Northern Flickers aren’t common at birdfeeders, but I’ve had a visitor or two over the last several years. One has been eating peanuts at my feeders for a few days now.
Flickers are pretty big (11 to 12 inches which is bigger than a robin). They are woodpeckers that prefer to search for ants and beetles on the ground rather than peck on tree trunks.
The birds have a red nape and when I’m not paying full attention I can confuse them with the Red-bellied Woodpecker. But it’s those spots on the belly and the black bib and “whisker” that easily set them apart.
When I was watching this one through my camera lens I could see his long, barbed tongue reaching into the feeder to try to grab a peanut.
Flickers do live year-round in Wisconsin, so maybe this one will stick around the neighborhood for the winter.