CreatureData

Greater honeyguide

Indicator indicator (Sparrman, 1777)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The greater honeyguide (Indicator indicator) is a species in the family Indicatoridae, order Piciformes. Recorded adults weigh 46.8 g to 51.4 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Greater honeyguide (Indicator indicator)
Photo: Dominic Sherony · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the greater honeyguide

Weight
46.8 g – 51.4 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
12 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
4src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the greater honeyguide live?

Not recorded

What is the greater honeyguide?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The greater honeyguide (Indicator indicator) is a bird in the paleotropical family Indicatoridae, that is related to the woodpeckers. Its English and scientific names refer to its habit of guiding people to bee colonies. Claims that it also guides non-human animals are disputed.

The greater honeyguide is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa. It lives in a variety of habitats with trees, especially dry open woodland, but not in the West African rain forest.

From the Wikipedia article “Greater honeyguide” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greater_honeyguide&oldid=1380694463), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the greater honeyguide endangered?

The greater honeyguide is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the greater honeyguide classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPiciformes
  5. familyIndicatoridae
  6. genusIndicator
  7. SpeciesIndicator indicator (Sparrman, 1777)

Synonyms Cuculus indicator, Indicator albirostris, Indicator barianus, Indicator boehmi, Indicator flavicollis, Indicator flavirostris, Indicator indicator indicator, Indicator indicator inquisitor, Indicator leucotis, Indicator major, Indicator sparrmani

Other names and names in other languages (39)
  • Greater honey-guideEnglish
  • GRHOEnglish
  • GrootheuningwyserAfrikaans
  • مرشد العسل الأكبرArabic
  • مرشد العسل الكبيرArabic
  • indicador de la mel grosCatalan
  • medozvěstka křiklaváCzech
  • tywysydd y mêlWelsh
  • HonningguidebulbulDanish
  • Sortstrubet HonninggøgDanish
  • SchwarzkehlhoniganzeigerGerman
  • Schwarzkehl-HoniganzeigerGerman
  • granda mielindikantoEsperanto
  • Indicador grandeSpanish
  • suur-meenäiturEstonian
  • hunajaopasFinnish
  • IndicateurFrench
  • Grand IndicateurFrench
  • feketetorkú mézkalauzHungarian
  • Indicatore maggioreItalian
  • ノドグロミツオシエJapanese
  • didysis medpaukštisLithuanian
  • Grote HoningspeurderDutch
  • honninglosNorwegian
  • miodowód dużyPolish
  • Pássaro-do-melPortuguese
  • indicador-grandePortuguese
  • Большой медоуказчикRussian
  • medozvestka krikľaváSlovak
  • Veliki medovođaSerbian
  • svartstrupig honungsvisareSwedish
  • Büyük BalkılavuzuTurkish
  • TshetlhoTswana
  • воскоїд великийUkrainian
  • 黑喉响蜜䴕Chinese
  • 黑喉嚮蜜鴷Chinese
  • iNgedeZulu
  • iNhlavebizelayoZulu
  • uNomtsheketsheZulu

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the greater honeyguide

Other species in the same genus Indicator.

CompareGreater honeyguide vs Lesser honeyguideGreater honeyguide vs Malayan honeyguideGreater honeyguide vs Dwarf honeyguideGreater honeyguide vs Scaly-throated honeyguide

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the greater honeyguide?

An adult greater honeyguide weighs 46.8 g – 51.4 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the greater honeyguide endangered?

The greater honeyguide is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the greater honeyguide?

The greater honeyguide (Indicator indicator) belongs to the family Indicatoridae in the order Piciformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Greater honeyguide (Indicator indicator). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/greater-honeyguide

MLA

“Greater honeyguide (Indicator indicator).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/greater-honeyguide.

BibTeX
@misc{greater_honeyguide_2026,
  title = {Greater honeyguide (Indicator indicator)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/greater-honeyguide},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}