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 the ...

For unfamiliarity among common birds in our area, the northern flicker must surely take the prize. Flickers are abundant at this time of year, but judging from the questions I get about birds, many ...

“For the past week I have watched an unusual bird feeding in my yard,” reads an e-mail from a Center Valley-area resident. “I have a small bird book and as close as I can tell it is a yellow-shafted ...

When the grass in the meadow just east of my home is short, I sometimes see a brown bird on the ground. When the bird is facing away from me, the back and wings look brown with black bars. When it ...

As the sparkling, golden days of October pass, so do migrating birds winging their way south to warmer wintering grounds. Our feeders are back up swaying in the cool breeze. Down from higheraltitude ...

The common flicker is an uncommon woodpecker. I found a bright yellow feather in the woods the other day. At first I thought it w as from a molting goldfinch, but realized it was too big. I decided it ...