A stunning large woodpecker which is still considered by many to be a subspecies of the Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes lucidus stricklandi).
This bird has dark crimson wings & back (unlike the brownish-yellow of the Greater Flameback) -a feature also shared by the Sri Lankan endemic red-backed race of Black-rumped Flameback however the Crimson-backed Flameback has an obvious ivory-coloured bill.