Colaptes is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. The 13 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 (), 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:
Image Common name Scientific name Distribution Golden-olive woodpecker Colaptes rubiginosuseast to Guyana, northwestern Argentina, and Trinidad and Tobago Grey-crowned woodpecker Colaptes auricularis Mexico Crimson-mantled woodpecker Colaptes rivoliiBolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela Black-necked woodpecker Colaptes atricollisPeru Spot-breasted woodpecker Colaptes punctigula Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela; also in eastern Panama Green-barred woodpecker Colaptes melanochloros Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay Northern flicker Colaptes auratus North America, Cuba and Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands Gilded flicker Colaptes chrysoidesthe Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico Guatemalan flicker Colaptes mexicanoides southern Mexico to Nicaragua Fernandina's flicker Colaptes fernandinae Cuba Chilean flicker Colaptes pitius Argentina and Chile Andean flicker Colaptes rupicolaPeru, Chile, eastern Bolivia and northeastern Argentina Campo flicker Colaptes campestrisBrazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and northeastern Argentina, Suriname
† Bermuda flicker (Colaptes oceanicus) - extinct, but may have survived into historical times - formerly Bermuda
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