Woodpeckers of the World: An Island Endemic: Guadeloupe Woodpecker

Thursday 11 December 2014

An Island Endemic: Guadeloupe Woodpecker

Guadeloupe Woodpecker Melanerpes herminieri is the only picid on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Males and females are almost identical in appearance and in this shot and pose it is hard to say which sex the bird is, as the bill is hidden (males have longer bills). In addition, it is the only Melanerpes species in the Caribbean which does not exhibit sexual dimorphism in plumage. Photo taken by on Basse Terre, Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles, November 2014.

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Background

Woodpeckers, the Picidae, are Piciformes, an order that includes some of the oldest avian lineages. The Piciformes probably originated about 60 million years ago in the Tertiary period and became distinct from their closest relatives some 50 million years ago. Depending upon which taxonomy is followed, and the fact that the status of some species is unclear, around 240-260 woodpecker species probably exist globally. The Picidae includes three subfamilies: Jynginae (wrynecks), Picumninae (piculets) and the Picinae, the “true woodpeckers”. In terms of size, behaviour, distribution and the habitats they use, the Picinae are a fairly diverse group of birds with six distinct tribes. They are widespread and found from sea-level to high-altitudes but absent from the Arctic, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar and some other islands. Worldwide woodpeckers are usually, but not exclusively, associated with trees.