The Malabar flameback (Chrysocolaptes socialis) is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of India.[1]

Malabar flameback
Male in Kerala
Calls of C. socialis, recorded in Wayanad district
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Chrysocolaptes
Species:
C. socialis
Binomial name
Chrysocolaptes socialis
Koelz, 1939
Synonyms

Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus socialis

It was previously considered a subspecies of the greater flameback (C. guttacristatus), but was split as a distinct species by the International Ornithological Congress in 2022 based on a 2021 study noting differences in plumage and vocalizations between both species.[1][2][3]

Female Western Ghats Malabar flameback (C. socialis) at Sirsi, Karnataka (India)
Head pattern of Western Ghats Malabar flameback (C. socialis): The thin and divided black "moustache" can be used to distinguish it from similar Dinopium flamebacks.

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "IOC World Bird List 12.1". doi:10.14344/ioc.ml.12.1. S2CID 246050277.
  2. ^ Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Anderton, John C. (2012). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Vol. 2: Attributes and Status (2nd ed.). Washington D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-84-96553-87-3.
  3. ^ Abhirami, C.; Niranjana, C.; Praveen, J. (2021). "An analysis of Greater Flameback Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus vocalisations and their taxonomic and biogeographic implications" (PDF). Indian Birds. 17 (5): 129–134.