Dinopium benghalense
Silhouette: Pepe Reigada · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The black-rumped flameback (Dinopium benghalense), also known as the lesser golden-backed woodpecker or lesser goldenback, is a woodpecker found widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the few woodpeckers that are seen in urban areas. It has a characteristic rattling-whinnying call and an undulating flight. It is the only golden-backed woodpecker with a black throat and a black rump.
The black-rumped flameback was described and illustrated by two pre-Linnaean English naturalists from a dried specimen that had been brought to London. In 1738 Eleazar Albin included the bird as the "Bengall Woodpecker" in his A Natural History of Birds and in 1751 George Edwards included the "Spotted Indian Woodpecker" in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. The black-rumped flameback was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Picus benghalensis. He cited the earlier descriptions by Albin and Edwards. This woodpecker is now placed in the genus Dinopium that was introduced by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1814.
Five subspecies are recognised: The... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 9 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 15 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 16 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 17 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 18 | Eravikulam National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 19 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 20 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 21 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-rumped Flameback sighting in Mumbai on a given day, based on 215 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 126th most-seen of the 283 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-rumped Flameback in Mumbai on a given day, against under 5% in July to May, the lowest months. That is one of Mumbai's wettest months, with about 540 mm of rain against almost none in January.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-rumped Flameback sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
52nd of 57
Of the 57 cities where we can rate Black-rumped Flameback sightings, Mumbai ranks 52nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Savar (Bangladesh, about 70%), Tamluk (India, about 60%) and Thiruvananthapuram (India, about 60%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-rumped Flameback is recorded against all the birds logged in Mumbai (215 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.
