| Dendropicos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cardinal woodpecker (Dendropicos fuscescens) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Piciformes |
| Family: | Picidae |
| Tribe: | Melanerpini |
| Genus: | Dendropicos Malherbe, 1849 |
| Type species | |
| Dendropicos lafresnayi (cardinal woodpecker) Malherbe, 1849 | |
| Species | |
see text | |
Dendropicos is a genus of woodpeckers in the family Picidae. They are small woodpeckers that are native to the sub-Saharan woodlands and forests. [1]
The genus Dendropicos was introduced by the French ornithologist, Alfred Malherbe in 1849. [2] The type species was subsequently designated as one of the subspecies of the cardinal woodpecker. [3] [4] The word Dendropicos comes from the Greek dendron meaning tree and pikos for woodpecker. [5] Molecular genetic studies have shown that the genus Dendropicos is sister to the genus Chloropicus . [6]
The genus Dendropicos formerly contained several additional species. A 2015 molecular phylogenetic study that analysed nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences from pied woodpeckers found that Dendropicos was polyphyletic. In the rearranged genera the bearded, fire-bellied and yellow breasted woodpeckers were moved to Chloropicus while the Arabian woodpecker was moved to Dendrocoptes . [7] [8] The taxonomic committee of the British Ornithologists' Union have recommended an alternative arrangement of species in which the genera Dendrocoptes and Leiopicus are combined into a larger Dendropicos. [9]
Elliot's, African grey, eastern grey and olive woodpeckers are sometimes placed in a separate genus, Mesopicos. [1]
The genus contains the following 12 species: [8]
| Image | Common Name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Little grey woodpecker | Dendropicos elachus | Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan |
 | Speckle-breasted woodpecker | Dendropicos poecilolaemus | Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda. |
 | Abyssinian woodpecker | Dendropicos abyssinicus | Eritrea and Ethiopia |
 | Cardinal woodpecker | Dendropicos fuscescens | Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe |
 | Gabon woodpecker | Dendropicos gabonensis | Southern Nigeria to south-western Cameroon |
 | Melancholy woodpecker | Dendropicos lugubris | Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo |
 | Stierling's woodpecker | Dendropicos stierlingi | southern Tanzania, southwestern Malawi and northern Mozambique |
| Elliot's woodpecker | Dendropicos elliotii | Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda | |
 | African grey woodpecker | Dendropicos goertae | Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda |
 | Eastern grey woodpecker | Dendropicos spodocephalus | Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan and Tanzania |
 | Olive woodpecker | Dendropicos griseocephalus | Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe |
 | Brown-backed woodpecker | Dendropicos obsoletus | Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda |
Only males have red plumage in the crown, and some species have red plumage on the rump or belly in either sex. [1]
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.
The hairy woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker that is found over a large area of North America. It is approximately 250 mm (9.8 in) in length with a 380 mm (15 in) wingspan. With an estimated population in 2020 of almost nine million individuals, the hairy woodpecker is listed by the IUCN as a species of least concern. Some nomenclature authorities, such as the eBird/Clements checklist, place this species in the genus Dryobates.
The middle spotted woodpecker is a European woodpecker belonging to the genus Dendrocoptes.
Campephilus is a genus of large American woodpeckers in the family Picidae.
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.
Colaptes is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. The 14 species are found across the Americas.
The yellow-crowned woodpecker or Mahratta woodpecker is a species of small pied woodpecker found in the Indian subcontinent. It is the only species placed in the genus Leiopicus.
Dendrocopos is a widespread genus of woodpeckers from Asia, Europe and Northern Africa. The species range from the Philippines to the British Isles.
The cardinal woodpecker is a widespread and common resident breeder in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It occurs in a wide range of habitats, ranging from dense forest to thorn bush. It is fairly vocal and is easily identified by its call notes. The sexes are distinguishable by their head patterns.
Blythipicus is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae that are found in Southeast Asia.
Campethera is a genus of bird in the family Picidae, or woodpeckers, that are native to sub-Saharan Africa. Most species are native to woodland and savanna rather than deep forest, and multiple species exhibit either arboreal or terrestrial foraging strategies. Its nearest relative is the monotypic genus Geocolaptes of southern Africa, which employs terrestrial foraging and breeding strategies. They are however not close relatives of similar-looking woodpeckers in the "Dendropicos clade".
The brown-backed woodpecker is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in a belt across the savannah region of sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania in the east. It is generally uncommon, but has a very large range and the population appears to be steady, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Elliot's woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It has an extremely wide range and is described as an uncommon species. However, no particular threats to this species have been established, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The olive woodpecker is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae.
Piculus is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae that are found in Central and South America.
Leuconotopicus is a genus of woodpeckers in the family Picidae native to North and South America.
Yungipicus is a genus of woodpeckers in the family Picidae native to Asia. The species in this genus were previously placed in the genus Dendrocopos.
Dendrocoptes is a genus of woodpeckers in the native to Eurasia.
Chloropicus is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae that are native to Sub-Saharan Africa.
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