Female Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis)
Century Plant (Agave americana), also known as Maguey

Century Plants are interesting because they only bloom once and and then die,
although they can take 25 years to get to the point.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maguey)

Photographed in the Sonoran Desert west of Tucson, Arizona USA.
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