Colaptes

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A genus of bird encompassing many members of the woodpecker family. Colaptes comes from the Greek verb colapt, to peck.

Probably the most famous member of the Colaptes genus is the Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus, known in parts of the American south as the 'Yellowhammer'. The bird is the state bird of Alabama, and the state's nickname is the 'Yellowhammer State'.

Other members of the genus are the:

Gilded Flicker, Colaptes chrysoides. The species name chrysoides means 'like gold'.

Black-necked Woodpecker, Colaptes atricollis. The species name atricollis derives from the Latin atri, meaning 'grey', and collis, meaning 'neck'.

Campo Flicker, Colaptes campestris. The species name campestris is Latin for 'pertaining to plains or meadows' and refers to the Campo Flicker's occurrence in open grassy country.

Fernandina's Flicker, Colaptes fernandinae, an endangered bird native to Cuba. Fernandina was an early name for Cuba.

Green-barred Woodpecker, Colaptes melanochloros. The species name melanochloros derives from the Greek melanos, meaning black, and chloros, meaning green. The bird is pale green with bars of black.

Chilean Flicker, Colaptes pitius. The species name derives from the bird's characteristic yell, which is "pitiu-pitiu-pitiu".

Spot-breasted Woodpecker, Colaptes punctigula.The species name punctigula comes from the Latin adverb punctatus meaning 'spotted', and the noun gula, meaning throat;

Andean Flicker, Colaptes rupicola, found in Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. The species name rupicola derives from the Latin nouns rupe, meaning 'cliff', and cola, meaning 'dweller', indicating the terrain to which the Andean Flicker is indigenous.

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