Olive Woodpecker - BirdForum Opus

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Photo by megan perkins
Location: Gonubie, South Africa

Dendropicos griseocephalus

Identification

Length 17-19 cm. Darker than Grey Woodpecker and Grey-headed Woodpecker, and less barred, with olive-grey (rather than grey) underparts.

Distribution

Uganda and Zaire to South Africa.

Taxonomy

Some authorities place this species in Chloropicus.

Subspecies

Dendropicos griseocephalus has three subspecies:^[1]

• D. g. ruwenzori

• Namibia to Zaire, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Malawi

• D. g. kilimensis

• Humid montane forests of Tanzania

• D. g. griseocephalus

• Extreme southern Mozambique to eastern and southern South Africa

Habitat

Evergreen forest, forest patches and dense woodland.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Sinclair, I and P Ryan. 2003. Birds of Africa South of the Sahara. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691118154

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Olive Woodpecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Olive_Woodpecker

External Links

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