Green Wood Hoopoe
Green Wood HoopoeGreen Wood HoopoeGreen Wood HoopoeGreen Wood Hoopoe

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
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Lake Nakuru National Park
413 Verified sightings at Lake Nakuru National Park From 2019 to 2026
9,037 Verified sightings across all 48 parks From 2019 to 2026
March Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ 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 Lake Nakuru National Park

White-headed Wood Hoopoe
LC

White-headed Wood Hoopoe

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Phoeniculus bollei

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Common Scimitarbill
LC

Common Scimitarbill

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Rhinopomastus cyanomelas

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Abyssinian Scimitarbill
LC

Abyssinian Scimitarbill

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Rhinopomastus minor

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Common Hoopoe
LC

Common Hoopoe

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Upupa epops

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
African Hoopoe

African Hoopoe

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Upupa africana

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
African Grey Hornbill
LC

African Grey Hornbill

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Lophoceros nasutus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Southern Ground-Hornbill
VU

Southern Ground-Hornbill

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Bucorvus leadbeateri

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Crowned Hornbill
LC

Crowned Hornbill

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Lophoceros alboterminatus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Hemprich's Hornbill
LC

Hemprich's Hornbill

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Lophoceros hemprichii

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Northern Red-billed Hornbill
LC

Northern Red-billed Hornbill

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Tockus erythrorhynchus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Von der Decken's Hornbill
LC

Von der Decken's Hornbill

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Tockus deckeni

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

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

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Green Wood Hoopoe in Lake Nakuru National Park?

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Green Wood Hoopoe sighting in Lake Nakuru National Park, based on 413 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Green Wood Hoopoe in Lake Nakuru National Park?

March has the highest sighting rate for Green Wood Hoopoe in Lake Nakuru National Park in our monthly data.

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