Northern Flickers do, however, vary geographically. All races of Northern Flickers are brown with black barring on their upperparts and wings. They have a prominent white rump and a dark blackish-brown tail. The center of their chest sports a black crescent, and they have a whitish breast and belly with black markings. The eastern race of this species has a gray head a large red patch on the lower nape.
Males have a black moustache stripe on an otherwise cinnamon face and upper breast.
The underwings and undertail coverts are yellow. The face and upper breast is gray with a prominent red moustache stripe. The underwings and undertail coverts are salmon pink in color. Project Feederwatch results showing the range of Northern Flicker in 1995.