Chrysocolaptes stricklandi
Silhouette: Pepe Reigada · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Crimson-backed Flameback sighting in Udawalawe National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 162nd most-seen of the 166 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Crimson-backed Flameback in Udawalawe National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
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.
6th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Crimson-backed Flameback sightings, Udawalawe National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Horton Plains National Park (Sri Lanka, about 30%), Sinharaja Forest Reserve (Sri Lanka, about 30%) and Minneriya National Park (Sri Lanka, about 10%).
Same family: Picidae
The closest relatives of the Crimson-backed Flameback that you can see in Udawalawe National Park (family Picidae, Woodpeckers) are Yellow-crowned Woodpecker (about 30%) and Lesser Sri Lanka Flameback (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Crimson-backed Flameback is recorded against all the birds logged in Udawalawe National Park (5 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.
