Spotting the Pileated Woodpecker I wrote about a couple of posts back was something of a surprise—the great birds are more often heard than seen—but sighting a woodpecker called the Northern Flicker was even more unexpected. These uncommon birds have an unmistakable plumage: a speckled breast and wings, a distinctive black Vee on the chest, a black wedge under the eyes, and, though you can't see it in this picture, a telltale red chevron on the back of the head. There's no confusing these Flickers with anything else, but you'd be forgiven if you failed to see much resemblance to the woodpecker family Picidae. The bill is all wrong—a probe rather than a chisel—and they don't feed on trees. If fact, Flickers find most of their prey, chiefly ants and beetles, on or in the ground. When you see one turning over leaves, it's not just killing time. It's looking for dinner.