Nubian woodpecker
The Nubian woodpecker (Campethera nubica) is a medium-sized bird in the woodpecker family, about 21 cm long. Males have a red crown and nape with a reddish cheek stripe, while females have a black crown speckled with white, a red nape, and a dark cheek stripe with white speckles. The rest of their body is olive-brown with cream speckles; wings are greenish-brown with white bars; the tail is greenish-yellow with brown bars. The throat is cream and the head, neck, breast, and belly are white with black spots and bars. The beak is grey with a dark tip, the eye is red or pink, the orbital ring is grey, and the feet are olive or grey.
Nubian woodpeckers live in open savannah woodland, especially with Acacia and Euphorbia, as well as scrubby areas. They do not migrate and can be found up to about 2,000 meters in altitude. Their range covers eastern Africa, including Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The birds typically forage alone, mostly in trees for ants and termites, but they also eat spiders and beetles and sometimes search on the ground. They are heard with a variety of sharp, ringing or piping calls and are often seen singing in pairs. The Nubian woodpecker has a wide distribution and a stable population, so the IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:54 (CET).