The black-rumped flameback (Dinopium benghalense), also known as the lesser golden-backed woodpecker or lesser goldenback, is a woodpecker found widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent.[2] It is one of the few woodpeckers that are seen in urban areas. It has a characteristic rattling-whinnying call and an undulating flight. It is the only golden-backed woodpecker with a black throat and a black rump.
The black-rumped flameback was described and illustrated by two pre-Linnaean English naturalists from a dried specimen that had been brought to London. In 1738 Eleazar Albin included the bird as the "Bengall Woodpecker" in his A Natural History of Birds and in 1751 George Edwards included the "Spotted Indian Woodpecker" in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds.[3][4] The black-rumped flameback was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial namePicus benghalensis. He cited the earlier descriptions by Albin and Edwards.[5] This woodpecker is now placed in the genus Dinopium that was introduced by the French polymathConstantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1814.[6][7]
The nominate subspecies (D. b. benghalense) is found across India in the low elevations up to about 1000 m.
The race in the arid northwestern India and Pakistan, D. b. dilutum (Blyth, 1852), has pale yellow upperparts, a long crest and whiter underparts than the nominate race of the Gangetic plains. The upperparts have less spots. It prefers to breed in old gnarled tamarisks, Acacia and Dalbergia trunks.
The Southern Peninsular form, D. b. puncticolle (Malherbe, 1845), has a black throat with small triangular white spots and bright golden-yellow upperparts.
The subspecies found in the Western Ghats is separated as D. b. tehminae (Whistler & Kinnear, 1934), (named after the wife of Salim Ali) and is more olive above, has fine spots on the black throat and the wing-covert spots are not distinct.
The northern Sri Lankan race, D. b. jaffnense (Whistler, 1944), has a shorter beak.[8]
The Sri Lankan red-backed flameback (Dinopium psarodes) was formerly treated as a subspecies of the black-rumped flameback.[9][7] It has a crimson back and all the dark markings are blacker and more extensive. It sometimes intergrades with D. b. jaffnense near Puttalam, Kekirawa and Trincomalee.[10]
The black-rumped flameback is a large species at 26–29 cm in length. It has a typical woodpecker shape, and the golden yellow wing coverts are distinctive. The rump is black and not red as in the greater flameback. The underparts are white with dark chevron markings. The black throat finely marked with white immediately separates it from other golden backed woodpeckers in the Indian region. The head is whitish with a black nape and throat, and there is a greyish eye patch. Unlike the greater flameback it has no dark moustachial stripes.[8][11] The adult male has a red crown and crest. Females have a black forecrown spotted with white, with red only on the rear crest. Young birds are like the female, but duller.[8]
Like other woodpeckers, this species has a straight pointed bill, a stiff tail to provide support against tree trunks, and zygodactyl feet, with two toes pointing forward, and two backward. The long tongue can be darted forward to capture insects.[12]
The black-rumped flameback is the only golden-backed woodpecker with both a black throat and a black rump.[8]
Leucistic birds have been recorded.[13] Two specimens of male birds from the northern Western Ghats have been noted to have red-tipped feathers on the malar region almost forming a malar stripe. A female specimen from Lucknow has been noted to have grown an abnormal downcurved hoopoe-like bill.[14]
Distribution and habitatedit
This flameback is found mainly on the plains going up to an elevation of about 1200m in Pakistan, India south of the Himalayas and east till the western Assam valley and Meghalaya, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It is associated with open forest and cultivation. They are often seen in urban areas with wooded avenues.[12] It is somewhat rare in the Kutch and desert region of Rajasthan.[15]
Behaviour and ecologyedit
This species is normally seen in pairs or small parties and sometimes joins mixed-species foraging flocks.[16] They forage from the ground to the canopy. They feed on insects mainly beetle larvae from under the bark, visit termite mounds and sometimes feed on nectar.[17][18] As they make hopping movements around branches, they often conceal themselves from potential predators.[19] They adapt well in human-modified habitats making use of artificial constructions[20] fallen fruits[21] and even food scraps.[22]
The breeding season varies with weather and is between February and July. They frequently drum during the breeding season.[23] The nest hole is usually excavated by the birds and has a horizontal entrance and descends into a cavity. Sometimes birds may usurp the nest holes of other birds.[24] Nests have also been noted in mud embankments.[25] The eggs are laid inside the unlined cavity. The normal clutch is three and the eggs are elongate and glossy white.[12][26] The eggs hatch after about 11 days of incubation. The chicks leave the nest after about 20 days.[27]
In cultureedit
In Sri Lanka these woodpeckers go by the generic name of kæralaa in Sinhala. In some parts of the island, it is also called kottoruwa although it more often refers to barbets.[28] This bird appears in a 4.50 rupeeSri Lankan postal stamp.[29] It also appears in a 3.75 Taka postal stamp from Bangladesh.
Referencesedit
^BirdLife International (2016). "Dinopium benghalense". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T61517196A95169889. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T61517196A95169889.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^"Phenotypic and Genetic Analysis support Distinct Species Status of the Red-backed Woodpecker (Lesser Sri Lanka Flameback: Dinopium psarodes) of Sri Lanka". Novataxa. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
^Albin, Eleazar; Derham, William (1738). "Bengall Woodpecker". A Natural History of Birds : Illustrated with a Hundred and One Copper Plates, Curiously Engraven from the Life. Vol. 3. London: Printed for the author and sold by William Innys. p. 21, Plate 22.
^Edwards, George (1751). "The spotted Indian Woodpecker". A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. Vol. Part 4. London: Printed for the author at the College of Physicians. p. 182, Plate 182.
^Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 113.
^ abcGill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Woodpeckers". IOC World Bird List Version 10.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
^ abcdRasmussen, Pamela C.; Anderton, John C. (2012). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Vol. 2: Attributes and Status (2nd ed.). Washington D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and Lynx Edicions. p. 289. ISBN978-84-96553-87-3.
^Fernando, Saminda P.; Irwin, Darren E.; Seneviratne, Sampath S. (2016). "Phenotypic and genetic analysis support distinct species status of the Red-backed Woodpecker (Lesser Sri Lanka Flameback:Dinopium psarodes) of Sri Lanka". The Auk. 133 (3): 497. doi:10.1642/AUK-15-233.1.
^Ali S, Ripley SD (1983). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 4 (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 196–201.
^Blanford, WT (1895). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 3. Taylor and Francis, London. pp. 58–60.
^ abcWhistler, Hugh (1949). Popular handbook of Indian birds (4th ed.). Gurney and Jackson, London. pp. 285–287. ISBN1-4067-4576-6.
^Khacher, Lavkumar (1989). "An interesting colour phase of the Lesser Goldenbacked Woodpecker (Dinopium benghalense)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 86 (1): 97.
^Goodwin, Derek (1973). "Notes on woodpeckers (Picidae)". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). 17 (1): 1–44.
^Himmatsinhji, MK (1979). "Unexpected occurrence of the Goldenbacked Woodpecker Dinopium benghalense (Linnaeus) in Kutch". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 76 (3): 514–515.
^Kotagama, SW & E Goodale (2004). (PDF). Forktail. 20: 63–70. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-10.
^Chakravarthy, AK (1988). "Predation of Goldenbacked Woodpecker, Dinopium benghalense (Linn.) on Cardamom Shoot-and-Fruit Borer, Dichocrocis punctiferalis (Guene)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 85 (2): 427–428.
^Balasubramanian, P (1992). "Southern Goldenbacked Woodpecker Dinopium benghalense feeding on the nectar of Banana Tree Musa paradisiaca". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 89 (2): 254.
^Nair, Manoj V (1995). "Unusual escape behaviour in Goldenbacked Woodpecker Dinopium benghalense (Linn.)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 92 (1): 122.
^Rajan, S Alagar (1992). "Unusual foraging site of Goldenbacked Woodpecker Dinopium benghalense (Linn.)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 89 (3): 374.
^Nameer, PO (1992). "An unusual get together between a squirrel and a woodpecker". Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 32 (3&4): 9–10.
^Mukherjee, A (1998). "Lesser Goldenbacked Woodpecker and Koel feeding on cooked rice". Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 38 (4): 70.
^Neelakantan, KK (1962). "Drumming by, and an instance of homo-sexual behaviour in, the Lesser Goldenbacked Woodpecker (Dinopium benghalense)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 59 (1): 288–290.
^Santharam, V (1998). "Nest usurpation in Woodpeckers". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 95 (2): 344–345.
^Singh, Thakur Dalip (1996). "First record of the Lesser Golden Backed Woodpecker nesting in an earthen wall". Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 36 (6): 111.
^Hume, AO (1890). The nests and eggs of Indian birds. Volume 2 (2nd ed.). R H Porter, London. pp. 309–311.
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black, rumped, flameback, black, rumped, flameback, dinopium, benghalense, also, known, lesser, golden, backed, woodpecker, lesser, goldenback, woodpecker, found, widely, distributed, indian, subcontinent, woodpeckers, that, seen, urban, areas, characteristic,. The black rumped flameback Dinopium benghalense also known as the lesser golden backed woodpecker or lesser goldenback is a woodpecker found widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent 2 It is one of the few woodpeckers that are seen in urban areas It has a characteristic rattling whinnying call and an undulating flight It is the only golden backed woodpecker with a black throat and a black rump Black rumped flameback Flameback woodpecker source source Call Conservation status Least Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Aves Order Piciformes Family Picidae Genus Dinopium Species D benghalense Binomial name Dinopium benghalense Linnaeus 1758 Subspecies See text Synonyms Picus benghalensis Linnaeus 1758 Brachypternus benghalensis Linnaeus 1758 Brachypternus aurantius Contents 1 Taxonomy 2 Description 3 Distribution and habitat 4 Behaviour and ecology 5 In culture 6 References 7 External linksTaxonomy editThe black rumped flameback was described and illustrated by two pre Linnaean English naturalists from a dried specimen that had been brought to London In 1738 Eleazar Albin included the bird as the Bengall Woodpecker in his A Natural History of Birds and in 1751 George Edwards included the Spotted Indian Woodpecker in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds 3 4 The black rumped flameback was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Picus benghalensis He cited the earlier descriptions by Albin and Edwards 5 This woodpecker is now placed in the genus Dinopium that was introduced by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1814 6 7 Five subspecies are recognised 7 The nominate subspecies D b benghalense is found across India in the low elevations up to about 1000 m The race in the arid northwestern India and Pakistan D b dilutum Blyth 1852 has pale yellow upperparts a long crest and whiter underparts than the nominate race of the Gangetic plains The upperparts have less spots It prefers to breed in old gnarled tamarisks Acacia and Dalbergia trunks The Southern Peninsular form D b puncticolle Malherbe 1845 has a black throat with small triangular white spots and bright golden yellow upperparts The subspecies found in the Western Ghats is separated as D b tehminae Whistler amp Kinnear 1934 named after the wife of Salim Ali and is more olive above has fine spots on the black throat and the wing covert spots are not distinct The northern Sri Lankan race D b jaffnense Whistler 1944 has a shorter beak 8 The Sri Lankan red backed flameback Dinopium psarodes was formerly treated as a subspecies of the black rumped flameback 9 7 It has a crimson back and all the dark markings are blacker and more extensive It sometimes intergrades with D b jaffnense near Puttalam Kekirawa and Trincomalee 10 Description edit nbsp Lesser Goldenback in Guwahati India nbsp Nominate race Kolkata India nbsp At Salt Lake canal side Kolkata nbsp Black rumped Flameback at New Delhi India The black rumped flameback is a large species at 26 29 cm in length It has a typical woodpecker shape and the golden yellow wing coverts are distinctive The rump is black and not red as in the greater flameback The underparts are white with dark chevron markings The black throat finely marked with white immediately separates it from other golden backed woodpeckers in the Indian region The head is whitish with a black nape and throat and there is a greyish eye patch Unlike the greater flameback it has no dark moustachial stripes 8 11 The adult male has a red crown and crest Females have a black forecrown spotted with white with red only on the rear crest Young birds are like the female but duller 8 source source source source source source source source A Black rumped flameback in Thiruvananthapuram Kerala India Like other woodpeckers this species has a straight pointed bill a stiff tail to provide support against tree trunks and zygodactyl feet with two toes pointing forward and two backward The long tongue can be darted forward to capture insects 12 The black rumped flameback is the only golden backed woodpecker with both a black throat and a black rump 8 Leucistic birds have been recorded 13 Two specimens of male birds from the northern Western Ghats have been noted to have red tipped feathers on the malar region almost forming a malar stripe A female specimen from Lucknow has been noted to have grown an abnormal downcurved hoopoe like bill 14 Distribution and habitat editThis flameback is found mainly on the plains going up to an elevation of about 1200m in Pakistan India south of the Himalayas and east till the western Assam valley and Meghalaya Bangladesh and Sri Lanka It is associated with open forest and cultivation They are often seen in urban areas with wooded avenues 12 It is somewhat rare in the Kutch and desert region of Rajasthan 15 Behaviour and ecology editThis species is normally seen in pairs or small parties and sometimes joins mixed species foraging flocks 16 They forage from the ground to the canopy They feed on insects mainly beetle larvae from under the bark visit termite mounds and sometimes feed on nectar 17 18 As they make hopping movements around branches they often conceal themselves from potential predators 19 They adapt well in human modified habitats making use of artificial constructions 20 fallen fruits 21 and even food scraps 22 The breeding season varies with weather and is between February and July They frequently drum during the breeding season 23 The nest hole is usually excavated by the birds and has a horizontal entrance and descends into a cavity Sometimes birds may usurp the nest holes of other birds 24 Nests have also been noted in mud embankments 25 The eggs are laid inside the unlined cavity The normal clutch is three and the eggs are elongate and glossy white 12 26 The eggs hatch after about 11 days of incubation The chicks leave the nest after about 20 days 27 In culture editIn Sri Lanka these woodpeckers go by the generic name of kaeralaa in Sinhala In some parts of the island it is also called kottoruwa although it more often refers to barbets 28 This bird appears in a 4 50 rupee Sri Lankan postal stamp 29 It also appears in a 3 75 Taka postal stamp from Bangladesh References edit BirdLife International 2016 Dinopium benghalense IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 e T61517196A95169889 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2016 3 RLTS T61517196A95169889 en Retrieved 12 November 2021 Phenotypic and Genetic Analysis support Distinct Species Status of the Red backed Woodpecker Lesser Sri Lanka Flameback Dinopium psarodes of Sri Lanka Novataxa 29 June 2016 Retrieved 3 February 2019 Albin Eleazar Derham William 1738 Bengall Woodpecker A Natural History of Birds Illustrated with a Hundred and One Copper Plates Curiously Engraven from the Life Vol 3 London Printed for the author and sold by William Innys p 21 Plate 22 Edwards George 1751 The spotted Indian Woodpecker A Natural History of Uncommon Birds Vol Part 4 London Printed for the author at the College of Physicians p 182 Plate 182 Linnaeus Carl 1758 Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae secundum classes ordines genera species cum characteribus differentiis synonymis locis in Latin Vol 1 10th ed Holmiae Stockholm Laurentii Salvii p 113 Rafinesque Constantine Samuel 1814 Principes Fondamentaux de Somiologie in French Palerme Inside front cover a b c Gill Frank Donsker David Rasmussen Pamela eds 2020 Woodpeckers IOC World Bird List Version 10 1 International Ornithologists Union Retrieved 26 May 2020 a b c d Rasmussen Pamela C Anderton John C 2012 Birds of South Asia The Ripley Guide Vol 2 Attributes and Status 2nd ed Washington D C and Barcelona Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and Lynx Edicions p 289 ISBN 978 84 96553 87 3 Fernando Saminda P Irwin Darren E Seneviratne Sampath S 2016 Phenotypic and genetic analysis support distinct species status of the Red backed Woodpecker Lesser Sri Lanka Flameback Dinopium psarodes of Sri Lanka The Auk 133 3 497 doi 10 1642 AUK 15 233 1 Ali S Ripley SD 1983 Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan Volume 4 2nd ed New Delhi Oxford University Press pp 196 201 Blanford WT 1895 The Fauna of British India Including Ceylon and Burma Birds Volume 3 Taylor and Francis London pp 58 60 a b c Whistler Hugh 1949 Popular handbook of Indian birds 4th ed Gurney and Jackson London pp 285 287 ISBN 1 4067 4576 6 Khacher Lavkumar 1989 An interesting colour phase of the Lesser Goldenbacked Woodpecker Dinopium benghalense J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 86 1 97 Goodwin Derek 1973 Notes on woodpeckers Picidae Bulletin of the British Museum Natural History 17 1 1 44 Himmatsinhji MK 1979 Unexpected occurrence of the Goldenbacked Woodpecker Dinopium benghalense Linnaeus in Kutch J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 76 3 514 515 Kotagama SW amp E Goodale 2004 The composition and spatial organisation of mixedspecies flocks in a Sri Lankan rainforest PDF Forktail 20 63 70 Archived from the original PDF on 2011 06 10 Chakravarthy AK 1988 Predation of Goldenbacked Woodpecker Dinopium benghalense Linn on Cardamom Shoot and Fruit Borer Dichocrocis punctiferalis Guene J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 85 2 427 428 Balasubramanian P 1992 Southern Goldenbacked Woodpecker Dinopium benghalense feeding on the nectar of Banana Tree Musa paradisiaca J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 89 2 254 Nair Manoj V 1995 Unusual escape behaviour in Goldenbacked Woodpecker Dinopium benghalense Linn J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 92 1 122 Rajan S Alagar 1992 Unusual foraging site of Goldenbacked Woodpecker Dinopium benghalense Linn J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 89 3 374 Nameer PO 1992 An unusual get together between a squirrel and a woodpecker Newsletter for Birdwatchers 32 3 amp 4 9 10 Mukherjee A 1998 Lesser Goldenbacked Woodpecker and Koel feeding on cooked rice Newsletter for Birdwatchers 38 4 70 Neelakantan KK 1962 Drumming by and an instance of homo sexual behaviour in the Lesser Goldenbacked Woodpecker Dinopium benghalense J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 59 1 288 290 Santharam V 1998 Nest usurpation in Woodpeckers J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 95 2 344 345 Singh Thakur Dalip 1996 First record of the Lesser Golden Backed Woodpecker nesting in an earthen wall Newsletter for Birdwatchers 36 6 111 Hume AO 1890 The nests and eggs of Indian birds Volume 2 2nd ed R H Porter London pp 309 311 Osmaston BB 1922 Woodpecker occupying nesting box J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 28 4 1137 1138 Anonymous 1998 Vernacular Names of the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent PDF Buceros 3 1 53 109 Archived from the original PDF on 2010 04 01 Birds on stamps Sri Lanka External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dinopium benghalense nbsp Media related to Dinopium benghalense at Wikimedia Commons Photos and videos Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Black rumped flameback amp oldid 1113541818, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
