The Himalayan flameback (''Dinopium shorii''), also known as the Himalayan goldenback, is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family

Picidae Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme polar regions. ...

. At the moment very little is known of this species and more fieldwork is required. The Himalayan flameback is not threatened but it is suspected that

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

could severely affect the species population.

Description

The Himalayan flameback is very similar in appearance to the Greater Goldenback (''Chrysocolaptes lucidus'') but they are not at all closely related. The primary differences are its smaller size and bill. The Himalayan flameback can be identified by its black hind neck, and the brownish center on its throat, which can go down the breast on some and is bordered by an irregular black spotting. They also have an indistinct divided moustachial stripe, the center of which is brownish, and sometimes reddish in males. The Himalayan flameback also has either reddish or brown eyes and three toes. The breast of the Himalayan flameback is irregularly streaked with black, but on occasion completely white. Their wings are coppery brown to red. Lastly, the males have a yellowish-red forehead that becomes more red on the crest. In contrast, the female's crest is entirely black and streaked with white. In both sexes, the crest is bordered by white and black bands on either side of their head.

Taxonomy

Part of the family

and the genus ''

Dinopium ''Dinopium'' is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. The species are found in South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. The genus was introduced by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1814 to accommodate the common fla ...

'', which consists of

woodpeckers Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme polar regions. ...

with only three toes, the Himalayan flameback forms a superspecies together with the

Common flameback The common flameback (''Dinopium javanense''), also referred to as the common goldenback, is a small (28–30 cm), three-toed woodpecker in the family Woodpecker, Picidae, found throughout South Asia, South and Southeast Asia.Pittie, Aasheesh ...

. There are also two recognized sub-species within the Himalayan flameback: ''D.s. shorii'' and ''D.s. anguste''. The sister species of the Himalayan flameback are '' Meiglyptes tristis'' and '' Celeus brachyurus''. The species epithet honors

Frederick John Shore Frederick John Shore (31 May 1799 – 29 May 1837) was a civil servant and judge who worked in the East India Company service in India. He was a son of John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth (1751–1834). Unusual for the period, Shore was openly criti ...

, an East India Company official who sent a specimen of the bird to the Zoological Society of London, where it was described and named by Vigors.

Distribution and habitat

Himalayan flamebacks are commonly found in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n subcontinent, primarily in the lower-to-middle altitudes of the Himalayan sal forest region. Its range spans

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, where they are year-round residents. A disjunct population also occurs in the south-eastern

Ghats Ghat (), a term used in the Indian subcontinent, to refer to the series of steps leading down to a body of water or wharf, such as a bathing or cremation place along the banks of a river or pond, the Ghats in Varanasi, Dhobi Ghat or the Aap ...

. The Himalayan flameback's

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

mainly comprises mature tropical/subtropical

deciduous forests In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flo ...

as well as semi-

evergreen forests An evergreen forest is a forest made up of evergreen trees. They occur across a wide range of climatic zones, and include trees such as conifers and holly in cold climates, eucalyptus, live oak, acacias, magnolia, and banksia in more temperate zon ...

. They prefer lowland ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...

'' and ''

Bombax ''Bombax'' is a genus of mainly tropical trees in the mallow family. They are native to western Africa, the Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian ...

'' forests.

Behavior

Vocalization

The Himalayan flameback call is a series of rapidly repeated klak-klak-klak-klak-klak. The call is slower and softer than that of the Greater Goldenback.

Diet

The diet of Himalayan flamebacks is poorly known. They mainly flock and feed together with other birds such as the Greater Goldenback. It is assumed that their primary prey is insects: the same as many other woodpecker species.

Reproduction

Very little is known of their breeding habits. What is known is that they breed from March to May and nest in excavated holes in trees. Their clutch size is 2–3 eggs.

References

External links

Vocalizations
- xeno-canto
Himalayan flamback video and photos
at the Internet Bird Collection {{Taxonbar, from=Q1266154 Himalayan flameback Birds of Bangladesh Birds of Bhutan Birds of India Birds of Myanmar Birds of Nepal Himalayan flameback Taxa named by Nicholas Aylward Vigors Taxonomy articles created by Polbot