Alabama State Bird

Yellowhammer (Northern Flicker)

(Colaptes auratus, Linnaeus)

Adopted on September 6, 1927.

The Yellowhammer,Colaptes auratus, Linnaeus, a flicker, was adopted as the official state bird of Alabama on September 6, 1927. The bill to create a state bird was introduced in the 1927 legislature by Representative Thomas E.
Martin, of Montgomery County. It was approved the same day the goldenrod became the state flower.

The Yellowhammer's colors of gray and yellow were said to resemble the uniform of a Confederate cavalryman, and an Alabama regiment of the Confederate Army wore yellowhammer feathers in their hats. These stories and the widespread abundance of the species led to the yellowhammer's selection as Alabama's state bird.

Common Names

This member of the woodpecker family, also called a flicker (Colaptes aratus), Yellowhammer, Flicker, Yellow-shafted Flicker, Southern Flicker, or Northern Flicker got its name from the way it hammers trees with its beak and the flash of yellow it displays on the underside of its wings.

Correct common name of the American Ornithologists Union:
Northern Flicker

Description of Alabama State Bird

The back of the male of the common flicker is a gray-brown color with broken black bars on the body feathers and with the yellow shafts of the flight feathers partly visible. The rump patch is white and the two-pointed tail is mainly black. The crown and back of the neck is gray with a red band at the nape. The cheeks are pinkish-buff with a black "moustache" and bib below the chin on the throat. The under-parts of the flicker are creamy with many, irregular black spots. The undersides of the wings and tail are bright yellow. The female differs from the male in that she does not have the "moustache". Both sexes have gray legs, a dark gray bill and dark brown eyes. The talons are quite sharp. This helps the bird to easily perch on vertical tree trunks.

The Common Flicker walks on the ground more than other woodpeckers, and has an awkward hopping movement. It is often seen feeding on lawns and is, perhaps, the most common woodpecker of the city and suburban areas.

Nesting and Reproduction

The female lays 6 to 10 white colored eggs in its nest. They usually nest in holes in dead trees or fence posts. One egg is layed each day until the clutch is completed. Incubation of the eggs requires about 17 days and the nestlings are ready to fly (or fledge) about 3 weeks to a month after hatching.

Food

Flickers eat more ants than any other American bird. They also eat grasshoppers, crickets, berries, nuts and seeds. They especially like the berries of poison ivy.

History of the Yellowhammer

The common flicker is the state bird of Alabama. Alabama has been known as the "Yellowhammer State" since the Civil War. The yellowhammer nickname was applied to the Confederate soldiers from Alabama when a company of young cavalry soldiers from Huntsville, Alabama under the command of Rev. D.C. Kelly, arrived at Hopkinsville, KY, where Gen. Forrest's troops were stationed. The officers and men of the Huntsville company wore fine, new uniforms, whereas the soldiers who had long been on the battlefields were dressed in faded, worn uniforms. On the sleeves, collars and coattails of the new calvary troop were bits of brilliant yellow cloth. As the company rode past Company A , Will Arnett cried out in greeting "Yellowhammer, Yellowhammer, flicker, flicker!" The greeting brought a roar of laughter from the men and from that moment the Huntsville soldiers were spoken of as the "yellowhammer company." The term quickly spread throughout the Confederate Army and all Alabama troops were referred to unofficially as the "Yellowhammers."

When the Confederate Veterans in Alabama were organized they took pride in being referred to as the "Yellowhammers" and wore a yellowhammer feather in their caps or lapels during reunions.