Campethera notata
Silhouette: Pepe Reigada · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The Knysna woodpecker (Campethera notata) is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is endemic to South Africa, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, moist savanna, and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss. It belongs to a species complex that includes the golden-tailed and Mombasa woodpeckers.
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. The secondary quills are olive-brown, duller than the back, and transversely barred with a yellow-tinged white. The primaries are externally spotted with yellow, notched on the inner web with white, and the shafts are brown. The tail is olive... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Knysna Woodpecker sighting in Addo Elephant National Park on a given day, based on 80 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 95th most-seen of the 243 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and July
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Knysna Woodpecker in Addo Elephant National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February to June, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Knysna Woodpecker sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Knysna Woodpecker sightings, Addo Elephant National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 20%) and Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same family: Picidae
The closest relatives of the Knysna Woodpecker that you can see in Addo Elephant National Park (family Picidae, Woodpeckers) are Cardinal Woodpecker (about 10%), Rufous-necked Wryneck (about 10%) and Olive Woodpecker (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Knysna Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Addo Elephant National Park (80 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
