Colaptes auratus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The northern flicker or common flicker (Colaptes auratus) is a medium-sized bird of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker species that migrate. Over 100 common names for the northern flicker are known, including yellowhammer (not to be confused with the Eurasian yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella)), clape, gaffer woodpecker, harry-wicket, heigh-ho, wake-up, walk-up, wick-up, yarrup, and gawker bird. Many of these names derive from attempts to imitate some of its calls.
The English naturalist Mark Catesby described and illustrated the northern flicker in his book The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands which was published between 1729 and 1732. Catesby used the English name "Gold-winged Wood-pecker" and the Latin Picus major alis aureis. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for its 10th edition, he included the northern flicker, coined the binomial name Cuculus auratus for it, and cited Catesby's book.
The specific epithet auratus is a Latin word meaning "gilded" or "ornamented with gold". The... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Flicker sighting in Congaree National Park on a given day, based on 629 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 18th most-seen of the 148 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Flicker in Congaree National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April to August, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Flicker sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 42
Of the 42 parks where we can rate Northern Flicker sightings, Congaree National Park ranks 6th at about 40%. The best odds are in Point Pelee National Park (Canada, about 60%), Yosemite National Park (United States, about 50%) and Rocky Mountain National Park (United States, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Picidae
The closest relatives of the Northern Flicker that you can see in Congaree National Park (family Picidae, Woodpeckers) are Red-bellied Woodpecker (about 90%), Pileated Woodpecker (about 80%) and Downy Woodpecker (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Flicker is recorded against all the birds logged in Congaree National Park (629 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
