The yellow-crested woodpecker, also known as the golden-crowned woodpecker, is a species of bird in the family Picidae. Some taxonomic authorities place this species in Dendropicos. Its typical habitat is wet tropical forest and it is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
Region
Central and East Africa
Typical Environment
Found in lowland and gallery forests across the Congo Basin extending into Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and eastward into Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, and Tanzania. Prefers mature, moist evergreen forest but also uses secondary growth, riverine woodland, and forest edges. Often forages in mid- to upper-canopy on trunks, saplings, and dead snags. It tolerates selective logging better than complete forest clearance but declines with extensive habitat loss.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1800 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also called the golden-crowned woodpecker, this species is sometimes placed in the genus Dendropicos. It inhabits humid tropical forests where it forages quietly on trunks and large branches, often in pairs. Its drumming is a short, dry roll, and it helps control populations of wood-boring insects. It typically remains year-round within its forest territories.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
undulating with short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually found singly or in pairs, maintaining small territories within forest. Nests are excavated in dead or decaying wood; both sexes participate in excavation and incubation. Clutch size is small, and both parents feed the nestlings. Outside the breeding season it may join mixed-species flocks at edges or along rivers.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives sharp, ringing kik or kweek notes in short series, often from a perch on a trunk. Drumming is a brief, dry roll rather than a long rattle. Vocalizations carry through dense forest but are not loud or prolonged.
Plumage
Olive-brown to dark brown upperparts with pale barring and mottling; underparts pale with heavy dark streaks and bars. Head shows a contrasting pale face with a dark eye-stripe and a conspicuous bushy yellow crest. Back and wings show barred panels; tail stiff and dark for climbing.
Diet
Feeds mainly on ants, termites, and wood-boring beetle larvae extracted from bark and decaying wood. Probes and taps methodically, prying off flakes of bark to reach hidden prey. Will also take other insects and their eggs, and occasionally small fruits when insect prey is scarce. Uses its long tongue to extract prey from crevices.
Preferred Environment
Forages on trunks, large branches, dead snags, and lianas within humid forest. Often works mid- to upper-canopy but also feeds at forest edges and along river corridors. Selects areas with abundant deadwood and insect activity.
