Northern Flickers Performing the "Flicker Dance"

Two days ago at Barr Lake State Park I saw Northern Flickers engaged in behavior that I had not witnessed previously.  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Birds of North America (BNA) web site describes the behavior as a flicker "dance." The article notes that both sexes aggressively defend nest trees and mates and that agonistic behavior is highly ritualized in the flicker dance. Sample photos of the dances I observed follow.  

Click on thumbnail to see a larger version of each image.

Olympus E-M1 MarkII
300mm f/4 IS Pro lens + 1.4x teleconverter handheld
1/3200 sec at f/6.3, auto ISO 200 or 250

The BNA description of the dance: "Typically, 2 birds of the same sex face one another on a branch with their bills held at a slightly upward angle (about 30° from horizontal). Each bird quickly swings its head back and forth and bobs it up and down, such that the bill appears to
trace a circular or Figure-8 pattern in the air. The swinging and bobbing give the appearance of a mechanically animated toy, and are usually accompanied by in-rhythm Wicka calls from both dancers. ... Intensity of the dances varies greatly: the dance of 2 birds (same sex) is likely to have relatively low intensity and may even be silent. Bursts of dancing and Wicka-calling might last 5–10 s, followed by a 30-s period of quiescence, followed by another burst of dancing where all participants seem compelled to join in. Bouts may last nearly half an hour (but usually are shorter) and may be joined and rejoined over a period of many hours. We have observed sustained series of dance bouts go on essentially all day, involving the same participants. Variation in the dance is substantial: the apparent context, number of participants, location, intensity, duration, whether the wings and tail are spread, whether Wicka calls accompanies animation, and pattern traced by bill can all vary. No data are available that demonstrate the range of variation or its meaning."

Photos of the end of a dance are shown below. 


Click on thumbnail to see a larger version of each image. 

Olympus E-M1 MarkII
300mm f/4 IS Pro lens + 1.4x teleconverter handheld
1/3200 sec at f/6.3, auto ISO 3200 or 5000

I wish I had known what is conveyed in the following excerpt from the BNA article when I was taking the photos. Perhaps I would have been more prepared for the sudden departure of one of the dance partners. 

"Dancing duels" often do not result in physical contact but instead one bird simply flies away. If one bird does not fly away after many minutes of dancing, the two rivals may peck and claw at each other and perhaps end up in a rolling fight on the ground. This usually results in a long period of one bird chasing the other, displacing it from perch to perch in short flights until eventually the "loser" flies away out of apparent exhaustion."

David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.