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.
The wrynecks are a small but distinctive group of small Old World woodpeckers. Jynx is from the Ancient Greek iunx, the Eurasian wryneck.
The Eurasian wryneck or northern wryneck is a species of wryneck in the woodpecker family. They mainly breed in temperate regions of Europe and Asia. Most populations are migratory, wintering in tropical Africa and in southern Asia from Iran to the Indian subcontinent, but some are resident in northwestern Africa. It is a bird of open countryside, woodland and orchards.
The flamebacks or goldenbacks are large woodpeckers which are resident breeders in tropical southern Asia. They derive their English names from their golden or crimson backs.
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
The rufous woodpecker is a medium-sized brown woodpecker native to South and Southeast Asia. It is short-billed, foraging in pairs on small insects, particularly ants and termites, in scrub, evergreen, and deciduous forests and is noted for building its nest within the carton nests of arboreal ants in the genus Crematogaster. It was for sometime placed in the otherwise Neotropical genus Celeus but this has been shown to be a case of evolutionary convergence and molecular phylogenetic studies support its placement in the monotypic genus Micropternus.
The Antillean piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola that is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
The white-wedged piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.
The plain-breasted piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in the Brazil, Colombia, and Peru.
The ocellated piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru and possibly Argentina.
The rusty-necked piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found along the Brazilian-Bolivian border.
The olivaceous piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Guatemala south through Central America and western South America to Peru.
The spotted piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Brazil.
The rufous-breasted piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The white-bellied piculet is a Vulnerable species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela.
The speckle-chested piculet is an Endangered species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Peru.
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.
Picumnus is a large genus of piculets. With a total length of 8–10 cm (3–4 in), they are among the smallest birds in the woodpecker family. All species are found in the Neotropics except the speckled piculet that has a wide distribution in China, India and Southeast Asia.
