Common Flameback - BirdForum Opus

Alternative Name: Common Goldenback

Photo by Dr Manjeet Singh
Kuala Selangor Nature Park, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November 2005

Dinopium javanense

Identification

Size - 28-30cm (11-12in)
Golden mantle and wings, red lower back and rump, white face with two black malar strips and largely black hindneck with white sides of neck together with whitish underparts marked with blackish scales, distinctive. Throat and face tinged rufous or buff. Has three toes. Brown iris.
Male: Crown and pointed crest red
Female: Crown and crest black with whitish spots from forehead to the tip of the crest.

Female
jweeyh
Singapore, July 2007

Similar Species

Difficult to separate from Greater Flameback (Goldenback) from lateral view, especially at a distance. Best separated by colour of iris and hindneck pattern.

Distribution

Asia: found from India to Indochina; Greater Sundas; Philippines.

Taxonomy

Spot-throated Flameback was formerly included in this species.

Subspecies

There are 5 subspecies^[1]:

• D. j. malabaricum:

• In wet woodlands of western India

• D. j. intermedium:

• In Bangladesh and Assam to Burma, south-western China and Indochina

• D. j. javanense:

• From Peninsular Thailand to Sumatra, Riau Archaepelago, western Java and Borneo

• D. j. exsul:

• On Eastern Java and Bali

• D. j. raveni:

• On Eraban Island and adjacent north-eastern Borneo

Habitat

Mangroves, deciduous forests, forest edges, peat swamp forests, coastal scrub, gardens and plantations.

Behaviour

Very social, regularly call out to each other.

Diet

Usually seen in pairs, largely on tree trunks and stems probing soft bark for insects and grubs. Their diet also consists of ants, larvae, cockroaches and small scorpions.

Vocalisation

Voice: a sharp churrrr and klek-klek in flight.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2012. IOC World Bird Names (version 3.2). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
3. Birdforum thread discussing taxonomy of several species including this one
4. BF Member observations
5. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2016)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Common Flameback. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 18 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Common_Flameback

External Links

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