Velasquez's Woodpecker

About the Velasquez's Woodpecker

The golden-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons) is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in the southern United States (mostly Texas), Mexico and parts of Central America.

The golden-fronted woodpecker was formally described in 1829 by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler under the binomial name Picus aurifrons. The specific epithet combines the Latin aurum, auri meaning "gold" with frons, frontis meaning "forehead", "brow" or "front". The type locality is the state of Hidalgo in south central Mexico. The golden-fronted woodpecker is now one of the 23 species placed in the genus Melanerpes that was introduced by the English ornithologist William Swainson in 1832.

Twelve subspecies are recognised, many of which are restricted to islands. M. a. aurifrons (Wagler, 1829) – central south USA to central south Mexico M. a. polygrammus (Cabanis, 1862) – Oaxaca to Chiapas (southwest Mexico)

M. a. grateloupensis (Lesson, RP, 1839) – south Tamaulipas to Puebla and central Veracruz (east Mexico) M. a. veraecrucis Nelson, 1900 – south Veracruz (east Mexico) to north Guatemala M. a. dubius (Cabot, S, 1844) –... Wikipedia →