Greater Flameback Woodpecker
Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus
Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand
From the pristine habitats of the Singalila National Park and the Himalayas we now head to Thailand - to the dense rain forest on the eastern slope of the Tenasserim Mountain Range in the Kaeng Krachan National Park where the Pranburi & Phetchaburi Rivers originate. Kaeng Krachan National Park is the largest national park of Thailand on the border with Burma, contiguous with the Tanintharyi Nature Reserve. From here we will then head over to Kabini in the spectacular Nilgiri biosphere.
But first about the Kaeng Krachan National Park. The park was declared a reserve in 1964 and on 12 June 1981 it became the 28th national park of Thailand. Originally covering an area of 2,478 km², it was enlarged in December 1984 to include the boundary area between Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan Provinces, an additional 300,000 rai. The park has been included in the list of ASEAN Heritage Parks. Since 2011, Thailand has proposed that Unesco designate Kaeng Krachan National Park a world heritage site.
From the tropical forests of Kaeng Krachan we now head to Kabini. In the lush Nilgiri Biosphere, to the south of the famed Nagarhole Tiger Reserve & National Park, on the banks of the river Kasbani lies the area known as Kabini. A major tributary of the Cauvery, the Kasbani is also known as the Kapila River and Kabini River giving the area its name. Consisting mainly of moist deciduous forests, interspersed with teak and eucalyptus plantations, and at a lower altitude compared to Bandipur across the river, Kabini is sprinkled with open grasslands, making it easy to spot wildlife, and providing amazing photographic opportunities.
Our objective at both these locations is the beautiful Greater Flameback Woodpecker - A common, four-toed, large-billed, golden-backed woodpecker found in wet tropical and subtropical forests across South and Southeast Asia. They are separated from the group of “small-billed” flamebacks by a much larger bill, a mottled black-and-white nape instead of a black nape, and a divided black horizontal stripe below the cheek. Also separated from the similarly large-billed White-naped Woodpecker by a red rump, the lack of a clean white nape, and a preference for wetter habitat. The Greater Flameback is a loose participant in mixed-species foraging flocks, often detected by its loud, high-pitched trill similar to that of Common Flameback.
Greater Flameback Woodpecker (Male) - Kaeng Krachan National Park
Greater Flameback Woodpecker (Female) - Kabini
Kaeng Krachan National Park
Kaeng Krachan National Park is located in Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan Provinces, about 60 km from Phetchaburi and 75 km from Hua Hin. It is bounded by the Tanintharyi Nature Reserve along Myanmar's border to the west and part of the Western Forest Complex that covers 18,730 km² across 19 protected sites between Myanmar and Thailand. There are two main rivers in the park; Phetchaburi and Pran Buri Rivers. Both rivers originate from the Tanaosri Mountain Range. In the north, Phetchaburi River flows into Kaeng Krachan Dam and flows further east all the way out to the Gulf of Thailand. Pran Buri River flows south to Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, into Pran Buri Reservoir and out to the Gulf of Thailand.
The highest elevation in the park is a peak along the Burmese border at around 1,500 meters. The park is popular for wildlife which doesn’t necessarily mean it is easy. The possibilities depend on the seasons and seasonal conditions for various types of animals. Mammals like leopards, clouded leopards, bears, stump-tailed macaques, sambhar, barking deer, elephants, dholes, golden jackal, gaur, serows, crab-eating mongoose and tapirs can be spotted in the park. There also used to be a significant tiger population in the park up until a decade ago, but only a few are left now.
Langurs, stump-tailed macaques, white-handed gibbons, sambar, mouse deer, porcupines, monitor lizards, civets and black giant squirrel are frequently seen. White-handed gibbons can be seen or heard nearly every day, often seen at the edge of the campsites.
Featured below are some videos from Kaeng Krachan National Park - The Asian Forest Tortoise, Butterfly Puddling, the Spot-bellied Eagle Owl & the sounds of the forest itself. Read more about my owls.
Kabini
In the lush Nilgiri Biosphere, to the south of the famed Nagarhole Tiger Reserve & National Park, on the banks of the river Kasbani lies the area known as Kabini. A major tributary of the Cauvery, the Kasbani is also known as the Kapila River and Kabini River giving the area its name. Consisting mainly of moist deciduous forests, interspersed with teak and eucalyptus plantations, and at a lower altitude compared to Bandipur across the river, Kabini is sprinkled with open grasslands, making it easy to spot wildlife, and providing amazing photographic opportunities. Especially so in winter when the forests are a verdant green and the magnificent coats of the big cats pop. Together with the adjoining Bandipur National Park (870 km²), Mudumalai National Park (320 km²) and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (344 km²), it forms the largest protected area in Southern India, totalling 2,183 km².
The erstwhile exclusive hunting grounds of the kings of Mysore, Kabini has lush forests, small rivulets, hills, valleys and waterfalls making it a veritable paradise for many species like the tiger, dhole, gaur, chital, sambhar, elephants and the leopard. One can also spot the critically endangered oriental white-backed vulture, various species of eagles and the Nilgiri wood pigeon.
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Read about the tigers I have spent time with.
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The following are some videos from Kaeng Krachan National Park and a longer video from Kabini showcasing the variety of wildlife at these parks. This is by no means comprehensive and just gives a taste of the variety present.
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Greater Flameback Woodpecker
The Greater Flameback Woodpecker (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus) also known as greater goldenback, large golden-backed woodpecker or Malherbe's 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.
The greater flameback is a large woodpecker, about 33cms in length. A common, four-toed, large-billed, golden-backed woodpecker found in wet tropical and subtropical forests across South and Southeast Asia. Separated from the group of “small-billed” flamebacks by a much larger bill, a mottled black-and-white nape instead of a black nape, and a divided black horizontal stripe below the cheek. Separated from the similarly large-billed White-naped Woodpecker by a red rump, the lack of a clean white nape, and a preference for wetter habitat.
It is of a typical woodpecker shape, with an erect crest and a long neck. Their coloration is highly variable between subspecies but 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. The straight-pointed bill is longer than the head, and the legs have four-toed zygodactyl feet (two toes pointing forward, two backward) and are lead-grey in color. The eyes' irises are whitish to yellow.
The adult male greater flameback always has a red crown. Females have a crown color varying between subspecies, such as black spotted with white as seen here, yellow, or brown with lighter dots. Younger birds are like the females, but duller, with brown irises.
It has been suggested to split the greater flameback into the following species:
Greater flameback, (C. guttacristatus) (C. lucidus if taken as a group and not split)
Crimson-backed flameback, (C. stricklandi) of Sri Lanka
Javan flameback (C. strictus) of eastern Java, Bali, and Kangean Islands
Luzon flameback (C. haematribon) of Luzon, Polillo, Catanduanes and Marinduque in the northern Philippines
Yellow-faced flameback (C. xanthocephalus) of Negros, Guimaras, Panay, Masbate and Ticao, Philippine Islands
Buff-spotted flameback (C. lucidus) of Bohol, Leyte, Samar, Biliran, Panaon, Mindando, Basilan, and Samal, Philippine Islands
Red-headed flameback (C. erythrocephalus) of Balabac, Palawan, Busuanga, and Calamian, Philippine Islands
Malabar flameback (C. socialis) of southwestern India
White-and-black-headed greater flameback subspecies resemble some of the three-toed Dinopium flamebacks, but are not particularly closely related. Unlike the black-rumped flameback (D. benghalense) and the common flameback (D. javanense), the greater flameback's dark moustache stripes are divided by white (making them inconspicuous at a distance); except in C. stricklandi, their hindneck is white (not black), and even in the Sri Lankan birds, the dark colour does not extend to between the shoulders as it does in Dinopium; consequently, when seen from behind, the black-and-white-headed greater flamebacks outside Sri Lanka show a white neck bordered with black on the sides, while the Dinopium species have a black neck and upper back, with thin, white borders to the neck. Those flamebacks are also smaller (though this is only reliable in direct comparison), have a bill that is shorter than the head, and dark irises.
The Greater Flameback is a loose participant in mixed-species foraging flocks, often detected by its loud, high-pitched trill similar to that of Common Flameback.
This flameback is a species associated with a diversity of rather open forest habitat, such as found in the foothills of the Himalayas or in the Western Ghats; it also inhabits mangrove forest. It seems to be well-adapted to particular forest types, while the similar-looking common flameback (Dinopium javanense) is more of a generalist; thus, depending on what forests predominate in a region, C. lucidus may be more (e.g. in Thailand) or less common (e.g. in peninsular Malaysia) than D. javanense. In Malaysian mangrove forest, for example, the greater flameback has been found to prefer tall Avicennia alba - the Indian Mangrove also commonly known as Api Api Putih - for foraging, while the common flameback rather indiscriminately uses that species, as well as Bruguiera parviflora - known as Thua Dam in Thailand, Lenggadai in Malaysia & Champa in Bengali - and Sonneratia alba - the mangrove apple tree.
Like other woodpeckers, the greater flameback uses its bill to dig out food from trees, and its zygodactyl feet and stiff tail to provide support against tree trunks. The long tongue can be darted forward to extract wood-boring arthropod prey; while mainly feeding on small invertebrates, greater flamebacks also drink nectar. They nest in tree holes, laying three or four white eggs.
With that said let’s get onto the photos of this vibrant woodpecker. The photos of the male are from the Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand where we had a little time with the bird as soon as we arrived at fairly close range. The female however was a few years in the making and I finally got it at Kabini on one perch. We were able to change our position a little bit before it eventually took off and got a bit closer to it as it foraged.
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The adult male Greater Flameback who always has a red crown.
The female Greater Flameback who, unlike the male, have a crown color varying between subspecies, such as black spotted with white, yellow, or brown with lighter dots. Young birds are like the female, but duller, with brown irides.
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