Colaptes | |
---|---|
Gilded flicker (Colaptes chrysoides) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Piciformes |
Family: | Picidae |
Tribe: | Picini |
Genus: | Colaptes Vigors, 1825 |
Type species | |
Cuculus auratus [1] Linnaeus, 1758 | |
Species | |
see text | |
Synonyms | |
Chrysoptilus |
Colaptes is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. The 14 species are found across the Americas.
Colaptes woodpeckers typically have a brown or green back and wings with black barring, and a beige to yellowish underside, with black spotting or barring. There are usually colorful markings on the head. Many of these birds – particularly the northerly species – are more terrestrial than usual among woodpeckers.
Historically, there has been considerable uncertainty in assigning woodpecker species to genera and it is only by comparing DNA sequences that it has become possible to confidently place many of the species.
The genus Colaptes was introduced by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1825 with the northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) as the type species. [2] The name is from the Ancient Greek κολάπτης (kolaptēs) meaning "chiseller". [3]
The genus forms part of the woodpecker subfamily Picinae and has a sister relationship to the genus Piculus . The genus Colaptes is a member of the tribe Picini and belongs to a clade that contains five genera: Colaptes, Piculus, Mulleripicus , Dryocopus and Celeus . [4] Some of the relationships between the species within Colaptes are uncertain, with various genetic studies reporting slightly different phylogenies, but it is evident that those species with "flicker" in their common name do not form a monophyletic group. [4] [5] [6]
The genus Colaptes contains 14 species. Of these, one species, the Bermuda flicker, is now extinct: [7]
Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
---|---|---|---|
Golden-olive woodpecker | Colaptes rubiginosus | east to Guyana, northwestern Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago | |
Bronze-winged woodpecker | Colaptes aeruginosus | northeastern Mexico from Tamaulipas to northern Veracruz | |
Grey-crowned woodpecker | Colaptes auricularis | Mexico | |
Crimson-mantled woodpecker | Colaptes rivolii | Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela | |
Black-necked woodpecker | Colaptes atricollis | Peru | |
Spot-breasted woodpecker | Colaptes punctigula | Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela; also in eastern Panama | |
Green-barred woodpecker | Colaptes melanochloros | Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay | |
Northern flicker | Colaptes auratus | North America, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and parts of Central America | |
Gilded flicker | Colaptes chrysoides | southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico | |
Fernandina's flicker | Colaptes fernandinae | Cuba | |
Chilean flicker | Colaptes pitius | Argentina and Chile | |
Andean flicker | Colaptes rupicola | Peru, Chile, eastern Bolivia and northeastern Argentina | |
Campo flicker | Colaptes campestris | Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and northeastern Argentina, Suriname | |
The online edition of the Handbook of the Birds of the World has split five of the species listed above to give a total of 20 species in the genus. None of the splits were based on results of molecular genetic studies. In addition, the common name of the northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) was changed to the "yellow-shafted flicker". [8] These splits have not been adopted by the online edition of the Clements Checklist of Birds of the World maintained by ornithologists at Cornell University, [9] nor by the American Ornithological Society. [10] [11]
Picinae containing the true woodpeckers is one of four subfamilies that make up the woodpecker family Picidae. True woodpeckers are found over much of the world, but do not occur in Madagascar or Australasia.
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known that live in treeless areas, such as rocky hillsides and deserts, and the Gila woodpecker specialises in exploiting cacti. Woodpeckers are known as the loudest birds of the forest.
The northern flicker or common flicker is a medium-sized bird of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker species that migrate. Over 100 common names for the northern flicker are known, including yellowhammer, clape, gaffer woodpecker, harry-wicket, heigh-ho, wake-up, walk-up, wick-up, yarrup, and gawker bird. Many of these names derive from attempts to imitate some of its calls. It is the state bird of Alabama.
Anthochaera is a genus of birds in the honeyeater family. The species are endemic to Australia and include the little wattlebird, the red wattlebird, the western wattlebird, and the yellow wattlebird. A molecular phylogenetic study has shown that the regent honeyeater also belongs in this genus.
Campephilus is a genus of large American woodpeckers in the family Picidae.
The golden-olive woodpecker is a species of bird in the subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Mexico south and east through Panama, in every mainland South American country except Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Dryocopus is a genus of large powerful woodpeckers, typically 35–45 cm in length. It has representatives in North and South America, Europe, and Asia; some South American species are endangered. It was believed to be closely related to the American genus Campephilus, but it is part of a different lineage of woodpeckers altogether
Picoides is a genus of woodpeckers that are native to Eurasia and North America, commonly known as three-toed woodpeckers.
The ground woodpecker is one of only three ground-dwelling woodpeckers in the world. It inhabits rather barren, steep, boulder-strewn slopes in relatively cool hilly and mountainous areas of South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini and has yet to be recorded outside of Southern Africa. It is found in a broad swath running from southwest to northeast, from the Cape Peninsula and Namaqualand to Mpumalanga. It is closely related to the woodpeckers of the genus Campethera, some of which also employ terrestrial foraging strategies.
The black-necked woodpecker or black-necked flicker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The green-barred woodpecker or green-barred flicker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The Chilean flicker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina and Chile.
The Andean flicker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru.
Dendropicos is a genus of woodpeckers in the family Picidae. They are small woodpeckers that are native to the sub-Saharan woodlands and forests.
Mulleripicus is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. They are found in South and Southeast Asia. The genus forms part of the woodpecker subfamily Picinae and has a sister relationship to the genus Dryocopus whose species are widely distributed in Eurasia and the Americas.
The grey-crowned woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to western Mexico.
Piculus is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae that are found in Central and South America.
The crimson-mantled woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Celeus is a genus of bird in the woodpecker family, Picidae, found in tropical and subtropical forests and woodlands of Central and South America. The genus contains 13 extant species. One, Kaempfer's woodpecker, was believed to be extinct until a specimen was caught in 2006.
The bronze-winged woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to northeastern Mexico.