 Breeding evidence |
 Relative abundance |
 Probability of observation |
Click for a larger version or to add map overlays |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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-1.27 (-2.01 - -0.601)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
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Atlas Results
Atlas results coming soon
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
This woodpecker's bright red or yellow underwings and loud drumming in spring make it difficult to overlook. A ground feeder, the Northern Flicker lives largely on ants, supplemented with seeds and fruit. Its generalist diet and preference for open grassland, parkland, and forest habitats make it the most widespread woodpecker in North America. It breeds from Alaska across to north-central Quebec, Labrador, and Newfoundland, south to west-central Veracruz and Oaxaca. Winters in the southern half of its range.
"Although the Northern Flicker is a true woodpecker, it is more apt to be seen feeding on the ground than in a tree. This allows it to exploit a wider variety of habitats than other woodpeckers, and thus to occur as a common breeding bird throughout the province? (Smith 1996). During the winter it favours urban areas, where there may be access to feeders and the bare ground under conifers, or the southwest where snow-free areas are more frequent.
This species is a common nesting bird throughout the province. Numbers have decreased locally in the parklands due to the clearing of poplar groves. The Northern Flicker is also a rare winter resident in the settled portion of the province. Numbers on Christmas Bird Counts have shown a significant increase of 5.8% per year 1981-2007.
Original text by Karen Wiebe. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Northern Flicker in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Northern Flicker in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=NOFL&lang=en [14 Nov 2025]
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