Campethera abingoni
The Golden-tailed Woodpecker (Campethera abingoni) is a strikingly marked, medium-sized avian resident of Sub-Saharan Africa, typically measuring 19-22 cm (7.5-8.7 in) in length and weighing between 50-70 grams. Its plumage features a distinctive olive-green back and wings, boldly barred with white or yellow, while its underparts are white to pale yellow, heavily spotted or streaked with black. A key field mark, lending the species its name, is the rich golden-yellow wash on its undertail cov...
Found primarily in a variety of wooded habitats, including dry woodlands, savannas, riparian forests, and forest edges, typically at low to moderate elevations.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding almost exclusively on ants and termites, their larvae, and eggs, which they extract from decaying wood or the ground using their specialized bills and long, barbed tongues.
Golden-tailed Woodpeckers are diurnal, usually solitary or encountered in pairs, often roosting in excavated tree cavities at night. They are highly active foragers, employing a characteristic methodical gleaning and probing technique, frequently descending to the ground to forage for ants and te...
The Golden-tailed Woodpecker boasts a wide and fragmented distribution across sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from Senegambia in the west, eastward through southern Sudan and Ethiopia, and south through East Africa into Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa. This species i...
Least Concern
- The Golden-tailed Woodpecker is one of several 'ground woodpeckers' that spend a significant amount of time foraging on the ground, a behavior uncommon among many woodpecker species. - Its golden-yellow tail is not always obvious, often only flashing into view during flight or specific movement...