Campethera

Campethera is a genus of bird in the family Picidae, or woodpeckers, that are native to sub-Saharan Africa. Most species are native to woodland and savanna rather than deep forest, and multiple species exhibit either arboreal or terrestrial foraging strategies.[1] Its nearest relative is the monotypic genus Geocolaptes[1] of southern Africa, which employs terrestrial foraging and breeding strategies. They are however not close relatives of similar-looking woodpeckers in the "Dendropicos clade".

Campethera
A male golden-tailed woodpecker (C. abingoni) in northern Namibia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Tribe: Picini
Genus: Campethera
G.R. Gray, 1841
Species

see text

Taxonomy

The genus Campethera was introduced by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1841 with the little green woodpecker (Campethera maculosa) as the type species.[2] The generic name combines the Ancient Greek kampē meaning "caterpillar" and -thēras meaning "hunter".[3]

Species diversity in the "Campethera clade" is believed to be understated, and up to 18 species may be involved.[1] The following 11 species are currently recognized:[4]

ImageCommon NameScientific nameDistribution
Fine-spotted woodpeckerCampethera punctuligeraBenin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gambia; Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan and Togo
Bennett's woodpeckerCampethera bennettiiAngola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Speckle-throated woodpeckerCampethera scriptoricaudaMozambique, Malawi, and Tanzania
Nubian woodpeckerCampethera nubicafrom Chad in west to Somalia in east and Tanzania in south.
Golden-tailed woodpeckerCampethera abingoniAngola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Mombasa woodpeckerCampethera mombassicaKenya, Somalia, and Tanzania.
Knysna woodpeckerCampethera notataSouth Africa
Green-backed woodpeckerCampethera cailliautiiAngola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Little green woodpeckerCampethera maculosaSenegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Ghana
Tullberg's woodpeckerCampethera tullbergiwestern Cameroon, adjacent Nigeria and Bioko island.
Fine-banded woodpeckerCampethera taeniolaemaeastern Congo to Kenya and Tanzania.

Description

They are small to medium-sized woodpeckers.[5] The sexes are fairly similar, but males of most species have the crown and nape bright red, while in females this is restricted to the nape. Colour of the malar plumage is also useful in sexing.

Their plumage pattern is fairly uniform, and some species are only distinguishable by careful observation.[5] The mantle, back and wings are olive-greenish, and usually spotted or barred in buffy to golden yellow. The shafts of the remiges and rectrices are yellow to golden yellow.[5] The underpart plumage is spotted black to a lesser or greater degree.

Some species include drumming on dead wood as a means of non-vocal signaling. Most species are poor drummers however, and some species may not drum at all.[5]

Foraging

Their rectrices are only partially stiffened (for arboreal support), and they readily take to terrestrial foraging. Ants and termites form important components of their diet. These are lapped up with a flexible and sticky tongue.[5]

  • C. abingoni juvenile peeking from nest
  • Yellow remige and rectrice shafts in C. bennettii (male)
  • Terrestrial foraging in C. bennettii (male)
  • Arboreal foraging in C. nubica (female)
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References
  1. Fuchs, Jérôme; Pons, Jean-Marc; Bowie, Rauri C.K. (March 2017). "Biogeography and diversification dynamics of the African woodpeckers". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 108: 88–100. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.01.007. PMID 28089840.
  2. Gray (1841). A List of the Genera of Birds : with their Synonyma and an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus (2nd ed.). London: R. and J.E. Taylor. p. 70.
  3. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Woodpeckers". World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  5. Gorman, Gerard (2014). Woodpeckers of the World: The Complete Guide (Helm Photographic Guides). London: Bloomsbury. p. 165. ISBN 1408147157.


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