Melanerpes


Melanerpes is a genus of woodpeckers of the family Picidae found in the Americas. The 23 members of the genus are mostly colourful birds, conspicuously barred in black and white, with some red and yellow.

Taxonomy

The genus Melanerpes was introduced by the English ornithologist William Swainson in 1832 to accommodate the red-headed woodpecker. The generic name combines the Ancient Greek melas meaning "black" with herpēs meaning "creeper". The genus forms part of the large tribe Melanerpini, which also includes the North American sapsuckers in the genus Sphyrapicus and the monotypic genus Xiphidiopicus containing only the Cuban green woodpecker.

Characteristics

Members of Melanerpes are small to medium-sized woodpeckers found exclusively in the New World. Some are West Indian endemics, and include species from Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Guadeloupe; one subspecies, the Grand Bahama West Indian woodpecker became extinct in the 1950s. The majority of the species are from Central and South America. Most species are boldly marked in black and white, with some areas of red and yellow. The beaks are long and pointed, and sometimes curved. The sexes differ in many species, both in colour and in size.
Some species such as the acorn woodpecker and the yellow-tufted woodpecker are sociable, foraging in groups, communicating vocally and nesting communally. These have complex breeding systems including some non-breeding adult helpers assisting in rearing the young. Like other woodpeckers, insects form a large part of the diet, being caught on the wing in some species, but fruit is also eaten in large quantities and some species consume sap. They all nest in holes that they excavate in trees, and the red-crowned woodpecker and the Hoffmann's woodpecker are unusual in that they sometimes enter their holes backwards.

Species

The genus includes 23 species:
ImageCommon nameScientific nameDistribution
White woodpeckerMelanerpes candidusSuriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina.
Lewis's woodpeckerMelanerpes lewiswestern and central United States
Guadeloupe woodpeckerMelanerpes herminieriGuadeloupe archipelago
Puerto Rican woodpeckerMelanerpes portoricensisPuerto Rico
Red-headed woodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalussouthern Canada and the east-central United States.
Acorn woodpeckerMelanerpes formicivorusOregon, California, and the southwestern United States, south through Central America to Colombia.
Yellow-tufted woodpeckerMelanerpes cruentatusBolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Yellow-fronted woodpeckerMelanerpes flavifronsBrazil, Paraguay and far northeastern Argentina.
Golden-naped woodpeckerMelanerpes chrysauchenCosta Rica and western Panama
Beautiful woodpeckerMelanerpes pulcherColombia.
Black-cheeked woodpeckerMelanerpes pucheranisoutheastern Mexico south to western Ecuador.
White-fronted woodpeckerMelanerpes cactorumBolivia, Paraguay and Argentina.
Hispaniolan woodpeckerMelanerpes striatusHispaniola
Jamaican woodpeckerMelanerpes radiolatusJamaica.
Golden-cheeked woodpeckerMelanerpes chrysogenysMexico
Grey-breasted woodpeckerMelanerpes hypopoliussouthwestern Mexico.
Yucatan woodpeckerMelanerpes pygmaeusBelize and Mexico
Red-crowned woodpeckerMelanerpes rubricapillusCosta Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas and Tobago.
Gila woodpeckerMelanerpes uropygialissouthwestern United States and western Mexico.
Hoffmann's woodpeckerMelanerpes hoffmanniisouthern Honduras south to Costa Rica
Golden-fronted woodpeckerMelanerpes aurifronsTexas and Oklahoma in the United States through Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and northern Nicaragua.
Red-bellied woodpeckerMelanerpes carolinuseastern United States
West Indian woodpeckerMelanerpes superciliarisBahamas, the Cayman Islands and Cuba.