I've seen hundreds of Flickers and you're telling me I saw one and didn't recognize it? Out of the question really. Your photos are clearly of a poorly lit Flicker, and had I saw that bird, I would have instantly known what it was.
However, when I saw this all black backed woodpecker I thought "what!?" and immediately got the phone out. Your bird looks nothing like my observed woodpecker, so it cannot be a Northern Flicker.
Flicker:
Larger. Larger bill, larger overall.
Not uniformly dark from the top of the head to the tail.
Tail is noticeably longer than my observed bird.
Larger. Larger bill, larger overall.
Not uniformly dark from the top of the head to the tail.
Tail is noticeably longer than my observed bird.
Reads as brown rather than black.
Less contrast between the back and front of the bird in question.
Even if you look at the last image at the *possible* red malar, it's not placed the same or in the same shape as a Flicker, as it is right up under the eye. As I said, this photo was in the shadow and is less reliable.
On Friday, December 5, 2025 at 3:06:49 PM UTC-7 Josh Bruening wrote:
Ron,Your bird is a Northern Flicker. The spots on the side rather than barring and red malar are slam dunks. To me, all pictures look like the same bird. You asked for photos so here are two of my (not so great) photos from my back yard in Fort Collins. This is a melanistic Northern Flicker. I included a pic from that same morning with a "regular" Northern Flicker along with the melanistic one. The difference between the two was striking and I wish I would have gotten better pics. Though you can't see it in these pics because I was unable to capture it, the bird's back was very dark and not what you would normally expect from a Flicker.Photo quality/chimney soot/melanism, and other myriad circumstances can all be reasons why a common bird would suddenly look exotic. I hope these help.Josh BrueningFort CollinsSent from my iPhoneOn Dec 5, 2025, at 1:48 PM, Ron W <ourwil...@gmail.com> wrote:Reasons Lewis's isn't a good fit for this bird:Observed behavior. They are usually observed high in trees rather than foraging near the base.
In full light, I think I would have seen green on its back. This bird appeared black to the eye. In my experience, Lewis's can look black, but not in full sun.
The bird in question had a shorter tail.
340 younger Lewis's photos:--On Friday, December 5, 2025 at 2:28:02 PM UTC-7 Paula Hansley wrote:I think that immature Lewis 's Woodpecker is a very good possibility. The size and proportions don't look right for a Williamson's Sapsucker.Paula HansleyLouisvilleOn Fri, Dec 5, 2025 at 2:10 PM Mars Atchison <marsatc...@gmail.com> wrote:I don't necessarily think it is one, but is there a reason no one is considering an odd looking juvenile Lewis's?--On Fri, Dec 5, 2025, 1:45 PM Caoimhín Perkins <ksper...@gmail.com> wrote:It's little hard to tell but these do look more like spots than in the other photos. I do not see any red personally but taking another look at this photo is interesting.--
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