- Gilded Flicker
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Gilded Flicker 
Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Piciformes Family: Picidae Genus: Colaptes Species: C. chrysoides Binomial name Colaptes chrysoides
(Malherbe, 1845)The Gilded Flicker (Colaptes chrysoides) is a large-sized woodpecker (mean length of 29 cm (11 in)) of the Sonoran, Yuma, and eastern Colorado Desert regions of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico including all of the Baja Peninsula except the extreme northwestern region. Golden yellow underwings distinguish the Gilded Flicker from the Northern Flicker found within the same region, which have red underwings.
Contents
Habitat
The Gilded Flicker most frequently builds its nest hole in a majestic saguaro cactus, excavating a nest hole nearer the top than the ground.[1] The cactus defends itself against water loss into the cavity of the nesting hole by secreting sap that hardens into a waterproof structure that is known as a saguaro boot.[2] Northern Flickers, on the other hand, nest in riparian trees and very rarely inhabit saguaros. Gilded Flickers occasionally hybridize with Northern Flickers in the narrow zones where their range and habitat overlap.
References
- ^ "Gilded Flicker". National Audubon Society. http://web1.audubon.org/science/species/watchlist/profile.php?speciesCode=gilfli. Retrieved 2011-01-24. "Much of the Gilded Flicker's breeding biology needs study. Nesting begins in early April in the United States, and pair bonds appear to last for the breeding season."
- ^ Mark Elbroch; Eleanor Marie Marks, C. Diane Boretos (2001). Bird tracks and sign. Stackpole Books. p. 311. ISBN 0811726967. http://books.google.com/books?id=1avqcmYRwrcC. "Cavities in saguaros are cut out by these birds the year before they are inhabited. The excavated cactus secretes a fluid that hardens into a scab, thus preventing water loss, which could kill the cactus, as well as waterproofing the inside of the next cavity."
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In flight
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By nest hole in saguaro cactus
References
- BirdLife International (2004). Colaptes chrysoides. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Corman, T. E., Wise-Gervais, C. Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. (2005) ISBN 0-8263-3379-6.
- National Geographic Society Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Third Edition. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. (1999) ISBN 0-7922-7451-2.
External links
- Gilded Flicker photo gallery VIREO
- Gilded Flicker Photographs South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Photo-High Res; Article borderland-tours
- Photo-High Res; Article tsuru-bird.net
Categories:- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Woodpeckers
- Colaptes
- Birds of Baja Peninsula Mexico
- Native birds of Western Mexico
- Fauna of the Yuma Desert
- Fauna of the Lower Colorado River Valley
- Fauna of the Sonoran Desert
- Native birds of the Southwestern United States
- Birds of the United States
- Endemic birds of Southwestern North America
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