The Malabar flameback is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
Region
Western Ghats, southwestern India
Typical Environment
Occurs along the length of the Western Ghats from Goa and Karnataka south through Kerala and into the Nilgiris and Tamil Nadu. Prefers moist evergreen and semi-evergreen forest, riparian belts, and mature moist-deciduous woodland. Readily uses human-modified habitats such as spice gardens, orchards, and coconut and areca plantations when large trees are present. Most frequently encountered along forest edges and in wooded countryside with scattered tall trees.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Endemic to the Western Ghats of India, this woodpecker is often seen in forest edges and tree-rich plantations. Males sport a vivid red crest, while females have a darker, spotted crest. It advertises territory with ringing calls and rapid drumming on resonant dead wood. It adapts well to agroforestry landscapes if large trees are retained.
Female Western Ghats Malabar flameback (C. socialis) at Sirsi, Karnataka (India)
Head pattern of Western Ghats Malabar flameback (C. socialis): The thin and divided black "moustache" can be used to distinguish it from similar Dinopium flamebacks.
Temperament
active and wary
Flight Pattern
undulating flight with short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly, in pairs, or small family parties. Pairs excavate nest cavities in dead or decaying trunks and larger branches; both sexes participate in excavation and incubation. Typical clutches are 2–4 glossy white eggs, and both parents feed the young.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Calls are sharp, metallic kik or kyeek notes given singly or in rapid series, with a rattling, laughter-like chatter when excited. Drumming is rapid and resonant, used to proclaim territory and attract mates.
Plumage
Golden-olive upperparts with a bright flame-like sheen on the back; dark head and throat with contrasting pale facial streaks; underparts whitish to buff with dark streaking; wings barred; tail blackish.
Diet
Feeds mainly on wood-boring beetle larvae, ants, termites, and other insects prised from bark and decaying wood. Probes, pecks, and hammers to expose insect galleries, and gleans ants from trunks and large branches. Occasionally takes small fruits, nectar, or sap.
Preferred Environment
Forages on trunks and larger branches in forest, along edges, and in tree-rich plantations. Often visits coconut, areca, and jackfruit trees in agroforestry landscapes and village groves.
