The spot-throated flameback (''Dinopium everetti'') 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. ...

. It is endemic to the

Philippine The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

s only being found in the province of

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of 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 terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

in the islands of

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

, Busuanga 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 Woodpecker, Picidae, found throughout South Asia, South and Southeast Asia.Pittie, Aasheesh ...

.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 project e ...

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."

Taxonomy

Formerly conspecific 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 ...

but differs in much smaller white eyestripe or

supercilium The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also k ...

, more mottled underparts and the females have a red nape versus the Common flamebacks black nape.

Ecology and behavior

Not much is known about this species specific diet but based on other flameback species it is presumed to feed on large caterpillars, wood-boring larvaes, pupaes and ants. It is often seen foraging on larger trees and snags pecking and hammering the wood to find insects. Often seen in pairs or small family groups and even with

White-bellied woodpecker The white-bellied woodpecker or great black woodpecker (''Dryocopus javensis'') is a woodpecker species inhabiting evergreen forests in tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is among the largest of the Asiatic woodpeckers and nests ...

and Red-headed flameback. Nests in tree cavities. Breeding is believed to occur from March to April. The better studied and similar

lays 2 to 3 eggs.

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 or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. Lowland

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

, 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