Ground Woodpecker Geocolaptes olivaceus Scientific name definitions

22–30 cm; 105–134 g. Male has brownish-grey forehead and crown, browner nape often with slight trace of red, grey sides of head and neck, dark grey malar with fine red feather tips (red visible only at close range); white chin and throat; upperparts greyish brown to dull green-brown, in fresh plumage with pale feather tips forming small spots and hint of barring; red rump , white-barred brown uppertail-coverts; wing-coverts spotted or barred pale; dark brown flight-feathers all barred whitish, tertials also tinged greenish; uppertail brown, prominent narrow whitish bars; whitish breast feathers broadly tipped pinkish red with some pale streaks, belly deeper crimson with pale bases, flanks barred grey-brown and whitish, bars often extending to undertail-coverts; underwing brown and yellowish white; undertail light brown, barred yellowish white; long bill pointed, culmen curved, very narrow between nostrils, black, greyer base; iris pink to golden, whiter near pupil; legs grey. Female is very like male, but lacks red malar tips. Juvenile has adult pattern but duller, usually some red on nape, paler and more light pinkish below, eyes all white. Race <em>prometheus</em> is much paler, especially below ; upland populations tend to be darker overall.

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Open rocky terrain in uplands, including grassy boulder-strewn slopes and hillsides, open grassland with rocky ridges, mountain slopes, barren or eroded areas; recorded also around reedy marshes. Also roadsides in lowlands in SW of range. To c. 2100 m, in Natal from 1200 m upwards; rarely recorded as low as 600 m, but descends to sea-level in SW of range.

Highly specialized on ants, ant broods and alates; termites (Isoptera), beetles and other insects, and mites (Acari) also taken. Ants of eight genera comprise 95% of food taken, and include Camponotus, Anoplolepis, Acantholepis, Tetramorium, Crematogaster, Pheidole; total of c. 60 ant species has been recorded in diet. Termites regularly eaten, but form only 1·25% of total food intake; other arthropods probably taken accidentally. Usually in pairs or small parties of c. 6 birds, groups occupying area of 21–70 ha; groups appear to know exact locations of ant nests within their home range, spend at most three days in a particular place. Perches upright on large boulders, flies from one rocky outcrop to the next. Forages mostly on ground, occasionally on dead trees; moves on ground primarily by hopping, also walks on more level terrain. Explores any fault, crevice or hole, including interfaces between stones and the soil; makes single inquisitive pecks, sweeps away debris with the bill. Penetrates soil with heavy pecks when an ant colony detected; then feeds in characteristic posture, head down and beak deeply implanted in ground, continuous activity of tongue indicated by jerky tail movements. Wood-dwelling ants (Crematogaster) obtained by probing into dead wood. Surface gleaning only a minor feeding technique used. Forages mostly in morning hours, with secondary peak of activity in late afternoon; during these periods large quantities of ants consumed, digested slowly; even during cooler season (Mar–Aug), requires only c. 35% of total daylight hours to procure sufficient food.

Loud  , harsh “peer, peer, peer” or “pee-aa-r-g-h” screams when flushed; loud series of up to five “ree-chick, ree-chick” notes, as contact and territorial call; also falcon-like “krrrreee” when joining group; “chew-kee” calls when displaying.

Aug–Sept in Cape Province and Transvaal; Jul–Dec (1 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ), mainly Oct–Nov, in Natal. Single-brooded (1 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ). In pairs or trios, copulations occurring during excavation phase of cycle; pre-copulation display by male in upright stance with spread wings. Nest dug mainly by male, in bank (typically 0·5–6 m high) (1 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ), often in road cutting, or in vertical wall of donga, or among rocks ; once in crumbling earth wall of abandoned farmhouse (1 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ) and occasionally occupies abandoned nest of African Pied Starling (Lamprotornis bicolor) (1 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ); tunnel usually c. 1 m long, range 50–120 cm, 7·5 cm in diameter, ending after gentle upward slope (1 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ) in enlarged nest-chamber 15 cm in diameter; same nest may (infrequently) (1 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ) be used over several seasons (more usually excavates new cavity in same area) (1 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ), and also serves as roost. Clutch 2–5 white (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ) eggs, usually three, size 25–30·2 mm × 20·2–22·8 mm, mass 7·3 g (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ); both parents incubate, in shifts lasting 0·5–2·5 hours (1 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ), sometimes possibly with one or more helpers; chicks fed by both parents and helper; incubation and fledging periods apparently not documented; juveniles stay with parents until the next breeding season. One record of parasitization by Great Spotted Cuckoo (Clamator glandarius)(1 Tarboton, W. (2001). A Guide to the Nests and Eggs of Southern African Birds. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. Close ).

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. Common in most of range. Its use of essentially unthreatened, often remote, habitats implies that species is probably secure in most areas, although, locally, afforestation with pines is a threat, e.g. in Mpumalanga Province (3 Allan, D. G., J. A. Harrison, R. A. Navarro, B. W. van Wilgen, and M. W. Thompson (1997). The impact of commercial afforestation on bird populations in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa: insights from bird atlas data. Biological Conservation 79(2–3):173–185. Close ) and in N Eastern Cape Province (4 Armstrong, A.J. and van Hensbergen, H.J. (1999). Identification of priority regions for animal conservation in afforestable montane grasslands of the northern Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Biological Conservation. 87(1): 93–103. Close ). Few historical data available. However, unpublished analysis suggests that reporting rate has declined by 51·7%, and range has contracted by 43·3% between consecutive Southern African Bird Atlas projects in 1987–1992 and 2007–2014 BirdLife International (2018) Species factsheet: Geocolaptes olivaceus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/01/2018. . For this reason it was assessed as Near Threatened in 2017. Occurs in several protected areas, e.g. Giant’s Castle and Suikerbosrand Reserves.