Dendropicos spodocephalus
Silhouette: Pepe Reigada · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The eastern grey woodpecker (Dendropicos spodocephalus), also known as grey-headed woodpecker and mountain gray woodpecker, is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. It is a resident breeder in eastern Africa. It has a large range and is a fairly common species. No special threats have been recognised and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the bird's conservation status as being of "least concern".
Like other woodpeckers, this species has a straight pointed bill, a stiff tail to provide support against tree trunks, and zygodactyl or "yoked" feet, with two toes pointing forward, and two backward. The long tongue can be darted forward to capture insects. The adult male eastern grey woodpecker has a red crown and nape, and females have a plain grey head, lacking the red crown. The upper parts of the body are yellowish-green, the rump is red, and the wings and tail are dark brown. The remaining parts of the head and the underparts are pale grey, apart from a reddish patch on the hinder part of the belly. The beak is dark grey or black, the legs are greenish-grey and the eyes red to brown. Young birds are similar to the female, but... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 8 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 9 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 10 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Addis Ababa | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 2 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Grey Woodpecker sighting in Arusha National Park on a given day, based on 42 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 196th most-seen of the 373 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–April, June, August, October and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Grey Woodpecker in Arusha National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, May, July, September and November, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Grey 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.
6th of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Eastern Grey Woodpecker sightings, Arusha National Park ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Lake Nakuru National Park (Kenya, about 20%), Tarangire National Park (Tanzania, about 20%) and Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Grey Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Arusha National Park (42 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.
