Cardinal Woodpecker

Dendropicos fuscescens

Woodland. Red cap; brown forehead; streaked black below.

Woodpeckers

Not Endemic

Description

Common resident. Both sexes identified by small size, streaked breast, black malar streak and brown forehead; male with crimson crown, female with black crown. The call is a high-pitched, chittering ‘ke-ke-ke-ke-ke-ke-kek’. Occurs in pairs in any broad-leaved woodland, thornveld or riverine bush, often in bird parties of the same species and frequently in quite small trees. Taps quietly.

Quick Facts

Bird Family

Small, robust birds with straight, pointed bills, stiff tails and zygodactylous feet (the inner and outer toes are directed backward and the two central toes forward). They glean insects and their larvae from within crevices in trees and from beneath bark by tapping with their bills to loosen or chip the wood and inserting their long sticky tongues. While feeding, they use the tail as a prop. They normally occur in pairs and excavate holes in trees for nesting, these frequently being used in turn by other hole-nesting species. Many woodpeckers are very similar in appearance. They are best identified by head and breast markings plus call. The aberrant Ground Woodpecker is entirely terrestrial and nests in holes in banks.