Alabama’s state bird is the yellow hammerhead woodpecker, also known as the flicker. It was chosen because of the yellow embellishments on the uniforms of the Yellowhammer Company during the Civil War. The bird is mostly brownish gray with yellow feathers and black bars on its body. It prefers foraging on the ground and eats insects, vegetation, and berries, including those from poison ivy. It is the only woodpecker chosen as a state bird and is common in Alabama year-round.
Alabama’s state bird is the yellow hammerhead woodpecker. Alabama is sometimes called the yellow hammer state. The botanical name for this state bird is colaptes auratus, and it is also commonly called the flicker, northern flicker, southern flicker, common flicker, and yellow flicker. Every U.S. state has a state bird, but Alabama is the only state that has chosen a woodpecker as its symbol.
During the Civil War, some new recruits from Huntsville, Alabama reported to General Bedford Forrest in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. These new cavalrymen wore new uniforms, unlike the other soldiers under General Forrest’s command, whose clothing showed the ravages of warfare. The new uniforms had bright yellow fabric embellishments on the tails, sleeves, and coat collars. Upon seeing the new recruits in their gray and yellow uniforms, a veteran of past battles named Will Arnett shouted, “Yellowhammer, yellowhammer, flicker, flicker!”
The new recruits were later known as the Yellowhammer Company. This term spread until all Alabama troops who fought for the Confederacy became known as Yellowhammers. The name became legendary, and in 1927, the yellow hammerhead became the state bird of Alabama.
Yellowhammer woodpeckers are mostly a brownish gray color, with yellow feathers under their wings and tail, and black bars on their bodies. They have sharp claws that allow them to cling to the sides of trees. Their natural predators are hawks, owls and snakes.
On land, they can become prey for raccoons and other mammals. The yellow hammerhead is one of the most common woodpeckers seen in Alabama. Most flickers migrate south during the winter, but in warmer climates the Alabama state bird remains year-round.
Although it has a tough beak capable of piercing wood to feed on insects, the Alabama state bird spends most of its time on the ground. It prefers foraging in rotten earth and trees rather than hammering into hardwood like other woodpeckers, and is often seen sticking its beak into grassland to feed. When on the ground, it moves by hopping from place to place while feeding. The yellow hammerhead is omnivorous and eats insects, including ants, termites, grasshoppers, caterpillars and crickets. It also eats vegetation, such as seeds, nuts, berries, and other fruits. The Alabama state bird especially loves the berries that grow on poison ivy.
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