I can’t actually say they are a pair, but I finally confirmed that I have both
a male and female yellow-shafted northern flicker around the yard (south Salem
area). The male appears to have some degree of hybridization (bright yellow
where he should be yellow, but a thin halo of red outlining part of the black
malar stripes); not sure whether the female is a hybrid yet until I get a
better look at wing and tail linings, but face color and red nape stripe are
spot on. It’s been an interesting winter in the yard, including 4
white-throated sparrows by late January, but down to just two now.
