Cardinal Woodpecker
Dendropicos fuscescens
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPiciformes (Woodpeckers and Allies)
- FamilyPicidae (Woodpeckers)
- GenusDendropicos
- SpeciesDendropicos fuscescens (Cardinal Woodpecker)
The cardinal woodpecker (Dendropicos fuscescens) is a widespread and common resident breeder in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It occurs in a wide range of habitats, ranging from dense forest to thorn bush. It is fairly vocal and is easily identified by its call notes. The sexes are distinguishable by their head patterns. They feed primarily on tree-boring insects; using their adhering tongues they extract the insects from holes in wood or bark. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Selous Game Reserve
Speckle-throated Woodpecker
Campethera scriptoricauda
Golden-tailed Woodpecker
Campethera abingoni
Little Green Woodpecker
Campethera maculosa
Brown-Breasted Barbet
Lybius melanopterus
Black-collared Barbet
Lybius torquatus
Crested Barbet
Trachyphonus vaillantii
Green Tinkerbird
Pogoniulus simplex
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Cardinal Woodpecker at Selous Game Reserve — not enough to chart months honestly.
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there