Hemicircus is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. Members of the genus are found in India and Southeast Asia.

Hemicircus
Heart-spotted woodpecker (Hemicircus canente)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Tribe: Hemicirini
Genus: Hemicircus
Swainson, 1837
Type species
Picus concretus[1]
Temminck, 1821
Species

see text

Synonyms

Hemicercus

These are small woodpeckers with short tails. The plumage is mainly black and white.[2]

The genus was introduced in 1837 by the English naturalist William John Swainson with the grey-and-buff woodpecker (Hemicircus concretus) as the type species.[3][4] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek 'hēmi meaning "half" or "small" and kerkos meaning "tail".[5]

Species edit

The genus contains two species:[6]

Genus HemicircusSwainson, 1837 – two species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Grey-and-buff woodpecker

 

Hemicircus sordidus
(Temminck, 1821)

Two subspecies
  • H. c. sordidus (Eyton, 1845)
  • H. c. concretus (Temminck, 1821)
Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and Java Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Heart-spotted woodpecker

 

Hemicircus canente
(Lesson, 1832)
Western Ghats and the forests of central India Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


References edit

  1. ^ "Picidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  2. ^ Short, Lester L. (1982). Woodpeckers of the World. Monograph Series 4. Greenville, Delaware: Delaware Museum of Natural History. p. 525. ISBN 0-913176-05-2.
  3. ^ Swainson, William John (1837). On the Natural History and Classification of Birds. Vol. 2. London: John Taylor. p. 306.
  4. ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1948). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 6. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 223.
  5. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 189. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Woodpeckers". IOC World Bird List Version 10.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 15 May 2020.