Green Wood Hoopoe

Phoeniculus purpureus

Silhouette: Jon Hill (Photo by DickDaniels: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Green_Woodhoopoe_RWD7.jpg) · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderBucerotiformes (Hornbills and Hoopoes)
FamilyPhoeniculidae (Woodhoopoes and Scimitarbills)
GenusPhoeniculus (Woodhoopoes)
SpeciesPhoeniculus purpureus (Green Wood Hoopoe)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

5 Verified sightings at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park From 2019 to 2026

9,037 Verified sightings across all 48 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Green Wood Hoopoe

The green wood hoopoe (Phoeniculus purpureus) is a large, up to 44 cm (17 in) long tropical bird native to Africa. It is a member of the family Phoeniculidae, the wood hoopoes, and was formerly known as the red-billed wood hoopoe.

In 1784 the English illustrator John Frederick Miller included a hand-coloured plate of the green wood hoopoe in his Icones animalium et plantarum. He coined the binomial name Promerops purpureus and mistakenly specified the type locality as eastern India. The green wood hoopoe is now one of five species placed in the genus Phoeniculus that was introduced in 1821 by the Polish zoologist Feliks Paweł Jarocki.

Six subspecies are recognised: P. p. senegalensis (Vieillot, 1822) – south Senegal to south Ghana P. p. guineensis (Reichenow, 1902) – north Senegal and Gambia to Chad and Central African Republic P. p. niloticus (Neumann, 1903) – Sudan to west Ethiopia and northeast DR Congo

P. p. marwitzi (Reichenow, 1906) – east Uganda and Kenya to east South Africa P. p. angolensis (Reichenow, 1902) – Angola and west Zambia to northeast Namibia and north Botswana P. p. purpureus (Miller, JF, 1784) – central, southwest South Africa

The green wood hoopoe... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Phoeniculus bollei

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Phoeniculus castaneiceps

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Rhinopomastus cyanomelas

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Rhinopomastus aterrimus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Bycanistes subcylindricus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Lophoceros alboterminatus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Ceratogymna atrata

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Bycanistes albotibialis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Lophoceros nasutus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Lophoceros fasciatus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Bycanistes fistulator

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Lophoceros camurus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

See all 12 relatives Show fewer

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Gonarezhou National Park	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	~60%
2	Niokolo-Koba National Park	🇸🇳 Senegal	~50%
3	Mana Pools National Park	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	~40%
4	Liwonde National Park	🇲🇼 Malawi	~40%
5	Lake Nakuru National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	~40%
6	Lower Zambezi National Park	🇿🇲 Zambia	~40%
7	Kruger National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	~40%
8	Moremi Game Reserve	🇧🇼 Botswana	~30%
9	Kidepo Valley National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	~30%
10	Kafue National Park	🇿🇲 Zambia	~30%
11	Gorongosa National Park	🇲🇿 Mozambique	~30%
12	Hwange National Park	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	~30%
13	Mikumi National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	~30%
14	South Luangwa National Park	🇿🇲 Zambia	~30%
15	Lake Mburo National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	~20%
16	Akagera National Park	🇷🇼 Rwanda	~20%
17	Tarangire National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	~20%
18	Selous Game Reserve	🇹🇿 Tanzania	~20%
19	Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	~20%
20	Garden Route National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	~10%
21	Pilanesberg National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	~10%
22	Chobe National Park	🇧🇼 Botswana	~10%
23	Addo Elephant National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	~10%
24	Ruaha National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	~10%
25	Meru National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	~10%
26	Lake Manyara National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	~10%
27	Murchison Falls National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	~10%
28	Samburu National Reserve	🇰🇪 Kenya	~10%
29	Tsavo East National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	~10%
30	Tsavo West National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	~10%
31	Serengeti National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	~10%
32	Waterberg Plateau Park	🇳🇦 Namibia	<5%
33	Ngorongoro Conservation Area	🇹🇿 Tanzania	<5%
34	Masai Mara National Reserve	🇰🇪 Kenya	<5%
35	Queen Elizabeth National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	<5%
36	Mkomazi National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	<5%
37	iSimangaliso Wetland Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	<5%
38	Amboseli National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	<5%
39	Aberdare National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	<5%
40	Arusha National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	<5%
41	Virunga National Park	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	<5%
42	Etosha National Park	🇳🇦 Namibia	<5%
43	Golden Gate Highlands National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	Insufficient data
44	Nairobi National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	Insufficient data
45	Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	Insufficient data
46	Nyungwe National Park	🇷🇼 Rwanda	Insufficient data
47	Bwindi Impenetrable National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	Insufficient data
48	Kibale National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	Insufficient data

← Back to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Green Wood Hoopoe

About the Green Wood Hoopoe

Recent sightings of Green Wood Hoopoe in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Closest Relatives at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

White-headed Wood Hoopoe

Forest Woodhoopoe

Common Scimitarbill

Black Scimitarbill

Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill

Crowned Hornbill

Black-casqued Hornbill

White-thighed Hornbill

African Grey Hornbill

African Pied Hornbill

Piping Hornbill

Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found