Dendropicos elliotii
Elliot's Woodpecker (Dendropicos elliotii) is a captivating resident of Central African forests, measuring a diminutive 14-16 cm (5.5-6.3 inches) in length and weighing between 20-35 grams. Its plumage is a distinctive greenish-olive on the back and wings, providing excellent camouflage within its arboreal habitat, contrasting with a pale, often yellowish, belly heavily streaked with darker markings. Key identification features include a prominent dark malar stripe and a pale supercilium on t...
Primarily found in tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, favoring the mid-story and subcanopy. It occurs at low to moderate elevations, generally below 1500 meters.
Its diet consists almost exclusively of insects, predominantly beetle larvae, ants, and termites, which it extracts from bark and decaying wood. Spiders are also occasionally consumed.
Elliot's Woodpecker is a diurnal species, spending its active hours foraging and typically roosting in excavated tree cavities during the night. Foraging primarily involves meticulously gleaning and probing bark for insects, often targeting smaller branches, vines, and twigs rather than the heavy...
Elliot's Woodpecker is a widespread resident across the humid evergreen forests of West and Central Africa. Its breeding and year-round range extends from southeastern Nigeria and southern Cameroon eastward through the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Co...
Least Concern
- Elliot's Woodpecker is named after Daniel Giraud Elliot, a prominent American ornithologist and founder of the American Ornithologists' Union. - Its subtle greenish-olive plumage provides exceptional camouflage, making it surprisingly difficult to spot amidst the dense foliage of its forest hab...