Chrysocolaptes stricklandi
Silhouette: Pepe Reigada · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horton Plains National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 6 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Crimson-backed Flameback sighting in Horton Plains National Park on a given day, based on 179 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 27th most-seen of the 102 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and October
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Crimson-backed Flameback in Horton Plains National Park on a given day, against about 20% in April, June, September and December, the lowest months.
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.
Yes
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Crimson-backed Flameback sightings, Horton Plains National Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Sinharaja Forest Reserve (Sri Lanka, about 30%) and Minneriya National Park (Sri Lanka, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Crimson-backed Flameback is recorded against all the birds logged in Horton Plains National Park (179 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
