[EBB Sightings] Northern Flicker at Coyote Hills

> I've photographed this bird at the same location at
> least a couple of time in the last few weeks. I also
> had noticed the yellow wing linings.
> 
> I'm pretty sure it's a red x yellow intergrade.
> 

Ron, Bill Bousman had an interesting post regarding
Flickers last year on South bay birds. I thought it
useful enough to copy/share here.

Best regards,
Bob Power
Oakland, CA


"There have been quite a few reports of
"Yellow-shafted Flickers" in 
the last few months.  Except for Mike Rogers's careful
descriptions 
of intergrades, none of these reports mention why the
observer 
considered the birds seen to be Yellow-shafted, rather
than an 
intergrade.  Tom Grey's excellent set of photos of an
intergrade 
bird, taken mid-February, is an excellent example and
allows us all 
to practice our id skills and score this bird.  Quite
a few years 
ago, Kurt Campbell recommended the following method of
scoring.  I 
don't remember where he got the method, perhaps there
are better ones 
out there.

TRAIT      YSFL(0)  RSFL(30)
Crown      Gray       Brown
Ear          Brown    Gray
Throat      Brown    Gray
Nape       Red        Brown
Shafts     Yellow     Salmon-red
Malar(m) Black       Red

The way you use this is to look at each feature and
score that 
feature from 0 to 5.  You then add the scores.  For a
male, a pure 
Yellow-shafted is 0 and a pure Red-shafted in 30 (for
females the 
scores are 0 and 25, as the female malar is faint or
not apparent)."

Bill Bousman
Santa Clara County records compiler