Woodpecker

Categories: Piciformes | Woodpeckers

Woodpeckers
Image:Harry woodpecker on house 20050108.jpg
Hairy Woodpecker
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Piciformes
Family:Picidae
Vigors, 1825
Genera

Jynx
Picumnus
Sasia
Nesoctites
Melanerpes
Sphyrapicus
Xiphidiopicus
Campethera
Geocolaptes
Dendropicos
Dendrocopos
Picoides
Veniliornis
Piculus
Colaptes
Celeus
Dryocopus
Campephilus
Picus
Dinopium
Chrysocolaptes
Gecinulus
Sapheopipo
Blythipicus
Reinwardtipicus
Meiglyptes
Hemicircus
Mulleripicus

For other uses, see Woodpecker (disambiguation).

Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They have a world-wide distribution with many species, usually numbered at 218 (including the Ivory-billed).

Some woodpeckers and wrynecks in the order Piciformes have zygodactyl or “yoked" feet, with two toes pointing forward, and two backward. These feet, though adapted for clinging to a vertical surface, can be used for grasping or perching. Several species have only three toes. The long tongue found in some woodpeckers can be darted forward to capture insects.

Woodpeckers gained their English name because of the habit of some species of tapping and pecking noisily on tree trunks with their beaks. This is both a means of communication to signal possession of territory to their rivals, and a method of echo-locating grubs under the bark of the tree.

This group is related to other Piciformes as below:

Order Piciformes

  • Family Picidae, (woodpeckers, piculets, and wrynecks)
  • Family Capitonidae, (barbets)
  • Family Ramphastidae, (toucans)
  • Family Indicatoridae, (honeyguides)
  • Galbulidae, (jacamars)
  • Family Bucconidae, (puffbirds etc)

The last two families are sometimes separated as the order Galbuliformes.

Some distinctive groups of woodpeckers, including the sapsuckers (genus Sphyrapicus) and the small wrynecks (genus Jynx) and piculets (genera Picumnus, Sasia and Nesoctites) have their own group articles.

In February 2005 the Canadian scientist Dr Louis Lefebvre announced a method of measuring avian IQ in terms of their innovation in feeding habits. Woodpeckers were named among the most intelligent birds based on this scale.

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Trivia

Woodpeckers inspired Walter Lantz to create the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker.

The term "Peckerwood", an inversion of "Woodpecker", is used as a pejorative term. This word was coined in the 19th century by southern blacks to describe poor whites. They considered them loud and troublesome like the bird, and often with red hair like the woodpecker's head plumes. This word is still widely used by southern blacks to refer to southern whites.

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Species list

Image:Green Woodpecker - Project Gutenberg eBook 12490.jpg
Green Woodpecker searching for insects, depicted in Scientific American Supplement, No. 492, June 6, 1885

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