Common Flameback

Dinopium javanense

The Common Flameback (Dinopium javanense), also referred to as the Common Goldenback, is a small (28–30 cm), three-toed woodpecker in the family Picidae most distinguished by its golden back. Males and females differ in the crest colour, as males have a bright red crest while females have a black crest with white streaks. Both sexes have a white supercilium, white cheek stripe, and white throat area, all separated by stripes of black, and they have a spotted black and white underside. The bird is distinguishable from other similar golden-backed woodpeckers, such as the Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus), by its smaller bill and black nape, and from the Black-rumped Flameback (Dinopium benghalense) by it’s red rump and white throat. It’s loud, high-pitched call, which resembles a series of Kow-Kowp-Rattles is incredibly similar to the Greater Flameback’s call, and is the best way to distinguish the Common Flameback from the Himalayan Flameback (Dinopium shorii), which is a nearly identical bird.