The fire-bellied woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo and western Cameroon. A common species, the IUCN has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern". Some taxonomic authorities place this species in Dendropicos.
Region
West Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs from Sierra Leone and Guinea east through Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and southern Mali to Nigeria and western Cameroon. It favors lowland and foothill moist forests, forest edges, gallery forests, and wooded savannas. The species readily uses secondary growth, riparian corridors, and agroforestry mosaics such as cocoa and coffee plantations. It forages from understory trunks to mid-canopy limbs and often utilizes dead snags for feeding and nesting.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This West African woodpecker is named for its warm rufous to orange-red belly, which contrasts with its barred back. It excavates nest cavities in dead or decaying wood and plays an important role in controlling wood-boring insects. Its rapid drumming on trunks serves both as territorial display and communication with mates.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
undulating with short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually seen alone or in pairs and occasionally joins mixed-species flocks while foraging. Pairs excavate nest cavities in dead branches or snags, and both partners participate in incubation and chick feeding. Breeding territories are defended with drumming displays and chase flights.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations include sharp kik and tchik notes given singly or in short series. Drumming is a rapid, even roll on resonant wood, used for territory advertisement and mate communication.
Plumage
Upperparts finely barred or mottled dark brown to black with pale buff or whitish; underparts warm rufous to orange-red on the belly with lighter breast and fine streaking on flanks. Face pale with a darker malar line; crown and nape patterning vary slightly between sexes and age classes. Tail is dark with pale barring; wings show mottled panels in flight.
Diet
Feeds primarily on ants, termites, beetle larvae, and other wood-boring insects gleaned from bark and extracted from decaying wood. It probes, pecks, and chisels to expose galleries and uses a long sticky tongue to capture prey. Occasional small fruits or seeds may be taken opportunistically.
Preferred Environment
Forages on trunks, larger limbs, and dead snags in forest edges, secondary woodland, and gallery forest. Also uses wooded savanna trees and shade trees in plantations where decaying wood and bark crevices are available.
