CLOSED: Need an ID

He was digging holes in the ground in the lot next door. I thought at first that he was my Meadowlark. Lousy pictures, I know...but his beak looks too long for the Meadowlark I think....? He had a red spot on the back of his neck. 3 photos.

next

again

Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted subspecies)

Resin

WOW!!

Thanks Resin, another new one for me...wish I could have gotten a better shot though. Gonna go google them...

What a co-incidence! I saw one on the ground the other day, I wasn't quick enough to capture a pix. The most noticiable feature I noticed was the prominent black ring on its neck, and the spotts on its chest. They do appear here on our Island!

There's an interesting story about these birds in Alabama in wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Flicker

Threegardeners, your bird is a male, because it has the black mustache stripe

Many thanks Claypa for sharing the info. Our State Bird! Wow!

One really pretty feature is the yellow underside of their wings. We get them every season and I've always thought they're very attractive birds. They have a VERY distinctive call also.