Fernandina's Flicker - BirdForum Opus

Male
Photo by Dave 2x
Cuba, March 2011

Alternative name: Cuban Flicker

Colaptes fernandinae

Identification

30cm

• Brownish-black above (including wings) with yellow bars
• Yellow underparts, with brownish-black barring
• Coppery tinged head
• Yellow ear coverts
• Bill is long and de-curved
• Malar stripe is black in male but mottled in the female

Distribution

Endemic to Cuba (rare and local).

A localized species, with only a few hundred pairs in existence.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species¹.

Habitat

Female
Photo by WHP
Bermejas, Cuba, April 2008.

Lowland palm groves, limestone open woodland.

Behaviour

Diet

Forages mostly on the ground amongst the leaf litter for insects, larvae and sometimes seeds.

Breeding

They use a hole in a palm tree for nesting, often one formed by another species.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. BirdLife International
3. Arthur Grosset
4. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Fernandina's Flicker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 9 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Fernandina%27s_Flicker

External Links

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