Green wood hoopoe

Phoeniculus purpureus

The Green wood hoopoe (Phoeniculus purpureus) is a bird found in South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe. Woods and savanna across sub-Saharan Africa. It eats insects and other small invertebrates and reptiles and frogs. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Phoeniculus purpureus
Region	Africa
Found in	South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe

🏡 Where the Green wood hoopoe lives

Woods and savanna across sub-Saharan Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs90%
🦎 Reptiles & frogs10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 Families call together with cackling sounds as they hop through trees.

Hear the Green wood hoopoe

Recorded by JJSUN (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1178953. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Green wood hoopoe

Where does the Green wood hoopoe live?

The Green wood hoopoe lives in South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe. Woods and savanna across sub-Saharan Africa.

What does the Green wood hoopoe eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 90%), reptiles and frogs (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Green wood hoopoe endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Africa

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.