Geocolaptes olivaceus
Silhouette: Pepe Reigada · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
The ground woodpecker (Geocolaptes olivaceus) is one of only three ground-dwelling woodpeckers in the world (the others are the Andean and campo flickers). It inhabits rather barren, steep, boulder-strewn slopes in relatively cool hilly and mountainous areas of South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini and has yet to be recorded outside of Southern Africa. It is found in a broad swath running from southwest to northeast, from the Cape Peninsula and Namaqualand to Mpumalanga. It is closely related to the woodpeckers of the genus Campethera, some of which also employ terrestrial foraging strategies.
The ground woodpecker was described in 1782 by the English ornithologist John Latham from a specimen collected from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. He used the English name "Crimson woodpecker" but did not introduce a Latin name. When the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin updated Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae for the 13th edition in 1788 he included a short description of the ground woodpecker, cited Latham's work and coined the binomial name Picus olivaceus. The ground woodpecker is now placed in the genus Geocolaptes that was introduced by the English naturalist... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Ground Woodpecker sighting in Golden Gate Highlands National Park on a given day, based on 51 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 32nd most-seen of the 108 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October and December
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Ground Woodpecker in Golden Gate Highlands National Park on a given day, against about 20% in January, May, July and September, the lowest months. Those are among Golden Gate Highlands National Park's wettest months, with about 90 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in June. March has too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ground Woodpecker sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Ground Woodpecker sightings, Golden Gate Highlands National Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Table Mountain National Park (South Africa, under 5%).
Same family: Picidae
The closest relatives of the Ground Woodpecker that you can see in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (family Picidae, Woodpeckers) are Rufous-necked Wryneck (about 20%) 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 Ground Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (51 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.
