Piculus is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae that are found in Central and South America.
Taxonomy The genus was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix in 1824. The link is to a scan of the 2nd edition published in 1838–1839. The type species was subsequently designated as the golden-green woodpecker (Piculus chrysochloros) by the American ornithologist Harry C. Oberholser in 1923. The generic name is a diminutive of the Latin word Picus meaning "woodpecker".
The genus forms part of the woodpecker subfamily Picinae and has a sister relationship to the genus Dryocopus whose species are found in Eurasia and the Americas. The genus Piculus is a member of the tribe Picini and belongs to a clade that contains five genera: Colaptes, Piculus, Mulleripicus, Dryocopus and Celeus.
The genus contains seven species: Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Piculus simplex Rufous-winged woodpecker Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Formerly considered to be a subspecies of the white-throated woodpecker. Piculus callopterus Stripe-cheeked woodpecker Panama. Formerly considered to be a subspecies of the white-throated woodpecker. Piculus litae Lita woodpecker western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador Piculus leucolaemus White-throated woodpecker The Amazon Basin, Brazil, mainly in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia Piculus flavigula Yellow-throated woodpecker Brazil and the entire Amazon Basin; also in the Guianas, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela Piculus chrysochloros Golden-green woodpecker The Amazon Basin in the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru and Suriname Piculus aurulentus Yellow-browed woodpecker Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
Five other species, formerly placed here, are now in Colaptes.
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