Wildlifeof Bhutan
Greater Flameback
Barbets & Woodpeckers
Photo: Carmeloabad · CC BY-SA 4.0 (May be cropped or resized)
Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus
Basic stats
Diet
Wood-boring arthropods and small invertebrates; also nectar
Habitat
Nests in tree holes
Clutch size
3–4 white eggs
Size
33cm
The greater flameback, or greater goldenback, is a large woodpecker, 33cm long, of typical woodpecker shape with an erect crest and a long neck. Colour varies between subspecies, but it always has an unmarked golden-yellow to dark brown back and wings, a red rump and a black tail. The underparts are white with dark markings, and the adult male always has a red crown (Wikipedia, general species account).
It nests in tree holes, laying three or four white eggs. A long tongue can be darted forward to extract wood-boring arthropod prey, and it drinks nectar too. In Malaysian mangrove forest it has been found to prefer tall Avicennia trees for foraging. The sources read give no range detail and do not name Bhutan.
Quick answers
- What does the Greater Flameback eat?
- Wood-boring arthropods and small invertebrates; also nectar
- What habitat does the Greater Flameback live in?
- Nests in tree holes
- How many eggs does the Greater Flameback lay?
- 3–4 white eggs
- How big is the Greater Flameback?
- 33cm