Woodpeckers of the World

Monday, 31 December 2018

Friday, 21 December 2018

Season's Greetings!

Here's hoping for many woodpeckers - wrynecks, piculets, flickers, flamebacks, yellownapes, all - in 2019!

Friday, 7 December 2018

Golden-olive Woodpecker

Golden-olive Woodpecker Colaptes rubiginosus. Photo by Gerard Gorman taken in Peru, October 2018. This is a male - note the bold red malar patch and all-red crown.

Thursday, 15 November 2018

Female Nubian Woodpecker

Female Nubian Woodpecker Campethera nubica. Photo by Sally Cooper, taken in Tanzania, in April, 2018.

Wednesday, 7 November 2018

Andean Flicker

Andean Flicker (Colaptes rupicola) on the roof of a house in a settlement in the Andes, Peru. October 2018.

Friday, 12 October 2018

Syrian Woodpecker - an urban picid

Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus. Szabadszallas, Kiskunsag, Hungary, October 2018. This species is often found in urban habitats. Photo: Gerard Gorman.

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.