Colaptes

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Ordo: Piciformes

Familia: Picidae
Subfamilia: Picinae
Genus: Colaptes
Species: C. aeruginosus – C. atricollis – C. auratus – C. auricularis – C. campestris – C. chrysoides – C. fernandinae – C. melanochloros – C. pitius – C. punctigula – C. rivolii – C. rubiginosus – C. rupicola

Species extintae: † C. oceanicus
Name

Colaptes Vigors, 1825
Typus

Cuculus auratus Linnaeus, 1758 = Colaptes auratus

Synonyms

Chrysoptilus Swainson, 1832
Soroplex Gloger, 1842
Geopicos Malherbe, 1849
Nesoceleus Sclater & Salvin, 1873

References
Primary references

Vigors, N.A. 1825. Observations on the Natural Affinities that connect the Orders and Families of Birds. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 14(3): 395–517. BHL Reference page. Original description p. 457 - note BHL

References

Voisin C. & J.-F. Voisin, 2010: List of type specimens of birds in the collections of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris, France). 20. Piciformes (Part 2: Picidae). Journal of the National Museum (Prague), Natural History Series 179 (2): 7–26.
Webb, D.M. & Moore, W.S. 2005. A phylogenetic analysis of woodpeckers and their allies using 12S, Cyt b, and COI nucleotide sequences (class Aves; order Piciformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 36: 233–248. PDF. Reference page.
Benz, B.W., Robbins, M.B. & Peterson, A.T. 2006. Evolutionary history of woodpeckers and allies (Aves: Picidae): Placing key taxa on the phylogenetic tree. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 40: 389–399. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2006.02.021 Open access Reference page.
Moore, W.S., Overton, L.C. & Miglia, K.J. 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 58(1): 76–84. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2010.09.011 PaywallReference page.

Vernacular names
English: Flickers; woodpeckers
español: Carpinteros
português: Pica-paus

Colaptes is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. The 14 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 northerly 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.[2] The name is from the Ancient Greek κολάπτης (kolaptēs) meaning "chiseller".[3]

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.[4] 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.[4][5][6]

The genus Colaptes contains 14 species. Of these, one species, the Bermuda flicker, is now extinct:[7]
Image Common name Scientific name Distribution
Golden-olive woodpecker Colaptes rubiginosus east to Guyana, northwestern Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago
Bronze-winged woodpecker Colaptes aeruginosus northeastern Mexico from Tamaulipas to northern Veracruz
Grey-crowned woodpecker Colaptes auricularis Mexico
Crimson-mantled woodpecker Colaptes rivolii Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela
Black-necked woodpecker Colaptes atricollis Peru
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, the Cayman Islands, and parts of Central America
Gilded flicker Colaptes chrysoides southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico
Fernandina's flicker Colaptes fernandinae Cuba
Chilean flicker Colaptes pitius Argentina and Chile
Andean flicker Colaptes rupicola Peru, Chile, eastern Bolivia and northeastern Argentina
Campo flicker Colaptes campestris Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and northeastern Argentina, Suriname

† Bermuda flicker (Colaptes oceanicus) – extinct, but may have survived into historical times - formerly Bermuda

The online edition of the Handbook of the Birds of the World has split five of the species listed above to give a total of 20 species in the genus. None of the splits were based on results of molecular genetic studies. In addition, the common name of the northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) was changed to the "yellow-shafted flicker".[8] These splits have not been adopted by the online edition of the Clements Checklist of Birds of the World maintained by ornithologists at Cornell University,[9] nor by the American Ornithological Society.[10][11]
References

"Picidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
Vigors, Nicholas Aylward (1825). "Observations on the natural affinities that connect the orders and families of birds". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 14 (#3): 395-517 [457 Note]. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1823.tb00098.x.
Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 113. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
Shakya, S.B.; Fuchs, J.; Pons, J.M.; Sheldon, F.H. (2017). "Tapping the woodpecker tree for evolutionary insight". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 116: 182–191. Bibcode:2017MolPE.116..182S. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.09.005. PMID 28890006.
Moore, W.S.; Overton, L.C.; Miglia, K.J. (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. 58 (#1): 76–84. Bibcode:2011MolPE..58...76M. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.09.011. PMID 20863898.
Dufort, Matthew J. (2016). "An augmented supermatrix phylogeny of the avian family Picidae reveals uncertainty deep in the family tree". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 94 (Pt A): 313–326. Bibcode:2016MolPE..94..313D. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.08.025. PMID 26416706.
Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Woodpeckers". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
del Hoyo, Joseph (ed.). "Taxonomic structure and notes. Species list: Colaptes". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
"Clements Checklist". Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
"Checklist of North and Middle American Birds". American Ornithological Society. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
"A Classification of the Bird Species of South America: Part 5. Trogoniformes to Psittaciformes". American Ornithological Society. Retrieved 9 August 2019.