I had an interesting visit by a family on 'Northern Flickers' around 7:00 a.m. Hubby and I were getting in the car and noticed up near the tree line of our yard there were 5 very interesting birds on the lawn, this is what they were.

Northern Flickers are the "anteaters" of the bird world. They feed on the ground, frequenting lawns and leaf litter. Northern Flickers do not have the super-hammering apparatus of most woodpeckers. This means they can't drill into hard wood and need rotten or soft trees for nest-holes; and they feed primarily on the ground (or downed, rotten logs).

Description: At 12 inches in length, this medium-sized woodpecker has a long, narrow black bill with a slightly curved culmen. Northern Flickers do, however, vary geographically. All races of Northern Flickers are brown with black barring on their upperparts and wings. They have a prominent white rump and a dark blackish-brown tail. The center of their chest sports a black crescent, and they have a whitish breast and belly with black markings.