Lake Shalla, Ethiopia
January 2016

The Bearded Woodpecker is distributed mainly in the east of Africa but extending westwards to Angola and Namibia. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. It is found in a variety of bush and woodland habitats and favours mature acacia trees.

The black and white face pattern is distinctive and underparts are thin bars of olive-brown and buff. The male in photo 1 has a black forecrown with white specks and a red hindcrown. The female in photo 2 has the entire crown black with white specks.