33. ~ Flicker ~

The flicker is a member of the woodpecker family. Flickers have two main species the red-shafted and the yellow-shafted. Here we will be learning of the red-shafted flicker. They have red under the wings and tail and on their stomach. The males also have a red moustache. They are approximately twelve to fourteen inches and are considered a medium sized bird. They have a beige cap and a grey face. According to the Audubon society, flickers are the only woodpeckers that feed on the ground. Their body is brown and black. Their breast area is an off-white colour flecked with black. The males produce long drumming rolls and they prefer to drum wiht their bills louder than the female. Their wingspan is eighteen to twenty-one inches. These birds have an arched bill which is a medium length. They have four toes, two in the front, and two in the back. They have pointed tail feathers. They like to nest in cottonwood trees as well as in many types of pines. Usually they will seek out a dead tree for their home. They lay a clutch of five to eight white eggs. They mainly eat ants. The red-shafted flicker will stand in place facing each other bobbing their heads up and down, and side to side when they are mating or fighting. During mating you ofter hear their strange mating call "woikawoikawoika."

Medicine:

Flicker medicine teaches us to face the facts! The flicker teaches us how much our heart is beating for a special someone in our life. The flicker tells us we need to enjoy life by sharing it with someone we truly love. The flicker tells us to just come right out and say and show how we feel on the inside. Flicker medicine reminds us that love heals many things, including us. The message the flicker delivers is that we should go ahead and loudly drum out our own love song.