The spot-throated flameback (''Dinopium everetti'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

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 region ...

. It is endemic to the

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

s only being found in the province of

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...

in the islands of

Balabac Balabac Island is the southernmost island of the Palawan province, and therefore the westernmost undisputed island in the Philippines, only about north from Sabah, Malaysia, across the Balabac Strait. Administratively, the island forms the main ...

Busuanga Busuanga, officially the Municipality of Busuanga ( tgl, Bayan ng Busuanga), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,617 people. History Oral tradition ha ...

and Calamian and mainland

.. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of 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 Picidae, found throughout South and Southeast Asia.Pittie, Aasheesh & Jayapal, Rajah & Jayad ...

.It is found in moist lowland forests including primary, secondary and even plantations and clearings provided there are still standing trees. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Description

EBird eBird is an online database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, the proje ...

describes the bird as "A large woodpecker of wooded habitats on Palawan and neighboring islands. Whitish below with dark scaling and golden-olive above with a diffuse reddish mark on the back and a finely spotted, pale cream-colored throat. Angular crest is black with a red tip in females and entirely red in males, which also have a small red moustache patch. Similar to Red-headed Flameback, but Spot-throated has black-and-white stripes on the head and a dark rather than pale yellow bill. Voice includes a loud, stuttering, staccato “ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki!” trailing off at the end."

Habitat and Conservation Status

The flameback occurs in forests and open woodlands, including coconut plantations, indicating some tolerance for human-altered habitat, but the species is considered uncommon. It typically inhabits the lowlands, with breeding reported March and April. IUCN has assessed this bird as near-threatened. with the population being estimated at 2,500 to 9,999 mature individuals. This species' main threat is

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. Lowland forest loss, degradation and fragmentation have been extensive and are ongoing on Palawan and logging and mining concessions have been granted for most remaining forest tracts on the island. Illegal logging is thought to persist across much of the south. It is recommended to determine its precise ecological requirements and its ability to persist in degraded and fragmented habitats. Ensure the effective protection of existing protected areas in which it occurs.

References

*Collar, N.J. 2011. Species limits in some Philippine birds including the Greater Flameback Chrysocolaptes lucidus. Forktail number 27: 29–38. spot-throated flameback Birds of Palawan Endemic birds of the Philippines spot-throated flameback {{woodpecker-stub