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Woodpeckers

Picidae

The 216 species of woodpeckers are found across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa, of which 109 live in Mexico, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean.  They are important components of the tropical American ecosystem, as other birds, such as trogons, use the nests they excavate in trees.  True to their name, their skulls, beaks and tongues are uniquely adapted to extracting insects from trees.  Tropical American woodpeckers are uncommon in zoos, but the DWA has done well with four species: Red-crowned woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus), Puerto Rican woodpecker (Melanerpes portoricensis), Panamanian acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus striatipectus) and the Golden-naped woodpecker (Melanerpes chrysauchen).

Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:
Family:
Genus:Picidae
Species: