Bennett's Woodpecker vs Knysna Woodpecker

Bennett's Woodpecker

Campethera bennettii

Medium70 gWoodland

Bennett's woodpecker is about 24 cm (9.4 in) long and weighs 61–84 g (2.2–3.0 oz). The male's forehead, crown and nape are red. The chin and throat are white. The upperparts are brown, yellow and white. The underparts are pale yellow, and there are dark spots on the breast and flanks. The eyes are red, the beak is grey, and the legs are bluish-green or grey-green. The female has a black forehead with white spots, and its ear coverts and throat are brown or blackish-brown. The juvenile bird has a black forehead and crown and darker upperparts.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0

Knysna Woodpecker

Campethera notata

Medium62 gForest

This species is distinguished from the other South African woodpeckers by its thickly spotted under-surface which is covered with black spots from the chin to the vent. Males and females differ slightly. Males have an olive-green color above with indistinct, small transverse bars and a few diamond-shaped sub-terminal spots that are a paler olive-yellow. The female Knysna woodpecker is similar to the male, but the black head is spotted with white and only the occiput is scarlet. The quills are brown, except for near the base where they are externally olive.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Dave Brown · CC0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Bennett's Woodpecker and Knysna Woodpecker.