''Melanerpes'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...

s of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Picidae found in the New World. The 24 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 John Swainson in 1832 to accommodate the

red-headed woodpecker The red-headed woodpecker (''Melanerpes erythrocephalus'') is a mid-sized woodpecker found in temperate North America. Its breeding habitat is open country across southern Canada and the east-central United States. It is rated as least concern ...

(''Melanerpes erythrocephalus''). The generic name combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

''melas'' meaning "black" with ''herpēs'' meaning "creeper". The genus forms part of the large

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

''Melanerpini'', which also includes the North American sapsuckers in the genus ''

Sphyrapicus The sapsuckers are species of North American woodpeckers in the genus ''Sphyrapicus''. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Sphyrapicus'' was introduced in 1858 by the American naturalist Spencer Baird with the yellow-bellied sapsucker (''Sphyr ...

'' and the monotypic genus ''Xiphidiopicus'' containing only the Cuban green woodpecker (''Xiphidiopicus percussus'').

Characteristics

Members of ''Melanerpes'' are small to medium-sized woodpeckers found exclusively in the New World. Some are West Indian

endemics Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

, and include species from Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Guadeloupe; one subspecies, the Grand Bahama West Indian woodpecker (''M. superciliaris bahamensis'') 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 The acorn woodpecker (''Melanerpes formicivorus'') is a medium-sized woodpecker, long, with an average weight of . Taxonomy The acorn woodpecker was formally described in 1827 by the English naturalist William John Swainson under the binomi ...

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 Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...

. They all nest in holes that they excavate in trees, and the red-crowned woodpecker and the

Hoffmann's woodpecker Hoffmann's woodpecker (''Melanerpes hoffmannii'') is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Honduras south to Costa Rica. Taxonomy and systematics Hoffmann's woodpecker was originally descr ...

are unusual in that they sometimes enter their holes backwards.

Species

The genus includes 25 species: *'' Melanerpes shawi'' (extinct: Late Pleistocene)

References

External links

''Melanerpes''
{{taxonbar, from=Q131901 Dendropicini Bird genera * Taxa named by William John Swainson