Distribution

The Northern Flicker has the most widespread distribution of any North American woodpecker.

Breeding Range

Broadly distributed in a wide array of woodland habitats throughout most of North America, generally from the Arctic tree line in Alaska and Canada, from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast, south to north-central Nicaragua, Florida Keys, Cuba, and Grand Cayman Island.

Overwintering Range

Because flickers forage extensively for insects on the ground, they generally migrate away from areas with deep and persistent snow cover in winter. The Northern Flicker overwinters from southernmost areas of the Canadian provinces south through the remainder of breeding range. Recorded in winter in northern Mexico (recorded from Sonora to Tamaulipas; 44 Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb (1995). A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, USA. Close ). A few individuals, especially those with access to bird feeders in cities, may overwinter north of the usual range (e.g., recorded on the Christmas Bird Count in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan every year since 1984 despite temperatures as cold as –40°C).

Extralimital Records

In the Caribbean, vagrant only in the Bahamas, but otherwise apparently no confirmed records beyond resident subspecies on Cuba and Grand Cayman Island (104 Kirwan, G. M., A. Levesque, M. Oberle, and C. J. Sharpe (2019). Birds of the West Indies. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ). Rare but regular vagrant on Bermuda from October–December, less frequently January–March (eBird). Very rare vagrant to the Azores with single individuals photographed in late February 2014 and mid October 2016 (eBird).

Several records in Europe have involved individuals known (or expected) to have been ship-assisted. Ten or more individuals landed on a ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean from New York on 7–8 October 1962; one survived to fly ashore at Cobh Harbour, Cork, Ireland on 13 October 1962 (105 Durand, A. L. (1963). A remarkable fall of American landbirds on the 'Mauretania', New York to Southampton, October 1962. British Birds 56:157–164. Close ). One found dead at Caithness, Scotland in July 1981 was presumed to have been ship-assisted (106 Alström, P., and P. Colston (1991). A Field Guide to the Rare Birds of Britain and Europe. Harper Collins, London, United Kingdom. Close ). One photographed in Denmark on 18 May 1972 was in a garden near a harbor (106 Alström, P., and P. Colston (1991). A Field Guide to the Rare Birds of Britain and Europe. Harper Collins, London, United Kingdom. Close , 107 Haas, M. (2012). Extremely Rare Birds in the Western Palearctic. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

Subspecies rufipileus of Guadalupe Island, Mexico is extinct. No continental-scale changes in distribution are known, but local distribution has probably changed as a consequence of habitat alteration by humans— either negatively by removing, or positively by facilitating, the growth of nesting trees. Riparian woodlands that have developed along some drainages of the western Great Plains since 1920 harbor dense populations of this species (1 Short, L. L. (1965). Hybridization in the flickers (Colaptes) of North America. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 129:307–428. Close , 46 Moore, W. S., and D. B. Buchanan (1985). Stability of the Northern Flicker hybrid zone. Evolution 39:135–151. Close ). With respect to the geographic pattern of abundance, analysis of North American Breeding Bird Survey data indicated a northward shift of breeding population density for the Northern Flicker in eastern North America, but not in the West, and this was attributed to climate change (108 McCaslin, H. M., and J. A. Heath (2020). Patterns and mechanisms of heterogeneous breeding distribution shifts of North American migratory birds. Journal of Avian Biology 51:e02237. Close ). Similarly, analysis of Project Feeder Watch data (gathered during winter) indicated a northward shift in winter abundance in eastern North America (109 Prince, K. and B. Zuckerberg (2014). Climate change in out backyards: the reshuffling of North America’s winter bird communities. Global Change Biology. Close ).