Woodpeckers of the World: Woodpecker Flight

Thursday 30 August 2012

Woodpecker Flight

The line 'typical woodpecker flight' is often used in the literature. It is used to describe a bounding, undulating flight style. However, many woodpeckers do not fly in this way. The larger species in particular do not bound but rather move in a fairly straight, steady line, flapping in a manner not unlike that of a crow. Black Woodpecker in flight taken by Colin Brown, Hungary, August 2012.

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Background

Woodpeckers, the Picidae, are Piciformes, an order that includes some of the oldest avian lineages. The Piciformes probably originated about 60 million years ago in the Tertiary period and became distinct from their closest relatives some 50 million years ago. Depending upon which taxonomy is followed, and the fact that the status of some species is unclear, around 240-260 woodpecker species probably exist globally. The Picidae includes three subfamilies: Jynginae (wrynecks), Picumninae (piculets) and the Picinae, the “true woodpeckers”. In terms of size, behaviour, distribution and the habitats they use, the Picinae are a fairly diverse group of birds with six distinct tribes. They are widespread and found from sea-level to high-altitudes but absent from the Arctic, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar and some other islands. Worldwide woodpeckers are usually, but not exclusively, associated with trees.