This genus is currently composed of 15 (taxonomy in dispute) small to medium sized, typically green and grey coloured species. All are found in woodlands and forests in Africa. Sexual dimorphism is shown in males having red or yellow on the crown, which females lack. This male Grey Woodpecker Dendropicos goertae was photographed in Uganda in March 2012, Gerard Gorman.
Male Nubian Woodpecker Campethera nubica. A locally common picid in wooded savanna and bush country in east-central Africa. Note the all-red crown and malar. Female has fore-crown and malar black flecked with white. Photo by Gerard Gorman, Uganda, March 2012.
Male Bearded Woodpecker Dendropicos namaquus. Note the red crown which the female lacks. This is one of the largest African woodpeckers. Photo taken at Lake Mburo NP, Uganda, March 2012, by Gerard Gorman.
Chilean Flicker Colaptes pitius. This rather terrestrial woodpecker (though it does nest and forage in trees) is restricted to south-west South America, from central Chile to Patagonia in Argentina. Photo taken by Pete Ferrera in southern Chile, 2012.
