Saw a new bird for me today.

[Jeemag_USA]

I was about to take the dog out into the back garden when I saw an unusual bird in the lawn, it was about the size of a wood pigeon but looked like a woodpecker, it was kind of skinny, I remember as a kid me and my brother used to read through books of world birds and to me I thought it was a Hoopoo, but it must be female because it has no crest and has a red triangle on the back of its head. Anyway I spent ages scouring the net to find out what it was and I found it, its called a Northern Flicker, its the only woodpecker in North America known to feed on the ground, it feeds like a starling in the grass and snatches ants and other bugs. It was really beautiful, my wife was a way out with my camera at the time so I couldn't get a picture, will try next time i see it, found a picture on the net, the one I saw had a much bluer head though and when it flew off under its wings on its back was a flash of white. Never got that close to a woodpacker before.



from enature.com

Description 12" (30 cm). A large brownish woodpecker. Brown back with dark bars and spots; whitish or buff below with black spots; black crescent on breast; white rump, visible in flight. Eastern birds ("Yellow-shafted Flickers") have red patch on nape and yellow wing linings; male has black mustache. Western birds ("Red-shafted Flickers") lack nape patch and have salmon-pink wing linings; males have red "mustache."

I think I saw a male because it was black around its beak.