NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
African Grey Woodpecker
Dendropicos goertae (P. L. S. Müller, 1776)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Grey Woodpecker ...Gambia
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Open encyclopedia reference
The African grey woodpecker (Dendropicos goertae) is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. Is a widespread and frequently common resident breeder in much of Sub-Saharan and equatorial Africa. It is a species associated with forest and bush which nests in a tree hole, often in an oil palm, laying two to four eggs. It is a common bird with a very wide range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Wikipedia contributors, African grey woodpecker; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:14:07.239582+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Dendropicos goertae (P. L. S. Müller, 1776)
- Name authority
- (P. L. S. Müller, 1776)
- Common name
- African Grey Woodpecker
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Dendropicos
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPiciformes
- familyPicidae
- subfamilyPicinae
- genusDendropicos Malherbe, 1849
- speciesDendropicos goertae (P. L. S. Müller, 1776)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Dendropicos. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Elliot's WoodpeckerDendropicos elliotii (Cassin, 1863) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brown-backed WoodpeckerDendropicos obsoletus (Wagler, 1829) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Speckle-breasted WoodpeckerDendropicos poecilolaemus Reichenow, 1893 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Stierling's WoodpeckerDendropicos stierlingi Reichenow, 1901 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eastern Grey WoodpeckerDendropicos spodocephalus (Bonaparte, 1850) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Abyssinian WoodpeckerDendropicos abyssinicus (Stanley, 1814) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Little Grey WoodpeckerDendropicos elachus Oberholser, 1919 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cardinal WoodpeckerDendropicos fuscescens (Vieillot, 1818) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gabon WoodpeckerDendropicos gabonensis (J. Verreaux & E. Verreaux, 1851) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Olive WoodpeckerDendropicos griseocephalus (Boddaert, 1783) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=554020 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:34S28. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.