Crimson-backed Flameback

Crimson-backed Flameback

Chrysocolaptes stricklandi

Silhouette: Pepe Reigada · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR Endemic
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]

In 3 days <5%

18 Verified sightings at Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]
803 In all 6 parks From 2019 to 2026
June Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Crimson-backed Flameback

The crimson-backed flameback or greater Sri Lanka flameback (Chrysocolaptes stricklandi) is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae that is endemic to Sri Lanka. The crimson-backed flameback and the greater flameback (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus) were both formerly considered as subspecies of the buff-spotted flameback (Chrysocolaptes lucidus).

Nigel Collar (2011, p. 33) notes the differences between Chrysocolaptes stricklandi and Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus as being that the former has a crimson rather than golden upper body plumage, a yellow rather than a black beak, a weaker supramoustachial stripe and a less noticeable, even spotty, eyebrow stripe.

It takes its binomial name (formerly Brachypternus stricklandi) from Hugh Edwin Strickland (see Layard 1854 p. 29). Media related to Chrysocolaptes stricklandi at Wikimedia Commons Wikipedia →

Sounds

Drumming0:25

Sri Lanka · 2007

© Jelle Scharringa · XC619769 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:12

Sri Lanka

© Craig Robson · XC19376 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Drumming0:07

Sri Lanka · 2018

© Oscar Campbell · XC453473 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Horton Plains National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~30%
2 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~30%
3 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
4 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
5 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
6 Udawalawe National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Crimson-backed Flameback in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Crimson-backed Flameback sighting in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 164th most-seen of the 204 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Crimson-backed Flameback in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Crimson-backed Flameback in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Crimson-backed Flameback?

Between 2 and 5 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Crimson-backed Flameback sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Where else can you see a Crimson-backed Flameback?

Only Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte], in our data

Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Crimson-backed Flameback sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Where does the Crimson-backed Flameback sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Crimson-backed Flameback is recorded against all the birds logged in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (18 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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