The crimson-naped woodpecker, crimson-breasted woodpecker or scarlet-breasted woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Nepal. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It was previously considered conspecific with necklaced woodpecker.
Region
Eastern Himalayas and southern China
Typical Environment
Occurs from Nepal and Bhutan through northeastern India and Myanmar into southern and central China. It inhabits subtropical and tropical moist lowland and montane forests, favoring edges, secondary growth, and mixed oak–rhododendron and pine–broadleaf forests. The species readily uses deadwood and snags for foraging and nesting. It can persist in selectively logged forests and along wooded ravines, but relies on stands with sufficient mature trees for cavities.
Altitude Range
500–3000 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This small pied woodpecker was long treated as conspecific with the necklaced woodpecker but is now recognized as a separate species based on plumage and vocal differences. It frequents forest edges and clearings as well as mature montane forest, and its rapid drumming carries far through steep valleys. Both sexes excavate nest cavities in soft or decaying trunks. The species is generally unobtrusive, often detected by its sharp calls and drumming rather than by sight.
From Khangchendzonga National Park, West Sikkim, India
Temperament
alert and territorial
Flight Pattern
undulating flight with short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly, in pairs, or small family groups, and occasionally joins mixed-species foraging flocks. Monogamous pairs excavate their own nest cavity in soft or decaying wood, with both sexes sharing incubation and chick-rearing. Territories are defended with calls and drumming displays.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations include sharp pik and kik notes and a brief rattling series. Drumming is a rapid, even roll delivered on resonant trunks or branches, often used for territory advertisement.
Plumage
Pied woodpecker with black upperparts contrasted by white shoulder patches and barred wings; underparts pale buff to whitish with dark streaking and a distinct crimson patch on the lower throat to upper breast. Male shows a red crown merging into a crimson nape, while the female has a black crown with a crimson nape only. Face patterned with white cheeks separated by black malar and post-ocular stripes.
Diet
Primarily feeds on wood-boring beetle larvae, ants, termites, and other arthropods gleaned from bark crevices and decaying wood. It pecks and probes into dead branches, stumps, and trunks, scaling bark to expose insects. Occasionally takes small fruits or berries, especially outside the breeding season.
Preferred Environment
Forages on trunks and larger branches from the lower to mid-canopy, often selecting deadwood and snags. Also works along forest edges, clearings, and wooded ravines where insect prey is abundant.
