A Feathered Anteater

A woodpecker…beautiful?

This one is.

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Female Northern Flicker-no black cheek feathers…

Northern Flicker males are kaleidoscopic…

Yellow, gray, black white, red, tan, brown- all shades.

Red cheek whiskers-Western male flickers, Eastern males black…

Females east-west-none.

Two-inch-long tongues gather summer’s diet of ants and insects.

Not only long Flickers have extra sticky saliva…ant sticky.

Where are ants found?

Flickers are ground feeders…for ants.

Anteaters with feathers…

Flickers eat uncountable numbers of ants.

“Anting”…another Flicker behavior…

Lying near an anthill Flickers allow ants to crawl over their feathers.

The formic acid on ants coats the Flicker’s feathers preventing bird lice.

If you haven’t said WOW yet…now is good.