Black-rumped flameback ~ மனம் கொத்திப் பறவை !!!

 

Black-rumped flameback  ~   மனம் கொத்திப் பறவை  !!!

For long I could only differentiate between a ‘Crow and sparrow’ – now I am seeing Mynahs, Pigeons, Vultures, Parrots, Woodpeckers, and few other tiny tots on my terrace !!  

Today something on Woodpeckers !!  ~  It’s one of nature’s mysteries: How can woodpeckers, the smallest of which weigh less than an ounce, drill permanent holes into massive trees using only their tiny heads? New research shows that there’s much more at play, anatomically: When a woodpecker bores into wood, it uses not only its head but its entire body, as well as its breathing.  Woodpeckers operate at an extreme level, boring through solid wood with forces more than 30 times their own weight and drilling up to 13 times a second.  In most animals, the hyoid is a simple bone that anchors the tongue. In woodpeckers, it has evolved into a complex structure of bone and muscle that extends from the jaw, travels through the nostrils, and wraps entirely around the skull. By encircling the head like a high-tech racing harness, the tongue functions as a living shock absorber, cushioning the brain from lethal impacts.

மனம் கொத்திப் பறவை என்று ஒரு சினிமா வந்ததாக ஞாபகம் - தேடியதில், சிவகார்த்திகேயன், சூரி,   ஆத்மியா ஆகியோர் நடித்த படம் என்று அறிகிறேன்.  இது மர வாழ் பறவை மரங்கொத்தி பற்றியது. 

மிகவும் கூர்மையான, வலுவான அலகுகளைக் கொண்ட மரங்கொத்தி  பறவைகளுக்குப் மரங்களிலும் வாழும் பூச்சிகளே முக்கிய உணவு. இந்தப் பறவையின் நாக்கு நீளமாகவும், பசைத் தன்மை கொண்டிருப்பதாலும் தன் அலகு செல்ல முடியாத மரப்பொந்துகளில், தன் நாக்கை நீட்டி, அங்குள்ள பூச்சிகளைப் பிடித்து உண்ணும். பூச்சிகள் தவிர, பழங்கள், பருப்புகள், பூவிலிருக்கும் தேன் ஆகியவையும் இவை விரும்பி உண்ணும். மரங்கொத்திகள் மரத்தில் துளையிட்டு அதில் தங்களது குஞ்சுகளை வளர்க்கும்.] மரத்தை இவை கொத்தும்போது ஏற்படும் ஒலியைத் தவிர, தன் இனத்தைச் சேர்ந்த இதர பறவைகளுடன் தொடர்புகொள்ள மரத்தைத் தன் அலகால் தட்டித் தட்டி ஒலி எழுப்பக்கூடியன.  

Bird-sighting !!  - Bird-watching,  the observing of birds,  is indeed interesting. You might spot an odd one with naked eye but more difficult to capture them with a camera.  As you stand in the early hours of morning, there would be so much of interesting sounds of various birds that attract .. ..  that is for common man. 

Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds. They study various aspects of bird life - evolution, behaviour, food habits, migration, mating patterns, and more. 

Spotted here in the photo is not an ordinary wood pecker but “black-rumped flameback” (Dinopium benghalense), also known as the lesser golden-backed woodpecker found widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent. It has a characteristic rattling-whinnying call and an undulating flight. It is the only golden-backed woodpecker with a black throat and a black rump.

The black-rumped flameback is a large species at 26–29 cm in length. It has a typical woodpecker shape, and the golden yellow wing coverts are distinctive. The rump is black and not red as in the greater flameback. The underparts are white with dark chevron markings. The black throat finely marked with white immediately separates it from other golden backed woodpeckers in the Indian region. Like other woodpeckers, this species has a straight pointed bill, a stiff tail to provide support against tree trunks, and zygodactyl feet, with two toes pointing forward, and two backward.  

      They feed on insects mainly beetle larvae from under the bark, visit termite mounds and sometimes feed on nectar.   The black-rumped flameback was described and illustrated by two pre-Linnaean English naturalists from a dried specimen that had been brought to London. It  was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Picus benghalensis.   

Interesting !  - this one came to my house terrace a couple of years ago,  posed very briefly before flying away.  

 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
6.4.2026