MyKrugerHoliday
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0 · source ↗
Cardinal Woodpecker
Kardinaalspeg · Dendropicos fuscescens
The smallest and commonest woodpecker in Kruger, working busily along thin twigs rather than thick trunks. Its soft tapping and high trilling call give it away. It probes bark for insects and grubs in every kind of woodland and nests in a self-made hole in dead wood.
Log your Cardinal Woodpecker sighting — free →How to identify it
Kruger's smallest woodpecker; brown-capped (male red-naped) with heavily streaked underparts.
Listen for its call
A fast, scratchy "krrik-krik-krik" and a soft, quick drum-roll.
Where to see it in Kruger
All woodland types across the park, tapping on thin outer branches.
Did you know
It is the smallest woodpecker in the park, barely bigger than a sparrow.
Often confused with
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