Bird Guide

Black-rumped Flameback vs Red-backed Flameback

Black-rumped Flameback (Dinopium benghalense)

Black-rumped Flameback

Dinopium benghalense

Medium100 gWoodland

The black-rumped flameback is a large species at 26–29 cm in length. It has a typical woodpecker shape, and the golden yellow wing coverts are distinctive. The rump is black and not red as in the greater flameback. The underparts are white with dark chevron markings. The black throat finely marked with white immediately separates it from other golden backed woodpeckers in the Indian region. The head is whitish with a black nape and throat, and there is a greyish eye patch. Unlike the greater flameback it has no dark moustachial stripes. The adult male has a red crown and crest.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Black-rumped Flameback
Recorded by Jairam Vijayan · Song · Payyavoor, Kannur, Kerala, India · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Sumeet Moghe from Pune, india · CC BY 2.0
Red-backed Flameback (Dinopium psarodes)

Red-backed Flameback

Dinopium psarodes

Medium97 gWoodland

About 28 centimetres (11 in) in length. Mostly crimson with black trailing edges to wings. underparts white with messy black marks. The breast and neck are black with white spots on the throat and white streaks on the breast. A black eyestripe stretches to the back of the neck and diffuses into the nape and upper back, with white streaks between the eye and neck. It has a red crown, with the forecrown and forehead black speckled with white in females. The eye is hidden among the black eyestripe. It has a fairly sized grey bill, which forms a blunt point.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Mickey Wu · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Black-rumped Flameback and Red-backed Flameback.