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.
Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives. The Piciformes contain about 71 living genera with a little over 450 species, of which the Picidae make up about half.
The red-throated wryneck, also known as the rufous-necked wryneck or red-breasted wryneck, is a species of wryneck in the woodpecker family closely related to the Eurasian wryneck. Its three subspecies are resident in much of sub-Saharan Africa in open habitats with some trees. It is a slim, elongated bird about 19 cm (7.5 in) in length, with a small head, fine bill, long fan-shaped tail and cryptic plumage intricately patterned in greys and browns. The sexes look similar, although males are slightly larger. The diet of the adults and young is almost entirely ants at all stages of their life cycles. The call of the red-throated wryneck is a series of repeated harsh, shrill notes. When threatened, a bird will twist its neck and head in a snake-like manner while making a hissing sound, presumably to deter predators.
The toco toucan, also known as the common toucan or giant toucan, is the largest and probably the best known species in the toucan family. It is found in semi-open habitats throughout a large part of central and eastern South America. It is a common attraction in zoos.
The toucan barbet is a barbet native to western Ecuador and Colombia. Along with the prong-billed barbet, it forms the family Semnornithidae, and is closely related to the toucans. It is a medium-sized barbet with a robust yellow bill. It has striking plumage, having a black head with grey throat and nape, red breast and upper belly, yellow lower belly and grey wings and tail.
The prong-billed barbet is a distinctive, relatively large-billed bird native to humid highland forest of Costa Rica and western Panama.
Lybiidae is a family of birds also known as the African barbets. There are 43 species ranging from the type genus Lybius of forest interior to the tinkerbirds (Pogoniulus) of forest and scrubland. They are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the far south-west of South Africa.
The red-breasted toucan or green-billed toucan is a bird in the family Ramphastidae, the toucans, toucanets, and aracaris. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.
The green araçari, is a toucan, a near-passerine bird. It is found in the lowland forests of northeastern South America, in the northeast Amazon Basin, the Guianas and the eastern Orinoco River drainage of Venezuela. At 30–40 cm. (12–16 in) long and weighing 110–160 grams, it is the smallest aracari in its range, and among the smallest members of the toucan family.
Lybius is a genus of African barbets from the family Lybiidae. This genus ranges across sub-Saharan Africa.
The yellow-browed toucanet is an Endangered species of near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is endemic to Peru.
The double-toothed barbet is a species of bird in the family Lybiidae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda. Within Lybius bidentatus, there are two subspecies: Lybius bidentatus bidentatus and Lybius bidentatus aequatorialis.
The yellow-footed honeyguide is a species of bird in the family Indicatoridae. It is found in Cameroon, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by loss of its forest habitat.
The miombo pied barbet is a species of bird in the family Lybiidae. It is found in south-central Africa.
The hairy-breasted barbet is a species of bird in the family Lybiidae. It is found throughout the Africa tropical rainforest.
The toucan-barbets are the small bird genus Semnornis. This was often included in the paraphyletic barbets but recently usually considered a distinct family Semnornithidae; alternatively, all barbets might be moved to the toucan family Ramphastidae as a subfamily, Semnornithinae. It contains only two species, the toucan barbet and the prong-billed barbet.
Lester Leroy Short is an American ornithologist. His main research field is the order Piciformes.
Toucans are Neotropical members of the near passerine bird family Ramphastidae. The Ramphastidae are most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five genera and over 40 different species.
Jennifer Felicity Mary Horne also known as Jenny Horne or after her marriage as Jennifer Horne-Short, was a Kenyan ornithologist and bioacoustician.
Ramphastides is an infraorder of the order Piciformes that includes toucans and barbets. Formerly, the barbets have been classified in a single family, the Capitonidae. However, this has turned out to be paraphyletic with regard to toucans, which resulted in the Capitonidae being split into several families.
