. Favored seeds come from elm, hackberry, cherry, hivevine, poison ivy, ragweed, thistle, and wild grape.
• Fruit – Berries and fruits are readily eaten when available. Flickers enjoy wild cherries, grapes, blackberries, sumac fruit, dogwood fruit, and the fruits from magnolia, holly, and hackberry trees.
• Nuts – Acorns, beechnuts, and pecans are dietary staples in the fall and winter when other foods are scarce.
• Grain – Waste grain, such as corn and oats, is consumed opportunistically.
• Sap – Flickers drill into trees to access the nutrient-rich sap.

These foods provide important carbohydrates and fats. Fruit and sap are especially important in the late summer and fall when flickers are building up fat reserves for winter.

Foraging Behavior

Northern flickers employ a variety of foraging techniques to find food:

• Ground probing – Flickers walk along the ground probing the soil with their long curved bill in search of insects and larvae. Their bill is specialized for digging and hammering.
• Bark peeling – Flickers peel away loose bark on trees to uncover insects sheltering underneath. They also probe cracks and crevices in the bark for hiding insects.
• Hammering – Flickers hammer into wood with their sturdy bill to excavate nesting cavities. This also reveals larvae and insects burrowed deep inside the wood. Flickers are sometimes called yellow-shafted woodpeckers due to this behavior.
• Lapping – Their 2-3 inch barbed tongue allows flickers to lap up thousands of ants and termites each day. Flickers also drink sap by lapping it up with their tongue after drilling holes in trees.
• Aerial hunting – Flickers will fly out from a perch to catch insects in mid-air. They occasionally eat invertebrates plucked from leaves and twigs.
• Berry plucking – Fruits and berries are plucked directly from shrubs and branches. Flickers sometimes hover briefly to reach fruit.
• Ground feeding – Flickers will come to the ground and feed on waste grain and seeds. They have also been observed feeding at bird feeders.
• Nest raids – Flickers may occasionally raid other birds’ nests for eggs and nestlings, providing a protein-rich source of food.
• Caching – Flickers will hammer into the ground to create small holes or depressions and then stuff them with food to cache for later use.

Their versatile foraging abilities allow northern flickers to exploit many different food sources.

Ideal Habitats for Foraging

Flickers can be found foraging in a variety of habitats, including:

• Forests – Especially open woodlands, forests edges, and burned areas. Flickers probe the ground and peel bark for insects here.
• Parks and suburban areas – Flickers adapt well to human landscapes. They eat ants from lawns and nest in trees.
• Agricultural areas – Flickers forage for insects and grains in croplands and pastures.
• Roadsides – Gravel shoulders provide good ground probing opportunities. Flickers eat spilled grain and roadkill.
• Meadows and open fields – Ideal for ground feeding on insects like grasshoppers.
• Marshes – The ground is soft for probing, and ants abound.
• Orchards – Fruit trees provide abundant fruit in summer and fall.

Flickers are very adaptable and exploit resources across rural, suburban, and urban environments.

Adaptations for Feeding

Northern flickers have several physical and behavioral adaptations that allow them to take advantage of various food sources:

• Curved bill – The long, curved bill is ideal for probing into the ground, prying up bark, hammering, and extracting insects from wood.
• Barbed tongue – The tongue has tiny barbs or bristles on the tip that allow it to spear and lap up thousands of ants each day.
• Strong neck muscles – Powerful neck muscles allow flickers to hammer away at wood for long periods.
• Zygodactyl feet – Two toes point forward and two point back, providing flickers with a sturdy grip for clinging to trunks and vertical surfaces.
• Migratory – Flickers migrate so they can take advantage of seasonally abundant food sources across different latitudes.
• Caching behavior – Flickers cache food like acorns and insects in holes for eating later. This provides them with reserves when food is scarce.
• Opportunistic – Flickers are flexible and exploit whatever foods are available seasonally and locally. This varies from fruits and grains to insects and sap.

These adaptations provide northern flickers with many survival advantages and allow them to utilize diverse food sources across North America.

Seasonal Variation

Northern flickers show seasonal shifts in their diet as different food sources become available:

This flexibility allows northern flickers to take advantage of the most abundant and nutritious foods throughout the year.

Role of Insects in Baby Flicker Diet

Insects and other animal prey are especially crucial for growing nestlings. Here’s an overview of the baby flicker diet:

• Newly hatched chicks are fed regurgitated insects and prey by the parents. Common foods include ants, beetles, caterpillars, and insect larvae.
• As chicks grow, the parents gradually provide larger prey items like grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids.
• The high protein and fat content of insects promotes rapid growth and development of chicks.
• Chicks may be fed hundreds of times per day as both parents work to provision the nest.
• By 2-3 weeks of age, chicks are also fed some plant material like berries and seeds.
• Fledglings continue to be fed by parents for several weeks after leaving the nest.

The reliance on insect prey allows young northern flickers to grow and fledge quickly so they can leave the nest within 4 weeks.

Conclusion

Northern flickers are versatile foragers and consume a diverse diet. While ants and other insects make up a substantial portion of their annual food intake, flickers also exploit seasonal fruits, seeds, nuts and grains. Their unique physical adaptations allow them to probe soil, peel bark, drill wood, and hammer to access a wide array of prey. Flickers are able to switch up their foraging techniques and food sources depending on habitat, season, and life history requirements. This dietary flexibility helps explain why northern flickers are so widespread and abundant across North America.