Colaptes
Genus of birds
title: "Colaptes" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["colaptes", "bird-genera", "taxa-named-by-nicholas-aylward-vigors"] description: "Genus of birds" topic_path: "general/colaptes" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colaptes" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Genus of birds ::
| image = Gilded Flicker (Colaptes chrysoides) on top of cactus.jpg | image_caption = Gilded flicker (Colaptes chrysoides) | taxon = Colaptes | authority = Vigors, 1825 | type_species = Cuculus auratus | type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = see text | synonyms = Chrysoptilus
Nesoceleus
Colaptes is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. The 14 extant species are found across the Americas.
Colaptes woodpeckers typically have a brown or green back and wings with black barring, and a beige to yellowish underside, with black spotting or barring. There are usually colorful markings on the head. Many of these birds – particularly the northern species – are more terrestrial than usual among woodpeckers.
Historically, there has been considerable uncertainty in assigning woodpecker species to genera and it is only by comparing DNA sequences that it has become possible to confidently place many of the species.
Taxonomy
The genus Colaptes was introduced by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1825 with the northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) as the type species. The genus name is from Ancient Greek κολάπτης (), meaning .
The genus forms part of the woodpecker subfamily Picinae and has a sister relationship to the genus Piculus. The genus Colaptes is a member of the tribe Picini and belongs to a clade that contains five genera: Colaptes, Piculus, Mulleripicus, Dryocopus and Celeus. Some of the relationships between the species within Colaptes are uncertain, with various genetic studies reporting slightly different phylogenies, but it is evident that those species with "flicker" in their common name do not form a monophyletic group.
The genus Colaptes contains 14 species. Of these, one, the Bermuda flicker, is now extinct:
::data[format=table]
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:Colaptes rubiginosus Carpintero cariblanco Golden-olive Woodpecker (female) (8598133565).jpg | 120px]] | Golden-olive woodpecker | Colaptes rubiginosus |
| [[File:Colaptes auricularis 2945161.jpg | 120px]] | Grey-crowned woodpecker | Colaptes auricularis |
| [[File:Crimson-mantled Woodpecker - Colombia S4E2671.jpg | 120px]] | Crimson-mantled woodpecker | Colaptes rivolii |
| [[File:Black-necked Woodpecker (Colaptes atricollis).jpg | 120px]] | Black-necked woodpecker | Colaptes atricollis |
| [[File:Colaptes punctigula Carpintero pechipunteado Spot-breasted Woodpecker (female) (12978805715).jpg | 120px]] | Spot-breasted woodpecker | Colaptes punctigula |
| [[File:Colaptes melanochloros -Bataguassu, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil-8.jpg | 120px]] | Green-barred woodpecker | Colaptes melanochloros |
| [[File:Northern Flicker (29639725760).jpg | 120px]] | Northern flicker | Colaptes auratus |
| [[File:Gilded Flicker (Colaptes chrysoides) on top of cactus.jpg | 120px]] | Gilded flicker | Colaptes chrysoides |
| [[File:Colaptes auratus mexicanoides 84221588.jpg | 120px]] | Guatemalan flicker | Colaptes mexicanoides |
| [[File:Female. Fernandina's Flicker. Colaptes fernandinae, Endemic - Flickr - gailhampshire.jpg | 120px]] | Fernandina's flicker | Colaptes fernandinae |
| [[File:Pitío, Malalcahuello 19jul15.jpg | 120px]] | Chilean flicker | Colaptes pitius |
| [[File:Colaptes rupicola 20070123.jpg | 120px]] | Andean flicker | Colaptes rupicola |
| [[File:Campo Flicker - Flickr - GregTheBusker (1).jpg | 120px]] | Campo flicker | Colaptes campestris |
| :: |
- † Bermuda flicker (Colaptes oceanicus) - extinct, but may have survived into historical times - formerly Bermuda
References
References
- . ["Picidae"](https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=96). *The Trust for Avian Systematics*.
- Vigors, Nicholas Aylward. (1825). "Observations on the natural affinities that connect the orders and families of birds". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London.
- Jobling, James A.. (2010). "The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names". Christopher Helm.
- (2017). "Tapping the woodpecker tree for evolutionary insight". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- (2011). "Mitochondrial DNA based phylogeny of the woodpecker genera ''Colaptes'' and ''Piculus'', and implications for the history of woodpecker diversification in South America". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- Dufort, Matthew J.. (2016). "An augmented supermatrix phylogeny of the avian family Picidae reveals uncertainty deep in the family tree". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- AviList Core Team. (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025".
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