The Olive Woodpecker is far more plainly patterned than most other local woodpeckers, lacking the spotting, streaking and barring typical of the other species. The male sports the red crown classic of woodpeckers generally but the remainder of the head is uniform grey and the body plain green except for a red rump. Some South African birds show a hint of red on the belly, a feature more accentuated in some subspecies found further north in Africa. In the female the entire head is plain grey.

This woodpecker inhabits cool Afromontane forests, which in South Africa extend in a relatively narrow belt from the Cape Peninsula to the Soutpansberg Mountains in the north of Limpopo Province. It is essentially absent from the warmer coastal forests of much of KwaZulu-Natal. The great conundrum of its distribution is why it does not occur in apparently eminently suitable Afromontane forest habitat in the eastern Zimbabwe highlands, despite occurring in similar habitat even further north in northern Malawi. It is typically the only woodpecker present in its habitat.

The call of the Olive Woodpecker is a rather plaintive ‘wee-rit’ uttered 3-5 times, somewhat similar to that of the Red-throated Wryneck.

The Olive Woodpecker is probably a major host of the Scaly-throated Honeyguide, which shares its forested habitat.

Bird illustrations are from Sasol Birds of Southern Africa published by Struik Nature. Illustrations © by Norman Arlott are used with kind permission of the Arlott family.
www.struiknature.co.za