My recent spotting of flickers at the Nisqually Delta, at the Montlake
Fill (oh, excuse me, the Union Bay Natural Area), and in my back yard
(Madrona) all presumably males, and all three with the scarlet moustachial
stripe of the R-s and the scarlet crescent on the nape of the Y-s, have
sent me back to the article, "Flicker Futures" by Paul A. Debenedictis in
the October '97 issue of "Birding" (the ABA magazine) -pg. 420-424.
This article has a nice table regarding the plumage characters of
the Y-s and R-s, and how to develop a "hybrid index". It looks something
like this:
Trait Yellow-shafted Red-shafted

Crown Gray Brown
Ear Brown Gray
Throat Brown Gray
Nape patch Red Brown
Shaft color Yellow Salmon-red

The hybrid index attaches a value of "0" to each of the Y-s plumage traits
above, and "5" to each of the R-s plumage traits. Thus a pure Y-s would
have a total hybrid score of 0, and a pure R-s total would be 25. Our
hybrid birds will have a number in between. The article has some photos,
and a discussion of the confusing genetic questions involved, including
mention, also, of the Gilded Flicker.
I hope alot of you will now get out your celestial telescopes and
score all the flickers you encounter (for your own amusement, not mine).
Fran Wood (male)
Seattle (Madrona area), WA
mailto:fbwood at u.washington.edu