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The common flameback (Dinopium javanense), also referred to as the common goldenback, is a small (28–30 cm), three-toed woodpecker in the family Picidae, found throughout South and Southeast Asia.
As shy and secretive birds, common flamebacks are unlikely to be found in urban areas. They live in a variety of habitats, ranging from moist open forests, to scrubs, and mangroves. Although they generally enjoy lowlands, they can reach altitudes of 1700m above sea level in India and in those cases prefer living in pine forests.
Their distribution ranges across Southeast Asia, from the Western Ghats in India to the Indochinese peninsula and several of the Greater Sunda Islands.
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Males and females differ in the crest colour, as males have a bright red crest while females have a black crest with white streaks. Both sexes have a white supercilium, white cheek stripe, and white throat area, all separated by stripes of black, and they have a spotted black and white underside. The bird is distinguishable from other similar golden-backed woodpeckers, such as the greater flameback (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus), by its smaller bill and black nape, and from the black-rumped flameback by its red rump and white throat. Its loud, high-pitched call, which resembles a series of "kow-kowp" rattles is incredibly similar to the greater flameback's call, and is the best way to distinguish the common flameback from the Himalayan flameback, which is a nearly identical bird.
The common flameback is a relatively quiet species, who rarely produces noise despite being able to produce many different sounds. Although it belongs to the woodpecker family, it surprisingly rarely drums on wood, as it has a different foraging behaviour. There have been instances of soft and low nest drumming, during which the male softly tapped his nest with his beak while also raising his crest. This action may be in response to the researcher's persistent presence near the nest, as the drum timing and low level of aggression does not point to it being a mating display.
