Green-backed Woodpecker
Campethera maculosa
The Green-backed Woodpecker (Campethera maculosa) is a rare woodpecker found in 26 countries, weighing about 54 g. The little green woodpecker, or green-backed woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae.
About the Green-backed Woodpecker
The little green woodpecker, or green-backed woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is widely distributed in tropical Africa, living in forest edges, clearings, and forest-shrub mosaics. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as a least-concern species.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The little green woodpecker is about 16 cm (6.3 in) long and weighs about 54 g (1.9 oz). The male's crown is olive-blackish with an indistinct reddish colour, and the nape is red. The head, neck and throat are buff, with brown spots. The upperparts are yellowish-green or bronze-green. The flight feathers are brown and have buffish bars. The tail is blackish, with some yellow and green. The underparts are buffish from the throat to the breast and greenish-white below the breast, all of the underparts having deep olive bars.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Somalia.
When to see it
The Green-backed Woodpecker can be seen all year round, with peak activity in November. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Green-backed Woodpecker?
- The little green woodpecker is about 16 cm (6.3 in) long and weighs about 54 g (1.9 oz). Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Green-backed Woodpecker?
- The Green-backed Woodpecker is a small sized bird weighing about 54 g.
- Where can you see a Green-backed Woodpecker?
- The Green-backed Woodpecker occurs in 26 countries, including Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- What birds look similar to a Green-backed Woodpecker?
- The Green-backed Woodpecker is most easily confused with the Fine-spotted Woodpecker, the Fine-banded Woodpecker and the Mombasa Woodpecker.
Learn the Green-backed Woodpecker for real
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