the whood pecker

The woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks are a family, Picidae, of near-passerine birds. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia and New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known to live in treeless areas such as rocky hillsides and deserts.
The Picidae are just one of the eight living families in the order Piciformes. Members of the order Piciformes, such as the jacamars, puffbirds, barbets, toucans and honeyguides, have traditionally been thought to be very closely related to the woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks. More recently, DNA sequence analyses have confirmed the Diet and feeding.is view.

Holes bored by woodpeckers feeding, Gatineau Park, Quebec

The diet of woodpeckers consists mainly of insects and their grubs taken from living and dead trees, and other arthropods, along with fruit from live trees, nuts and sap both from live trees. Their role ecologically is thereby keeping trees healthy by keeping them from suffering mass infestations. The family is noted for its ability to acquire wood-boring grubs using their bills for hammering, but overall the family is characterized by its dietary flexibility, with many species being both highly omnivorous and opportunistic. The insect prey most commonly taken are insects found inside tree trunks, whether they are alive or rotten wood and in crevices in bark on trees. These include beetles and their grubs, ants, termites, spiders, and caterpillars. These may be obtained either by gleaning or more famously by excavating wood. Having hammered a hole into the wood the prey is excavated by a long barbed tongue. The ability to excavate allows woodpeckers to obtain tree sap, an important source of food for some species. Most famously the sapsuckers, (genus Sphyrapicus ) feed in this fashion, but the technique is not restricted to these and others such as the Acorn Woodpecker and White-headed Woodpecker also feed in this way. It was once thought that the technique was restricted to the New World, but Old World species such as the Arabian Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker also feed in this way.


TYPES :

• Genus: Picumnus - American Piculets (c.27 species)
• Genus: Verreauxia - African Piculet (sometimes included in Sasia)
• Genus: Sasia - Asian Piculets (2 species)

Picidae gen. et sp. indet. (Middle Miocene of New Mexico, USA)

Picidae gen. et sp. indet. (Late Miocene of Gargano Peninsula, Italy)

• Genus: Melanerpes (some 22 species)
• Genus: Sphyrapicus - sapsuckers (4 species)
• Genus: Xiphidiopicus - Cuban Woodpecker (Placement in Dendropicini tentative)
• Genus: Dendropicos (15 species)
• Genus: Mesopicos (3 species)
• Genus: Dendrocopos (21 species)
• Genus: Picoides (presently 12 species; maybe only 3 belong here) - this genus is in need of revision.^[16] See the genus article for more.
• Genus: Veniliornis (14 species)