Owner Comments:
Another great coin from Canada brings us another great modern dinosaur: The Northern Flicker, species name Colaptes auratus.
The Northern Flicker is a type of Woodpecker which ranges widely throughout most of North America when year-round, summer and winter ranges are all considered. There are 8 extant and one extinct subspecies of the Northern Flicker. While all of the subspecies of the Northern Flicker are overall brown with black spots, they all have other distinctive colors mixed in which vary among the subspecies, making this a good coin to depict the animal in pure silver in as it can truly represent the whole species complex. Size wise, Northern Flickers have a wingspan range of 17-21 inches, with a length range of 11-14 inches and a weight range of 3-5.9 ounces. Males and females are similar in appearance and size but males of all subspecies have a red stripe at the base of the beak, which is the only sexual dimorphism in this species.
Like all woodpeckers, the Northern Flicker is mainly a predator of insects, but they will also eat plant matter including berries, fruits, seeds and nuts. Unlike many woodpeckers, the Northern Flicker is noted for frequently feeding on the ground. Most woodpeckers mostly feed in trees. Northern Flickers also do not restrict themselves to hunting for insects in rotting, dead trees. They will also dig into and dismantle insect colonies in the soil, boring into the soil the way other woodpeckers dig into rotting wood. Any ground-nesting insect in North America can end up being prey for the Northern Flicker. Individuals of this species have also been sighted preying upon young bats leaving their roosting grounds. As far as habitat goes, the Northern Flicker can live in a variety of environments, including woodlands, open country on the edge of woodlands, yards, cemeteries and parks. Northern Flickers also do not act like other woodpeckers in that some populations actually migrate while most woodpeckers do not. Canadian Northern Flickers tend to migrate southward in the winter.
At first glance, Northern Flickers seem more typical of other woodpeckers in breeding behaviors. Pairs mate for life and they nest in a cavity excavated in a tree in most cases. However, some Northern Flickers will excavate nesting cavities in the ground and Northern Flickers will also reuse nest excavations, which other woodpeckers almost never do. The nest is cushioned using only wood shavings. Northern Flicker pairs produce between 6 to 8 pure white eggs that both parents incubate for between 11 to 12 days, after which the eggs hatch. The babies are born naked, pink and helpless. The babies are fed by regurgitation by both parents. At around 17 days of age, the babies begin to move around the nest and they cling to the sides of the nest rather than sitting on the floor. They fledge at between 25 to 28 days of age, after which the babies leave the nest and start foraging with their parents, who teach them where good feeding grounds are and how to hunt for food. Northern Flickers themselves have few predators, but any raptor in North America will occasionally prey upon them. Noted bird-eaters, like the Peregrine Falcon, the Sharp-Shinned Hawk and the Cooper’s Hawk, pose the largest threats. Northern Flickers live for about 9 to 10 years.