CreatureData

Ground woodpecker

Geocolaptes olivaceus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)

NTNear Threatenedbirds

The ground woodpecker (Geocolaptes olivaceus) is a species in the family Picidae, order Piciformes. Recorded adults weigh 119.8 g to 123.1 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.

Ground woodpecker (Geocolaptes olivaceus)
Photo: Timothy Whitehead · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the ground woodpecker

Weight
119.8 g – 123.1 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
rockysrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the ground woodpecker live?

Not recorded

What is the ground woodpecker?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The ground woodpecker (Geocolaptes olivaceus) is one of only three ground-dwelling woodpeckers in the world (the others are the Andean and campo flickers). It inhabits rather barren, steep, boulder-strewn slopes in relatively cool hilly and mountainous areas of South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini and has yet to be recorded outside of Southern Africa. It is found in a broad swath running from southwest to northeast, from the Cape Peninsula and Namaqualand to Mpumalanga. It is closely related to the woodpeckers of the genus Campethera, some of which also employ terrestrial foraging strategies.

From the Wikipedia article “Ground woodpecker” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ground_woodpecker&oldid=1334779529), 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 ground woodpecker endangered?

The ground woodpecker is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.

  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 Near Threatened species.

How is the ground woodpecker classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPiciformes
  5. familyPicidae
  6. genusGeocolaptes
  7. SpeciesGeocolaptes olivaceus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)

Synonyms Geocolaptes olivaceus olivaceus, Picus olivaceus, Picus terrestris

Other names and names in other languages (34)
  • Cape ground woodpeckerEnglish
  • Lesotho ground woodpeckerEnglish
  • Pale ground woodpeckerEnglish
  • GrondspegAfrikaans
  • نقار الخشب الأرضيArabic
  • picot terrestreCatalan
  • datel zemníCzech
  • cnocell y ddaearWelsh
  • JordspætteDanish
  • ErdspechtGerman
  • grunda pegoEsperanto
  • Pito terrestreSpanish
  • maarähnEstonian
  • maatikkaFinnish
  • Pic laboureurFrench
  • pozemni djetlićCroatian
  • földi harkályHungarian
  • Picchio terragnoloItalian
  • イワキツツキJapanese
  • dirvinis genysLithuanian
  • Kaapse GrondspechtDutch
  • jordspettNorwegian
  • dzięcioł ziemnyPolish
  • dzięciolik ziemnyPolish
  • pica-pau-terrestrePortuguese
  • pica-pau-das-rochasPortuguese
  • Земляной дятелRussian
  • žlna zemnáSlovak
  • markspettSwedish
  • Yer AğaçkakanıTurkish
  • дятел сіроголовийUkrainian
  • 地啄木鸟Chinese
  • 非洲地啄木Chinese
  • umNqangqandoloZulu

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the ground woodpecker

Other species in the same family Picidae.

CompareGround woodpecker vs Great spotted woodpeckerGround woodpecker vs Black woodpeckerGround woodpecker vs Eurasian wryneckGround woodpecker vs Eurasian green woodpecker

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the ground woodpecker?

An adult ground woodpecker weighs 119.8 g – 123.1 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the ground woodpecker endangered?

The ground woodpecker is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.

What kind of animal is the ground woodpecker?

The ground woodpecker (Geocolaptes olivaceus) belongs to the family Picidae 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). Ground woodpecker (Geocolaptes olivaceus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ground-woodpecker

MLA

“Ground woodpecker (Geocolaptes olivaceus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/ground-woodpecker.

BibTeX
@misc{ground_woodpecker_2026,
  title = {Ground woodpecker (Geocolaptes olivaceus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/ground-woodpecker},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}