Bird Guide

Golden-olive Woodpecker vs Northern Flicker

Golden-olive Woodpecker (Colaptes rubiginosus)

Golden-olive Woodpecker

Colaptes rubiginosus

Small56 gForest

The golden-olive woodpecker is 18 to 23 cm (7.1 to 9.1 in) long. Males and females have the same plumage except on their heads. Adult males of the nominate subspecies C. r. rubiginosus have a slate gray forehead and crown with a red border and nape. They are pale buff to whitish from their lores around the eye to the red of the nape. They have a wide red malar stripe and a pale buffy white chin and upper throat; the last has heavy blackish streaks. Adult females have red only on their nape, and their malar area has streaks like the throat.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Niels Krabbe · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: (c) Christoph Moning, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Christoph Moning · cc-by
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

Northern Flicker

Colaptes auratus

Medium131 gShrubland

Adults are brown with black bars on the back and wings. A mid- to large-sized northern flicker measures 28–36 cm (11–14 in) in length and 42–54 cm (16+1⁄2–21+1⁄2 in) in wingspan. The body mass can vary from 86 to 167 g (3 to 5+7⁄8 oz). Among standard scientific measurements, the wing bone measures 12.2–17.1 cm (4+13⁄16–6+3⁄4 in), the tail measures 7.5–11.5 cm (3–4+1⁄2 in), the bill measures 2.2–4.3 cm (7⁄8–1+11⁄16 in) and the tarsus measures 2.2–3.1 cm (7⁄8–1+1⁄4 in).

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Jonathon Jongsma · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: sussexbirder · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

Learn this pair in BeakBrain

Photo and call practice, free in any browser.

Play BeakBrain

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Golden-olive Woodpecker and Northern Flicker.