“For the past week I have watched an unusual bird feeding in my yard,” reads an e-mail from a Center Valley-area resident. “I have a small bird book and as close as I can tell it is a yellow-shafted ...

For unfamiliarity among common birds in our area, the northern flicker must surely take the prize. Flickers are abundant at this time of year, but judging from the questions I get about birds, many ...

As the sparkling, golden days of October pass, so do migrating birds winging their way south to warmer wintering grounds. Our feeders are back up swaying in the cool breeze. Down from higheraltitude ...

One of the four species of woodpeckers that puts in a regular appearance in my backyard does a minimum of wood-pecking. Indeed, it spends more time probing in the grass or cocking its head to find ...

The flicker is both a common and conspicuous species here, but it remains a bird of mystery. Only one species draws brings more telephone calls and emails, and that is the bald eagle. The eagle brings ...

When the grass in the meadow just east of my home is short, I sometimes see a brown bird on the ground. When the bird is facing away from me, the back and wings look brown with black bars. When it ...

Claim to fame: In birding circles, the northern flicker has a unique claim to fame: It’s the only woodpecker that does most of its feeding on the ground when ants and other insects are available.