The northern flicker is Alabama's state bird symbol.
The northern flicker became Alabama's state bird mostly because its markings reminded many of the uniforms worn by the state's soldiers during the Civil War. Also called a yellowhammer or a yellow-shafted flicker, the Alabama state bird is a woodpecker but one with some unusual habits for that genre of birds.
Size
The northern flicker is a large bird, with many exceeding a foot in length. The wingspan of the Alabama state bird is 18 to 21 inches, and the typical flicker weighs in the range of 4 to 6 oz. The female will lays from five to eight eggs that can be as long as 1.4 inches. It takes her from 11 to 13 days to incubate her eggs, and the young chicks can fly by the time they are about a month old.
Features
The northern flicker has several identifying features that make it hard for you not to recognize the bird when you encounter one. One is a dark red chevron patch on the back of its neck. Another is a black line that the males possess on their face that will remind you of a man's moustache. Still another feature of the northern flicker is the yellow feathers that are visible from beneath the bird as it flies, with the wing feathers and the tail feathers all a bright yellow color. The flicker has dark spots on its chest, a white area located on the rump and a grayish head, back and neck.
History
Legend has it that as soldiers from Alabama arrived in Kentucky dressed in new uniforms featuring yellow coattails, collars and sleeves, they passed by grizzled veterans wearing ragged, faded clothes. The war-weary soldiers called the spiffy troops "Yellowhammers" because they reminded them of the northern flicker with its yellow feathers. The nickname stuck, and after the war, veterans would put the feathers of the flicker in their caps. The gray colors on the flicker's head and back matched Confederate uniforms as well, and its red marking around the neck looked like a bandanna. When it came time to designate a state bird, the yellow-shafted flicker was a natural choice.
Considerations
The flicker does two things unusual for woodpeckers. Most woodpeckers are year-round residents within their range, but the flicker migrates to warmer climates from the colder, northernmost parts of its distribution area. This enables it to continue its pursuit of its favorite meal---ants. The flicker eats insects, like most other woodpeckers, but it does so while on the ground. The flicker searches for ants and even digs into the ground for them instead of seeking its meals in the wood of trees.
Function
The northern flicker has a long, strong beak that allows it to push around in the dirt to root out insects. The bird's tongue can be as long as 3 inches, another asset for a bird that must access tight places to get to small bugs. The beak of the northern flicker is not as strong as opposed to those of most other woodpeckers, so when it comes to excavating a nesting site, the flicker will look for already rotted trees. Sometimes the flicker will nest in a sand bank. Flickers reuse their nest cavities from year to year, so they do not have to excavate a new one each time.
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