The fine-banded woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found from eastern Congo to Kenya and Tanzania.
Region
East and Central African Highlands
Typical Environment
Occurs from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo across the Albertine Rift to southwestern Uganda, western Kenya, and northern Tanzania. It favors montane and submontane forests, forest edges, and wooded clearings, often near bamboo and mature broadleaf trees. The species also uses secondary growth and riparian woodland where old trees remain. It is generally local but can be fairly common where suitable habitat persists.
Altitude Range
900–2600 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This small African woodpecker is adapted to montane forests and forest edges, where its finely barred underparts help it blend into dappled bark and lichen. It feeds largely on ants and termites using a long, barbed tongue and a sturdy, chisel-like bill. Unlike some larger woodpeckers, it drums softly and relies more on sharp calls for communication.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually seen alone or in pairs, sometimes joining mixed-species flocks in forest edges. Pairs maintain small territories and excavate nest cavities in decaying trunks or large branches. Both sexes typically participate in cavity preparation and chick rearing.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives a sharp, repeated kik-kik series and soft rattling notes, often delivered from mid-canopy perches. Drumming is brief and subdued compared to larger woodpeckers, used mainly in territorial signaling.
Plumage
Upperparts greenish-olive with pale spotting; underparts pale buff to whitish with very fine, even dark barring. Face pale with subtle streaking and a darker malar line; tail olive-brown with darker bars. The crown shows red in males and is more subdued in females.
Diet
Primarily consumes ants and termites, along with their larvae and pupae. It also takes beetle larvae and other small arthropods gleaned from bark crevices and deadwood. Foraging involves probing, pecking, and flicking chips off soft, decayed timber, using a long sticky tongue to extract prey.
Preferred Environment
Feeds on trunks and larger branches in montane forest, forest edge, and wooded clearings. It occasionally descends to stumps, logs, or the ground to access ant trails and termite workings.
