Black-rumped Flameback

The Black-rumped Flameback is one of the most familiar woodpeckers across the Indian subcontinent, equally at home in city parks, farmland groves, and open woodland. Its golden back and noisy presence make it conspicuous, and it is often seen working low on tree trunks or foraging on the ground for ants.

While similar in overall pattern to other flamebacks, the black rump patch is the species' defining trait and gives the bird its name.

• Back feathers are rich golden-yellow with a slight olive cast, similar to other flamebacks
• Rump feathers are solid black, the key mark distinguishing this species from red-rumped relatives such as the Common Flameback
• Underparts show black crescent-shaped markings scaled across a whitish ground color
• Facial feathers form bold black-and-white stripes: a black band through the eye and a black malar stripe against white cheeks
• Tail feathers are blackish and stiffened, typical of trunk-foraging woodpeckers

Males have a crimson crown, while females show a black crown finely spotted with white. Juveniles are duller with softer edges to the back barring and a less crisp facial pattern. A single post-breeding molt replaces worn plumage each year.

• Resident across the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka
• Prefers open country: cultivated land, scattered groves, gardens, and forest edge rather than dense unbroken forest
• Non-migratory, generally holding a fixed territory

This species forages both on tree trunks and on the ground, where it frequently feeds at ant nests and probes leaf litter. It is a noisy bird, giving loud rattling calls and drumming readily, especially near the nest site. Nests are excavated in dead or dying wood, sometimes in utility poles or palm trunks in more urban settings.