Gilded Flicker
Gilded Flicker has risen sharply: up 56% on the route-weighted index since 1970.
About the Gilded Flicker
The Gilded Flicker (Colaptes chrysoides) is a North American member of the Woodpeckers (Picidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the arid-land birds.
- Size
- 6–19.5 in long (15–50 cm) — a chisel-billed climber (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Deserts, dry scrub and brushland of the Southwest.
- Diet
- Seeds, insects and cactus fruit of arid-land plants.
- Range
- Recorded on 43 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 3 states, most concentrated in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts.
- Family
- Picidae · Arid-land birds
Notable Gilded Flicker Trends
No notable trend signals for Gilded Flicker. See the full index history below.
Gilded Flicker Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Gilded Flicker is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.04 (95% range 0.02–0.07). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±35.9%, with 80% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.06 |
| 2026 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.07 |
| 2027 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.07 |
| 2028 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.07 |
| 2029 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.07 |
Where the Gilded Flicker Is Detected
BBS routes recording Gilded Flicker, sized by most recent count.
Gilded Flicker Population Trend by State
| Arizona | +28% | 1970 | 40 |
| California | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| Nevada | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
Gilded Flicker Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Sonoran and Mojave Deserts | +26% | 1970 | 33 |
| Sierra Madre Occidental | +14% | 1976 | 10 |
Gilded Flicker Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 56% since 1970.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.