Golden-tailed Woodpecker (Campethera abingoni) [XC545718]
by id from Hoedspruit, South Africa (call)
Golden-tailed Woodpecker (Campethera abingoni) [XC601195]
by Tony Archer from City of Matlosana, Southern DC, North West, South Africa (call, drumming)
Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Mombasa Woodpecker (Campethera mombassica) and Knysna Woodpecker (Campethera notata). Often treated as conspecific with Mombasa Woodpecker (Campethera mombassica), but differs in plumage and vocalizations. Apparent hybrids between Mombasa Woodpecker (Campethera mombassica) and subspecies suahelica of present species recorded from east-central Tanzania and from just south of Mt Kilimanjaro. Further study is needed.
Proposed subspecies tessmanni (Central African Republic) not distinguishable from chrysura; nor annectens (lower Congo and central Angola to Rwanda and Malawi) from nominate. In past, type locality of species erroneously listed as Durban, Natal; with rectification, hitherto accepted name smithii becomes junior synonym of nominate.
The following 6 subspecies are recognised:
chrysura (Swainson, 1837) - Senegambia and northern Guinea, and recently recorded in north-eastern Ivory Coast. Also Central African Republic, southern Sudan, north-eastern Zaire and western Uganda.
abingoni (Smith, 1836) - Lower R Congo and western Zaire east to western Tanzania, and south to north-eastern Namibia, north-western Zambia, Zimbabwe and northern Transvaal.
kavirondensis van Someren, 1926 - Eastern Rwanda, north-western and north-central Tanzania and south-western Kenya.
suahelica (Reichenow, 1902) - Northern Tanzania (Arusha, Moshi, northern Pare Mts) to eastern Zimbabwe, Mozambique and northern Swaziland.
anderssoni (Roberts, 1936) - South-western Angola, Namibia (except north-east) and south-western Botswana to northern Cape Province and south-western Transvaal.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet