Malabar Flameback
Chrysocolaptes socialis
A large, crested woodpecker with a golden-olive back endemic to wet lowland and foothill forests in southwestern India. Separated from Common Flameback and other “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 the less clean-cut face pattern, a red rump, the lack of a clean white nape, and a preference for wetter habitat. A loose participant in mixed-species foraging flocks, often detected by its loud, high-pitched trill similar to that of Common Flameback.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Chrysocolaptes socialis
- Authority
- Koelz, 1939
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Chrysocolaptes
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Tahiti Reed Warbler
Acrocephalus caffer
A large, slender warbler with a disproportionately long bill, short wings, and a long tail. Face and eyebrow yellowish-buff with a dark eye-stripe and a pale throat. Upper body and wings mostly dark with pale edges to feathers, giving a messy mottled appearance. Some birds are much paler, often almost entirely white with some mottling. An entirely dark sooty morph occurs. Found in riverine and hillside forest with stands of bamboo up to 600 meters of elevation. Song is a long, slow sequence of warbled phrases and “churr” notes. Calls include harsh churring and “tchak” notes.
Malabar Gray Hornbill
Ocyceros griseus
A small gray hornbill with a casque-less pale bill, a black undertail with white tips, and a pale eyebrow. Sexes are alike, except that the females have black on the base of the bill. In flight, the white tips to the outer edges of the wings contrast strongly with the otherwise very dark undersides of the wings. It is found in evergreen forests and plantations. The call is a distinctive series of yelping sounds that rise to a crescendo, sounding like manic laughter.
Rufous-chested Tanager
Thlypopsis ornata
Small warblerlike tanager. Note orange head, breast, and flanks, gray-brown back, and white belly. Sexes similar. Found in montane woodland, edges, and shrubby areas in the Andes from Colombia to Peru from around 1,800–3,200 m. Usually seen in pairs, which forage in the middle levels, often with mixed-species flocks. Compare with Brown-flanked Tanager in Peru, which has duller brown flanks that contrast with orange head and breast.
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