RFI - Northern Flicker with a red crown?

[killdozer]

I posted photos in the Photo Corner section.

I've never seen a Flicker with an entirely red crown before... is this unusual? I can't find any mention of it online anywhere.  :?

Thanks in advance!

stuart

[Lloyd]

Hi KD. I spent some time on the Cornell Birds of North America website and discovered that immature Flickers have more red on the back of the head. Your photos suggest that the bird could very well be a young one and will probably lose a lot of the color in that area. Nonetheless, the little guy got more than his share.

[killdozer]

Thank you for the effort and the answer, Lloyd. I only recently found out young male Downies have the same feature. I thought I had more than my share of strange woodpeckers here!

stuart