Bennett's Woodpecker - Campethera bennettii (Bennett’s Speg)
Male left and Female right.
Photos from Biodiversity Explorer,Trevor Hardaker ©
http://www.hardaker.co.za/
Information from: Roberts VII Multimedia Birds of Southern Africa
Identification:
The Bennett’s Woodpecker has spotted (not striped) underparts and separates it from the similar sized Golden-tailed Woodpecker. The male’s forehead and crown is crimson red, malar stripe dark red and the throat is white. The female’s throat is chestnut and so is the chin and cheeks. The forehead is black speckled with white. Juveniles have a chestnut throat and cheeks, but with black speckled forehead.
Status:
Locally a common resident and pairs remain together all year round.
Habitat:
The Bennett’s Woodpecker lives in tall deciduous broadleaved woodland, but less common in Acacia woodland and occupies riverine woodland in arid areas.
Distribution:
The Bennett’s Woodpecker is endemic and the range extend across the savanna belt from Northern Tanzania to Northern KZN. In Southern Africa the range extend from Central Namibia as far south as northern KZN and western Moz.
Food:
The Bennett’s Woodpecker feeds mainly on ants, their eggs and pupae. Termites and other insects will also be eaten and they frequently feed from the ground.
Call:
The call is a ringing “wirrit” repeated rapidly 6 to 8 times.
Breeding:
Breeding is monogamous. They excavate holes in dead tree limbs or uses old woodpecker holes.
Distribution map and for more information: http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/specie ... php?id=599
More infromation on the Bennett's Woodpecker:
http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/bir ... nettii.htm
More pictures on the Bennett's Woodpecker:
http://www.warwicktarboton.co.za/birdpgs/481BnWpk.html
