BeakBrain
Menu
Bird GuideDaily BirdCamsTripsCommunityGet the app

Greater Flameback

Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus

Not Evaluated · IUCN Red List

NENot EvaluatedInvertebratesWoodlandCavity nestMedium · 166 g
Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus), photo 1
Photo: Ian Dugdale · CC BY 4.0
Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus), photo 2
Photo: Ian Dugdale · CC BY 4.0
Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus), photo 3
Photo: Annette Teng · CC BY 3.0
Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus), photo 4
Photo: Photo by Suresh V S <sureshsv AT freeshell.org> · CC BY 2.5
Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus), photo 5
Photo: Mike Prince from Bangalore, India · CC BY 2.0
Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus), photo 6
Photo: Mike Prince from Bangalore, India · CC BY 2.0
Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus), photo 7
Photo: Tareq Uddin Ahmed from chittagon, Bangladesh · CC BY 2.0
Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus), photo 8
Photo: Tareq Uddin Ahmed · CC BY 2.0

What the Greater Flameback sounds like

Sonogram of the Greater Flameback: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Dinesh Chaudhary · Karanjawa Nature Trail (near Diwan Tembrun), Gujarat, India · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The greater flameback is a large woodpecker, at 33 cm in length. It is of typical woodpecker shape, and has an erect crest and a long neck. Coloration is highly variable between subspecies; it always has unmarked golden-yellow to dark brown back and wings. The rump is red and the tail is black. The underparts are white with dark markings (chevrons, stripes, or bands), or light brown. The head is whitish with a black pattern, or it is yellow, brown, or red.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Greater Flameback

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 8 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is February, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Greater Flameback

Regular range

The map shades 13 countries with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

India Thailand Cambodia Nepal Vietnam Bangladesh Malaysia Bhutan China Myanmar (Burma) Laos Indonesia Singapore

About the Greater Flameback

The greater flameback, also known as the greater goldenback or large golden-backed woodpecker, is a woodpecker species. It occurs widely in the northern Indian subcontinent, eastwards to southern China, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, western and central Java and northeast Borneo.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

White-naped Woodpecker (Chrysocolaptes festivus) White-naped WoodpeckerChrysocolaptes festivusThe white-naped woodpecker is a large species at 29 cm (11 in) in length. Malabar Flameback (Chrysocolaptes socialis) Malabar FlamebackChrysocolaptes socialisThe Malabar flameback is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. Crimson-backed Flameback (Chrysocolaptes stricklandi) Crimson-backed FlamebackChrysocolaptes stricklandiThe crimson-backed flameback or greater Sri Lanka flameback is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae that is endemic to Sri Lanka.

Side by side: Greater Flameback vs White-naped Woodpecker

Learn the Greater Flameback in the BeakBrain App

Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Play today's Daily Bird

Every photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.