Banded Woodpecker

In Malay, this woodpecker is known as Belatuk Merah.  

I was walking early in the morning when I heard this bird singing. ( A Singaporean birder has posted a sound file here https://www.xeno-canto.org/575976 )

 My first photo was not very good.  The camera averaged the bright sky and the dark bird and chose an unsuitable exposure value.  

I often take a quick photo like that, so that if the bird flies away I do have some record of it. By telling the camera to allow more light in I was able to get the following photos. 

The bird is likely a male trying to establish a territory and attract a female.  Sadly, females are unlikely to be impressed with the territory.  Quite rightly, the trees in my neigbourhood are carefully inspected and trimmed so that a jogger or bird photographer is not hit by falling branches.   Nevertheless, a small compromise would help woodpeckers and other cavity nesting birds.  I would be happy if diseased branches were not lopped off entirely but a short (15 or 20 cm) section was left. The risk that the disease would spread further down the tree would mean that such trees might require annual inspection, so this would not be a cost-free solution.  I happen to think the birds are worth it.