The norther flicker in the Draper Museum is a unique member of the woodpecker family
A Museum Minute
By Olivia Weitz
Wyoming Public Media
April 11, 2025
A 1-minute audio snapshot highlighting a museum object from the collection of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.
The Draper Natural History Museum has a northern pocket gopher in its research collection.
According to Amy Phillips, Curatorial Assistant at the Draper Natural History Museum, the northern flicker found in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is part of the woodpecker family.
“They have a black bib underneath their neck. In flight, I think it’s easiest to identify them by the white patch above their tail. They’ll also have bright yellow or red underneath their wings,” she said.
These birds use their long beaks to eat ants and beetles from the forest floor or drum on tree bark to find insects. Phillips added, “They already have a really long beak, and then the tongue can extend two inches past that, which means that it could, if they were so inclined, wrap around their head.” A mounted northern flicker can be seen in the Draper’s high-elevation exhibit.
