This female northern "red shafted" flicker rests on the branch of an aspen tree that contains her nest with three small chicks. I observed this bird and her mate for many days, continuously carrying insects to the nest for the young ones. Near the end of each day, the female would rest alone on one particular branch for about fifteen minutes. This photograph was taken during that time on a very overcast day, at a focal length of 1200 mm.
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There are two varieties of northern flicker, the red shafted and the yellow shafted. The "red shafted" flicker lives in the western United States and Canada. Their tail and underwings are entirely red below, and retricies and primaries have red shafts. The adult male looks very similar to the female, but the male has a red whisker in front of and under each eye. The "yellow shafted" flicker lives in the eastern United States and Canada. Their tail and underwings are entirely yellow below, and retricies and primaries have yellow shafts. The adult male looks very similar to the female, but the male has a black whisker in front of and under each eye.  Both varieties of northern flicker measure about eleven inches from head to tail. Their diet consists of insects and they nest in tree cavities. The scientific name for these birds is Colaptes auratus.