Woodpeckers (Picidae)
Golden-tailed Woodpecker (Campethera abingoni) - HBW 7, p. 458
French: Pic à queue dorée
German: Goldschwanzspecht
Spanish: Pito Colidorado
Taxonomy: Chrysoptilus Abingoni A. Smith, 1836, district of Zeerust, western Transvaal, South Africa.
Forms a superspecies with C. mombassica and C. notata. Often treated as conspecific with former, but differs in plumage and vocalizations; apparent hybrids between C. mombassica and race suahelica of present species recorded from EC Tanzania and from just S of Mt Kilimanjaro; further studies needed. Proposed race tessmanni (Central African Republic) not distinguishable from chrysura; nor annectens (lower Congo and C Angola to Rwanda and Malawi) from nominate. In past, type locality of species erroneously listed as Durban, Natal; with rectificat.. View all taxonomy...
Taxonomy: Chrysoptilus Abingoni A. Smith, 1836, district of Zeerust, western Transvaal, South Africa.
Forms a superspecies with C. mombassica and C. notata. Often treated as conspecific with former, but differs in plumage and vocalizations; apparent hybrids between C. mombassica and race suahelica of present species recorded from EC Tanzania and from just S of Mt Kilimanjaro; further studies needed. Proposed race tessmanni (Central African Republic) not distinguishable from chrysura; nor annectens (lower Congo and C Angola to Rwanda and Malawi) from nominate. In past, type locality of species erroneously listed as Durban, Natal; with rectification, hitherto accepted name smithii becomes junior synonym of nominate. Six subspecies currently recognized.
Forms a superspecies with C. mombassica and C. notata. Often treated as conspecific with former, but differs in plumage and vocalizations; apparent hybrids between C. mombassica and race suahelica of present species recorded from EC Tanzania and from just S of Mt Kilimanjaro; further studies needed. Proposed race tessmanni (Central African Republic) not distinguishable from chrysura; nor annectens (lower Congo and C Angola to Rwanda and Malawi) from nominate. In past, type locality of species erroneously listed as Durban, Natal; with rectification, hitherto accepted name smithii becomes junior synonym of nominate. Six subspecies currently recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- chrysura (Swainson, 1837) - Senegambia and N Guinea, and recently recorded in NE Ivory Coast; also Central African Republic, S Sudan, NE Zaire and W Uganda.
- abingoni (A. Smith, 1836) - lower R Congo and W Zaire E to W Tanzania, and S to NE Namibia, NW Zambia, Zimbabwe and N Transvaal.
- kavirondensis van Someren, 1926 - E Rwanda, NW & NC Tanzania and SW Kenya.
- chrysura (Swainson, 1837) - Senegambia and N Guinea, and recently recorded in NE Ivory Coast; also Central African Republic, S Sudan, NE Zaire and W Uganda.
- abingoni (A. Smith, 1836) - lower R Congo and W Zaire E to W Tanzania, and S to NE Namibia, NW Zambia, Zimbabwe and N Transvaal.
- kavirondensis van Someren, 1926 - E Rwanda, NW & NC Tanzania and SW Kenya.
- suahelica (Reichenow, 1902) - N Tanzania (Arusha, Moshi, N Pare Mts) to E Zimbabwe, Mozambique and N Swaziland.
- anderssoni (Roberts, 1936) - SW Angola, Namibia (except NE) and SW Botswana to N Cape Province and SW Transvaal.
- constricta Clancey, 1965 - S Swaziland, extreme S Mozambique and Natal.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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left bird female,right male Locality Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda (ssp chrysura)
Daniêl Jimenez 19 September 2010 2 years ago 22 sec 4.3 -
A close-up of a female pecking a trunk Locality Etosha National Park, Kunene Region, Namibia (ssp anderssoni)
Jean Michel Erard 31 July 2003 7 years ago 19 sec 4.2 -
A female pecking a trunk Locality Etosha National Park, Kunene Region, Namibia (ssp anderssoni)
Jean Michel Erard 31 July 2003 7 years ago 16 sec 3.9 -
A male pecking a trunk Locality Kruger National Park, South Africa (ssp suahelica)
Max Roth 31 October 2000 7 years ago 23 sec 3.9 -
A bird feeding on a palm trunk Locality Nata Lodge, Nata, Central District, Botswana (ssp abingoni)
Keith Blomerley 5 January 2007 5 years ago 26 sec 2.8 -
A male on a tree Locality Caprivi Region, Namibia (ssp abingoni)
Josep del Hoyo 28 July 1998 6 years ago 4 sec 1.5
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A male perched on a tree.
Locality Mapungubwe National Park, Limpopo Province, South Africa (ssp abingoni)
Carmelo López 10 December 2010 2 years ago 4.3 -
In a tree at Lilayi Lodge
Locality Lusaka Province, Zambia
Lee Hunter 11 August 2010 8 weeks ago 3.8 -
Female bird in a tree
Locality Gauteng Province, South Africa
ossewa 1 March 2009 1 year ago 3.8 -
Adult on a branch
Locality Molopo Eye, Mafikeng, North West Province, South Africa (ssp abingoni)
Loutjie Steenberg 29 April 2010 2 years ago 3.5 -
A bird feeding on a tree trunk
Locality Ghanzi District, Botswana
Aleix Comas 7 September 2007 3 years ago 3.3 -
Perched in a tall tree
Locality Kruger National Park, South Africa
Robert Erasmus 7 September 2011 23 weeks ago 3.3
- No sound recordings available yet
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