A bird I have never seen before

Kristi and I were taking it easy out on the front porch earlier, when all of a sudden, this very unique looking bird shows up in our next door neighbors yard. I pointed it out to Kristi and inquired as to whether or not she thought it was a type of woodpecker, which is my FAVORITE bird. I grabbed the camera while this little fella was dive bombing the earth for some chow, and snapped some photos of him.

Since inquiring minds want to know, Kristi called up the resident family bird expert, her dad, and gave a detailed description of our feathered friend and right off, Joe knew the species of bird. It is a “Northern Flicker.” Turns out that he is a part of the woodpecker family, which I suspected given the pattern on the body and the way he walked and pecked. 

This was quite the treat to watch for the few minutes he was feasting next door, and now I have another favorite bird in the woodpecker family. I hope that we get a return visit from a Northern Flicker at some point, because they are beautiful birds, and if you want to read more and hear what they sound like, click on the link highlighted above.

Wik-wik-wik-wik-wik!