Chrysocolaptes socialis
The Malabar Flameback, *Chrysocolaptes socialis*, is a stunningly vibrant, large woodpecker, measuring 29-32 cm (11.4-12.6 inches) in length and weighing approximately 150-200 grams. Its most striking feature is the brilliant golden-yellow to crimson-red back and wings, providing its 'flameback' epithet, which contrasts sharply with its black nape and broad black malar stripes. Underparts are white with heavy black barring, particularly on the flanks, and it boasts a crimson rump. A key disti...
Found primarily in moist deciduous, semi-evergreen, and evergreen forests, but also adapts to degraded forests, plantations, and large gardens, typically from sea level up to 1200 meters elevation.
Their diet consists primarily of wood-boring beetle larvae, carpenter ants, and other insects extracted from beneath bark and within decaying wood. They occasionally supplement this with fruit or nectar.
Malabar Flamebacks are diurnal, actively foraging throughout the day and roosting in excavated tree cavities at night. They exhibit a characteristic woodpecker foraging strategy, climbing and hitching up large tree trunks and branches using their stiff tail as a prop. With their powerful, chisel-...
The Malabar Flameback (*Chrysocolaptes socialis*) is endemic to the Western Ghats mountain range in southwestern India. Its distribution extends from southern Maharashtra, through Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala, and into the western parts of Tamil Nadu. This species is a resident, non-migratory bird,...
Least Concern
- The Malabar Flameback is one of the most vividly colored woodpeckers, its name perfectly describing its flaming golden-red plumage. - It was only recently (in 2018) recognized as a distinct species, having previously been considered a subspecies of the widespread Greater Flameback (*Chrysocolap...