CLOSED: Flickers

Recently I photographed a flicker which appears to be a Yellow-shafted Flicker (Colaptes auratus) but on reviewing images under C. auratus several specimens were noted with red mustaches rather than a black moustache. It is my understanding that the red mustached specimens are a western U.S. species, Red-shafted Flicker (Colaptes cafer). Should these two species be separated since they are easily ID by markings and location?

Are you talking about splitting them up in the bird files? They officially are one species because where there ranges overlap, they will interbreed. Those Flickers can have the markings of both parents.

But if you keep a bird list, you can put subspecies. (Your list, your rules) This is what I do, but it does not meet ABA standards. :)

Thanks for the info and perspective. My old bird book list them as separate species. So I assume that there is no longer a C. cafer species and it is now a subspecies of C. auratus..
My bird book guide is so old that it list Ivory billed woodpeckers.

There is a name for that cross. I don't have a field guide handy - golden- shafted maybe?

In my Peterson's 1990 guide, it is called "Gilded" - a fancy name for a simple subspecies. I record subspecies and color variations I see, but I don't count them as a new bird. I also try to track peak numbers.

This message was edited Feb 20, 2015 8:25 PM

I think it is called, "Intergrade".

C_A_Ivy, I have a newer guide with the Ivory-billed. It was published about the time when it was thought to be found again, so they included it. They had old black and white photos, but included a colorized picture, too.