---
title: "Pic cardinal"
description: "Dendropicos fuscescens — Oiseaux. The cardinal woodpecker (Dendropicos fuscescens) is a widespread and common resident breeder in much of sub-Saharan Africa."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/fr/animal/cardinal-woodpecker
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Pic cardinal

> Dendropicos fuscescens — Oiseaux. The cardinal woodpecker (Dendropicos fuscescens) is a widespread and common resident breeder in much of sub-Saharan Africa.

- Scientific name: *Dendropicos fuscescens*
- Category: `birds` (Oiseaux)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forêt), `savanna` (Savane)
- iNaturalist observations: 2913
- iNaturalist taxon: [1506260](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1506260)

## Names

- en: Cardinal Woodpecker
- de: Kardinalspecht
- es: Carpintero Cardenal
- fr: Pic cardinal

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (1679), TZ (153), KE (147), NA (122), MW (116), ZW (83), ZM (70), BW (53), UG (42), MZ (30), ET (25), AO (19)

## Summary

The cardinal woodpecker (Dendropicos fuscescens) is a widespread and common resident breeder in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It occurs in a wide range of habitats, ranging from dense forest to thorn bush. It is fairly vocal and is easily identified by its call notes. The sexes are distinguishable by their head patterns. They feed primarily on tree-boring insects; using their adhering tongues they extract the insects from holes in wood or bark.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_woodpecker

## Photo

![Pic cardinal](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/cardinal-woodpecker/medium.jpg)

Photo: Diego Carús · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/17854710

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/cardinal-woodpecker?lang=fr` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).