Mexican Gilded Flicker Overview
Scientific Classification
The Mexican gilded flicker is classified as:
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves
- Order: Piciformes
- Family: Picidae
- Genus: Colaptes
- Species: Chrysoides
- Subspecies: Colaptes chrysoides Tenebrosus
Want to learn more about bird subspecies:
Identification
This bird is a large woodpecker, 9-11 inches long with a 17–20-inch wingspan. It has brown barred upperparts and a brown breast with black spotting.
The male has a red mustache stripe, gray forehead, and grayish throat. The female has a light brown forehead and throat. Both sexes have a distinctive black crescent shape on the upper breast and yellow wing linings.
Location
As its name implies, the Mexican gilded flicker is native to Mexico. Its range is limited to northwestern Mexico in the Sierra Madre Occidental and surrounding plateaus and canyonlands, mainly in the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, and Durango.
Unique Traits
The Mexican gilded flicker inhabits pine-oak woodlands and riparian forests at higher elevations than other gilded flickers, up to 6000-8000 feet. It excavates nest cavities in pine and oak trees.
A unique trait is its smaller body size compared to other subspecies. It also has an entirely brown back without any gold or red in the plumage.
Summary
The Mexican gilded flicker is a highland subspecies found only in the pine-oak forests of northwestern Mexico. It exhibits typical gilded flicker markings of brown, black, and white plumage with a red mustache on males and a black crescent on the breast.
A smaller body size and completely brown back plumage differentiate this subspecies. Its range is limited to the Sierra Madre Occidental region, where it nests in pine and oak cavities and resides year-round in the higher-elevation woodlands.
Frequently Ask Questions
01. Why does the Mexican gilded flicker inhabit higher elevations?
The Mexican gilded flicker is found at higher elevations because it is adapted to the cooler climate of the pine-oak forests in the Mexican highlands, unlike other gilded flicker subspecies which prefer hot, lowland deserts.
02. Does the Mexican gilded flicker migrate?
No, the Mexican gilded flicker does not migrate and is a year-round resident within its range in northwestern Mexico. The higher elevations it occupies do not experience temperature extremes that would necessitate migration.
03. What are some threats facing the Mexican Gilded Flicker?
Some threats to the Mexican gilded flicker include habitat loss from logging and development, which destroys nesting and foraging sites. Climate change also threatens to alter its specialized high-elevation habitat.
