Bird

Northern Flicker

Colaptes auratus

Lives in Virginia all year and nests here. Found in all 133 counties and cities, across 24 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 133 counties and cities
Habitats: 24

Male Northern Flicker, whole bird — **Male**. no rights reserved. CC0. iNaturalist photo 675989599. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 133 counties and cities
Habitats: 24
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Virginia 24

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 24

SummerWinterSuccessional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub RegenerationPaul Sawyier, Landscape: young trees and shrubs in autumn colour crowding the rocky edge of a Kentucky woodland. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Kentucky (Paul Sawyier, Landscape; Johnson Collection), a neighboring state.Landscape label QS:Lit,"Paesaggio" label QS:Lhu,"Tájkép" label QS:Lca,"Paisatge" label QS:Lde,"Landschaft" label QS:Lpt,"Paisagem" label QS:Lda,"Landskab" label QS:Lsl,"Krajina" label QS:Lja,"風景" label QS:Lsv,"Landskap" label QS:Lpl,"Pejzaż" label QS:Luk,"Пейзаж" label QS:Lnl,"Landschap" label QS:Les,"Paisaje" label QS:Ltr,"Manzara" label QS:Lfi,"Maisema" label QS:Len,"Landscape" label QS:Lfr,"Paysage" label QS:Lmk,"Предел" label QS:Lru,"Пейзаж", Paul Sawyier, c. 1890-1917. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterCumberland Sandstone Glade and BarrensBald Face above Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, North Carolina: a bare granite dome rising above forest and a still lake (photochrom print, about 1902). Shown: Bald Face (Big Bald Face) above Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, Jackson County, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Bald Face from Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, N.C., Detroit Publishing Co. (photochrom print), c. 1902. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterAppalachian Hemlock-Hardwood ForestRegional / representative. Shown: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.Hemlock forest / rocky mountain stream, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest; South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed ForestHarvey Joiner, Woods Scene: tall beeches in a moist Kentucky woodland, light falling through a closed canopy onto a damp forest floor. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Kentucky beech woods (Harvey Joiner, Louisville painter of Kentucky beech forests; the painting does not name the site), a neighboring state.Woods Scene, Harvey Joiner, c. 1880-1920. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Cove ForestRegional / representative. Shown: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.Cove hardwood forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianFrederic Edwin Church, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina (1865-70): a boulder-strewn mountain river under autumn-coloured ridges. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: North Carolina mountains (Frederic Edwin Church, oil sketch 1865-70; Cooper Hewitt), a neighboring state.Drawing, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina, 1865–70, Frederic Edwin Church, 1865-1870. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier; Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampWilliam McIlvaine, The Chickahominy Swamp (1862): wind-tossed swamp trees standing in dark water under a storm. Chickahominy Swamp, VirginiaThe Chickahominy Swamp LCCN2004661405, William McIlvaine (1813-1867), 1862. Public domain. Source record.

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric; Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest; Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest; Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest; Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland; Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

SummerWinterRidge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerWinterNortheastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Mountain balds

Treeless grassy or shrubby summits and ridges in the high mountains.

SummerWinterSouthern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier; Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier

Mountain bogs and fens

Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.

SummerWinter

Northern hardwood forests

High mountain forests of beech, yellow birch and sugar maple, including boulderfield forests.

SummerWinter

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

SummerWinterCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

SummerWinterCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin; Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Shale barrens

Steep, sun-baked slopes of loose shale with sparse oaks and Virginia pine and their own endemic wildflowers. Linked only where the source names shale barrens; calcareous shale stays with the limestone glades.

SummerWinter

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerWinterDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Developed, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Disturbed, Non-specific; Ruderal Upland - Old FieldLyell Carr, Black Mountain: a pasture and hayfield with a log barn, rail fence and grazing cow below the Black Mountains. Shown: Black Mountain, North Carolina (Lyell E. Carr), a neighboring state.Black Mountainlabel QS:Len,"Black Mountain", Lyell Carr, c. 1890-1912. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Unconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune)

Other habitats in its models (165)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Virginia. Those recorded in Virginia first, the rest by region.

In Virginia 2

Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.

Elsewhere in the South (87)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer and winter.
Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
Cumberland Riverscour Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Summer and winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter.
Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Summer and winter.
Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
South Florida Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Summer and winter.
South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer and winter.
South Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
South Florida Pine Rockland Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
Southern Appalachian Granitic Dome Summer and winter.
Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.

Northeast (4)

Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer and winter.

Midwest (11)

Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter.

Land cover and other classes (61)

Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer and winter.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Grassland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter.
Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Virginia

Year-round: nests here, in all 133 counties and cities.

County or city

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

No native plants of these genera are recorded in Virginia.

Plant genera in its diet records (1)

Zea Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Virginia

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Virginia, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Northern Flicker uses many habitats in Virginia; these are its 3 most characteristic.