Phoeniculus damarensis
Silhouette: Jon Hill (Photo by DickDaniels: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Green_Woodhoopoe_RWD7.jpg) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The violet wood hoopoe (Phoeniculus damarensis) is a species of bird in the family Phoeniculidae. It is found in Angola, Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania. It looks similar to the black-billed wood hoopoe but with a red beak and a green throat. It has coppery and violet mantle feathers.
The violet wood hoopoe was formally described in 1901 by the Scottish ornithologist William Robert Ogilvie-Grant under the binomial name Irrisor damarensis. The specific epithet is from Damaraland in Namibia. The violet wood hoopoe is now one of five species placed in the genus Phoeniculus that was introduced in 1821 by the Polish zoologist Feliks Paweł Jarocki.
Two subspecies are recognised: The subspecies P. d. granti has sometimes been considered as a separate species as its distribution is separated by a very large distance from that of the nominate race. The violet wood hoopoe was formerly considered to be conspecific with the green wood hoopoe (Phoeniculus purpureus). It has been argued that the violet wood hoopoe should be considered as a distinct species because of its... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 3 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 5 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Violet Wood Hoopoe sighting in Meru National Park on a given day, based on 33 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 120th most-seen of the 243 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Violet Wood Hoopoe in Meru National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October, the lowest month. That is one of Meru National Park's wettest months, with about 200 mm of rain against almost none in July. May and July–August have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Violet Wood Hoopoe sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Violet Wood Hoopoe sightings, Meru National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Etosha National Park (Namibia, about 10%) and Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Violet Wood Hoopoe is recorded against all the birds logged in Meru National Park (33 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.
