The crimson-winged woodpecker is a species of bird in the woodpecker family. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It can grow up to 25 cm long. Its diet is mainly insects and larvae. It is a bright and colourful bird that is hard to misidentify.
Region
Southeast Asia
Typical Environment
Occurs from southern Myanmar and Thailand through Peninsular Malaysia to Singapore, and on Sumatra, Borneo, and nearby islands. It favors lowland and hill dipterocarp forests, peat swamp forests, and mature secondary woodland. The species also uses edges, riverine corridors, and well-wooded plantations or large parks when old trees remain. It is a forest-associated resident that stays year-round within its home range.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A striking Southeast Asian woodpecker, it shows vivid crimson panels in the wings that flash in flight and when perched. It is often heard before it is seen, giving sharp piping calls and light drumming. By excavating nest cavities and consuming wood-boring insects, it plays an important role in forest health.
Temperament
shy and unobtrusive
Flight Pattern
undulating with short rapid wingbeats and brief glides
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly or in pairs, and sometimes with a dependent juvenile after breeding. Both sexes excavate nest cavities in dead or decaying wood and share incubation and chick-rearing. Clutches are small, and territories are defended with calls and drumming.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives sharp, ringing pik or kik notes and a series of clear, piping whistles. Drumming is relatively light and brief compared with larger woodpeckers but carries through the forest.
Plumage
Bright green upperparts with a bold crimson wing panel and darker flight feathers; underparts yellowish-olive to greenish. Face pale with contrasting malar stripe; tail dark with pale barring. Overall appearance is vivid and cleanly marked.
Diet
Feeds mainly on ants, termites, beetle larvae, and other wood-boring insects. Probes, pecks, and flakes bark on trunks, branches, and rotting stumps to extract prey. Occasionally gleans from vines and epiphytes or takes insects from dead bamboo and fallen logs. Small fruits or seeds are taken rarely, if at all.
Preferred Environment
Forages in low to mid-levels of primary and mature secondary forests. Frequently works along edges, clearings with standing deadwood, and near streams. Will use old trees in plantations or large wooded parks where suitable foraging substrates exist.
