Gecinulus is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. The species are found in South and Southeast Asia.

Gecinulus
Pale-headed woodpecker (Gecinulus grantia)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Tribe: Picini
Genus: Gecinulus
Blyth, 1845
Type species
Picus grantia[1]
Horsfield, 1840
Species

see text

Taxonomy edit

The genus Gecinulus was introduced by the English zoologist Edward Blyth in 1840 to accommodate the pale-headed woodpecker (Gecinulus grantia).[2] The genus name is a diminutive of the genus name Gecinus which had been introduced by the German ornithologist Friedrich Boie in 1831. Gecinus combines the Classical Greek meaning "earth" or "ground" with kineō meaning "to move".[3]

The genus contains three species:[4]

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
  Gecinulus rafflesii Olive-backed woodpecker Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and Indonesia
  Gecinulus grantia Pale-headed woodpecker Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam
  Gecinulus viridis Bamboo woodpecker Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and the Malay Peninsula

References edit

  1. ^ "Picidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  2. ^ Blyth, Edward (1845). "Notices and descriptions of various new or little known species of birds". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 14, Part 1 (159): 173–220 [192].
  3. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Woodpeckers". IOC World Bird List Version 10.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 17 May 2020.