Luzon Flameback
Chrysocolaptes haematribon
A large woodpecker of lowland and foothill wooded areas on Luzon and neighboring islands, with a red back, a yellowish belly with indistinct patterning, and black on the tail, edge to the wing, neck, and chest. Note the obvious white spotting on the chest, neck, and line behind the eye. Angled crest is black with white spots in the female and red in the male. Unmistakable. The only other similarly sized woodpecker in its range is Northern Sooty-Woodpecker, which is entirely dark. Voice includes a series of short ringing notes, “ki-ki-ki-ki-ki!”
Identification
Large sized woodpecker with a red back hence the name and a yellowish belly. Males and females are sexually dimorphic. Males have a red crest while the females have a more drab black crest with white spots.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Chrysocolaptes haematribon
- Authority
- (Wagler, 1827)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Chrysocolaptes
Range and habitat
Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and less often on tropical moist montane forests up to 1,500 masl. It is threatened by habitat loss, and the illegal wildlife trade. It is possibly extinct on Marinduque
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
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