Campethera abingoni
Silhouette: Pepe Reigada · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The golden-tailed woodpecker (Campethera abingoni) is a species of bird in the family Picidae. Its specific name commemorates the 5th Earl of Abingdon. It belongs to a species complex that includes the Knysna woodpecker to the south of its range, and the mostly allopatric Mombasa woodpecker to the northeast, with which it perhaps hybridizes.
The combination of barred, greenish upper part plumage, and streaked underparts is distinctive. Their golden-olive tails do not differ markedly from those of several related or sympatric woodpecker species, but their single, strident call-note is characteristic.
It measures 20 to 21 cm from bill tip to tail tip. The southern races weigh about 70 g, but the northern race C. a. chrysura, only about 55 g. Males are on average larger and heavier than females. The sexes are best distinguished by their head markings, as the red and brown fore-crowns of males differ unmistakably from those of females that are black and spotted white. The malar stripes of males are red and that of females mottled black and white. The iris is usually dark red but variable, the mandibles slate grey, and the legs and feet greenish-olive. Juveniles are heavily... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 5 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-tailed Woodpecker sighting in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, based on 45 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 103rd most-seen of the 220 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-tailed Woodpecker in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, against under 5% in February and December, the lowest months. That is one of Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 140 mm in February.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Golden-tailed 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.
10th of 25
Of the 25 parks where we can rate Golden-tailed Woodpecker sightings, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park ranks 10th at about 10%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 40%), Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 20%) and Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Picidae
The closest relatives of the Golden-tailed Woodpecker that you can see in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (family Picidae, Woodpeckers) are Cardinal Woodpecker (about 10%) and Rufous-necked Wryneck (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Golden-tailed Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (45 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.
