Olive-backed Woodpecker

 Piciformes - Picidae - Gecinulus rafflesii (Belatuk-Pinang Rimba)

Medium-sized crested woodpecker with an olive-brown body and a black-and-white-striped head and neck; quite dull and dark for a flameback. Crest is bright red in males and black in females. Inhabits lowland and hill forests, where it forages both at middle levels and close to the ground, both singly and in pairs. Generally fairly uncommon and local. Gives cacophonous descending calls, often with a rasping quality.

(eBird)

Back to where I belong, my source and my path is simply and only mine.

Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker

Piciformes - Picidae - Yungipicus molucsensis (Belatuk-Belacan Kecil Biasa)

Small plain woodpecker of wooded areas from primary rainforest to parklands and forest edges. Brownish overall with a white-striped head, a spotted back, and pale gray streaks on a buffy breast. Male has a small red speck near the back of the crown. Similar Gray-capped Woodpecker is black-and-white, with a less cleanly striped head, cleaner underparts, and unevenly distributed pale spotting on the back and wings. Sunda’s call is a high-pitched rattling trill.

(eBird)

Do you see what I see, perhaps it takes silence.

 

Orange-backed Woodpecker

 Piciformes - Picidae - Chrysocolaptes validus (Belatuk Dada Merah)

Dressed all in patchwork, this crested woodpecker is brightly colored and unmistakable; no other large crested woodpecker in its range has wingbars. Male has a faded reddish crest, an orange breast, and a whitish back with a warm buffy tinge. Female has a brown head and breast and a whiter back. Calls are sharp and strident, and can be given singly or, more commonly, as part of prolonged series in which pairs of notes are squished together to produce a squeaky-toy sound: “pee-pee-pee-peeyit-pee-pee-pee-peeyit!” Found in forests from lowlands up into hilly and montane areas.

(eBird)

Not much required, really, merely colours, colours for dull eyes.

Crimson-winged Woodpecker

Piciformes - Picidae - Picus puniceus (Belatuk-Hijau Paruh Kuning)

Greenish medium-sized woodpecker with bright red wings and crown. Also note striking yellow crest, cream-speckled sides, and pale blue-gray “spectacles”. Male has a greener face than the female, and has a maroon “mustache” stripe. Similar to Checker-throated and Banded Woodpeckers, but note Crimson-winged’s red crown and greenish body. Inhabits both primary and secondary forests, from lowlands into lower montane areas, as well as plantations and logged tracts; favors areas with scattered and isolated tall trees. Forages on trunks and large branches in upperstory, often in distanced pairs or mixed flocks. Call is a high-pitched “kee-dee”, with the second note often being repeated several times, occasionally with a descending quality.

(eBird) 

Lend me your eyes, for me to understand you better,

Common Flameback

Piciformes - Picidae - Dinopium javanense (Belatuk Pinang Biasa)

Three-toed, small-billed, golden-backed woodpecker found primarily in wet tropical forests in two disjunct regions, the Western Ghats in India and Southeast Asia. Separated from Greater Flameback by a much smaller bill, a black nape, and a black undivided horizontal stripe below the cheek. Separated from Black-rumped Flameback by a red rump and a white throat. This species is a regular participant in mixed-species foraging flocks, often detected by its loud, high-pitched trill similar to that of Greater Flameback. Best told from the nearly identical Himalayan Flameback by voice.

(eBird)

Go, for the eyes see what is seen as is seen.

Gray-and-buff Woodpecker

 Piciformes - Picidae - Hemicircus concretus (Belatuk-Daun Dahi Merah)

Small stout woodpecker with an oversized crested head and black-and-white scaling on the back. Males have a brilliant red front to the crest that females lack. Agile and active, frequently foraging in the upper canopy or on exposed snags. Crawls along trunks, sometimes descending headfirst like a nuthatch. Found in lowland and hill forests. Gives high-pitched squeaks, descending “peer” notes, and rattles.

(eBird)

Small, almost tiny

Unceasing squeaks.

Too tantalising

Knowingly futile

yet irresistible

Appeasing the heart

not the mind.

Banded Woodpecker

Piciformes - Picidae - Chrysophlegma miniaceum 

Small but brightly-colored woodpecker with a spiky crest. Slight variation across its range, but all birds have a dark orangish face, dark chestnut wings, black-and-white-striped underparts, and a dark tail. Female duller overall, with a plainer face. Inhabits lowland and foothill forests, edges, and gardens, where it can be reasonably common. Often seen singly, but can be encountered in closely-foraging pairs. Favors tall thick trunks. Gives sharp “kek” or “week” call notes. Difficult to confuse with any other small woodpecker.

(eBird)

We own ourselves even as others try to impose on us.

 

* To cherish oneself - recognise own values,  do not exhibit, do not impose on others

- walk your path, appreciate differences -

Common Flameback

Piciformes - Picidae - Dinopium javanense (Belatuk Pinang Biasa)

Three-toed, small-billed, golden-backed woodpecker found primarily in wet tropical forests in two disjunct regions, the Western Ghats in India and Southeast Asia. Separated from Greater Flameback by a much smaller bill, a black nape, and a black undivided horizontal stripe below the cheek. Separated from Black-rumped Flameback by a red rump and a white throat. This species is a regular participant in mixed-species foraging flocks, often detected by its loud, high-pitched trill similar to that of Greater Flameback. Best told from the nearly identical Himalayan Flameback by voice.

(eBird)

What is seen, what is unseen, who appreciates.

 

* Of the Mysterious, the seal - virtue, opposites in harmnony, abundance achieved the Natural Way *

- believe in the unlikely, the improbable -