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Category:Colaptes - BirdForum Opus

Genus: Colaptes

Description

Flickers and other new world Woodpeckers (often called "Forest Flickers").

Taxonomy

Colaptes is a genus in the Family Picidae. Most of these species have in the past been part of other genera; for example, three species were recently transferred here from the genus Piculus: Gray-crowned Woodpecker, Golden-olive Woodpecker, and Crimson-mantled Woodpecker. There are, however, also results that indicate that the North American species in this group are more distantly related to the rest than the South American species are to members of the genus Piculus.

A recent study[3] argues that the Fernandina's Flicker is the oldest species in this group, with the other North American species close behind. Flickers spread to South America about at the same time as the Panama land bridge appeared, and then diversified after arrival in this new area.


Genus Colaptes viewedit
C. rubiginosus Golden-olive Woodpecker
C. auricularis Gray-crowned Woodpecker
C. rivolii Crimson-mantled Woodpecker
C. atricollis Black-necked Woodpecker
C. punctigula Spot-breasted Woodpecker
C. melanochloros Green-barred Woodpecker
C. auratus Northern Flicker
C. chrysoides Gilded Flicker
C. fernandinae Fernandina's Flicker
C. pitius Chilean Flicker
C. rupicola Andean Flicker
C. campestris Campo Flicker

References

  1. SACC proposal to transfer species from genus Piculus to genus Colaptes
  2. SACC baseline read August 2010
  3. Birdforum thread with link to the study.
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