The ground woodpecker is a bird from the woodpecker family that lives in South Africa. Unlike most woodpeckers, it spends a lot of time on the ground, where it searches for food.
The ground woodpecker differs from other woodpeckers in that it hardly climbs trees and forages on the ground. It helps control insect populations in African steppes and serves as an example of special adaptation to life in open landscapes.
meadows, prairies, forb glades on land
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
Worker
birth time
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
probing
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Legs count
live ants of all castes and sizes
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
beak
adult
Maturity
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
searching on the earth's surface and probing the soil with the beak
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
rains are very rare, almost a desert
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
Filters
summer very hot, dry, lots of grass
Warm winter with almost no precipitation
Upcoming birthdays
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
Age (juvenile)
insect larvae and caterpillars
Age (from birth to death)
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
Food items are collected from exposed outer surfaces of substrates.
Age (larva)
world of Australasia
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
dry, cold winter, lots of grass, few trees
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
young after fast growth
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
Pets
Hot steppe
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
Legs size
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
turns
Rascals
terrestrial grassland and steppe
terrestrial herbaceous
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Tropical savanna
ants
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
Low precipitation in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
winter dry and warm
Taxons
if born as {name}
Forages within or on the surface of soil or substrate.
Wings count
age
birth date
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
surface
primary food sources
burrow
Beak size
Potential Habitat
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
islands and part of Australia, many unusual animals and plants
{name} birthday
soil
No results found
On the map
Pleasant summer
all life stages
Female ♀
Cold and almost dry
insectivore
Down feathers color
world of Afrotropics
termites
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Beak count
birth year
Maturity
steppe
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
Beak color
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
Inserts beak, snout, or tongue into substrate to locate buried or hidden food.
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
Legs color
What if eaten?
spiders
Very dry
Neither
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
What do they eat?
dry and cold almost all year round
insect larvae
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
from birth to death
early young
Plumage color
world of Afrotropics
Duration
This is me
from 11 to 16 grams, 1.5 – 12 centimeters
Steppe
Gamers
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
live spiders — arachnids of all sizes
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
live termites
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
celebrated their {n} birthday
open grassy spaces — steppes, savannas, prairies
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Cold steppe
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
Strawberry
embryo
Hard, projecting mouthpart used to probe, pluck, or crack food.
Length
kg
Observations
◉{N} more on tap