Picoides: Difference between revisions

The genus is in need of revision. Two species that have a somewhat different color pattern, especially on the head and neck – the [[Striped woodpecker|striped]] and the [[checkered woodpecker]] – have turned out to belong in ''[[Veniliornis]]'', a genus most closely related to ''Picoides''. On the other hand, the [[smoky-brown woodpecker]] (''Picoides fumigatus'') seems to be an early offshoot of ''Picoides''. Its unique coloration (similar to the unrelated [[Okinawa woodpecker]]) would be an adaptation to dense forest habitat, although due to its distinctiveness it is not inconceivable that it belongs into a genus of its own and merely is a case of molecular [[convergent evolution|convergence]]. The American three-toed woodpecker was until recently considered [[conspecific]] with the [[Eurasia]]n one (Sibley & Monroe 1990), and the [[lesser spotted woodpecker]] is often placed in the genus ''[[Dendrocopos]]''{{Citation.<ref name needed|date=February 2007}}."HBW-Lesser"/> Indeed, that genus is sometimes merged into ''Picoides'', but this is neither generally accepted nor well supported.

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