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.
Region
South and Southeast Asia
Typical Environment
Occurs from the northern Indian subcontinent east through Myanmar and Thailand to southern China, and south through the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra, western and central Java, and northeast Borneo. It inhabits lowland and hill forests, forest edges, secondary growth, mangroves, and wooded plantations. Often persists in semi-urban parks and large gardens with mature trees. Prefers areas with abundant dead or decaying wood for foraging and nesting.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2000 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This large woodpecker uses zygodactyl feet and a stiff tail to brace against trunks while chiseling for insects. Its barbed, extensible tongue and sticky saliva help extract wood-boring larvae deep in timber. It communicates with loud ringing calls and resonant drumming on dead wood. Nest cavities it excavates are later used by many other forest species.
Female in Jim Corbett National Park
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
undulating flight with short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually found singly or in pairs, sometimes joining mixed-species flocks while foraging. Pairs excavate nest cavities in dead or decaying trees and share incubation and chick-rearing duties. Clutches are small, and nests are reused or enlarged in subsequent seasons.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Voice is a loud, ringing series of clear notes, often rendered as metallic 'klee-klee-klee'. Drumming is strong and resonant, used for territorial advertisement. Calls carry far through forest edges and open woodlands.
Plumage
Large woodpecker with a gleaming golden-olive back and mantle, black tail, and buff underparts with dark barring and streaking on the flanks. Head and neck show black-and-white spotting; males have a bright red crest while females are darker-crowned. Wings are golden-brown with darker flight feathers, giving a ‘flame-backed’ look in flight.
Diet
Feeds mainly on wood-boring beetle larvae, ants, and termites extracted from dead wood and under bark. Also gleans adult insects from trunks and large branches. Will occasionally take fruits or sap during shortages of insect prey.
Preferred Environment
Forages on medium to large trees, especially those with dead limbs or soft, decaying sections. Common along forest edges, in secondary growth, and in plantations where old trees remain.
