To today's tropical field biologists -may their numbers be augmented and their efforts enhanced that they might continue to overcome mire, tangle, dust, mechanical failures, and often bureaucracy in the quest for new knowledge that otherwise would be lost to mankind, as tropical environments and faunas disappear before our eyes. LIST OF COLOR PLATES xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xv FOREWORD xvii PART ONE-BIOLOGY OF THE WOODPECKERS: FAMILY PICIDAE. . . 1 1. Two species of wrynecks (Jynx) 2. Five species of piculets (. Picumnus ) 3. Six species of piculets {Picumnus) 4. Six species of piculets ( Picumnus ) 5. Six species of piculets {Picumnus) 6. Three species of piculets ( Sasia ) 7. Antillean Piculet ( Nesoctites micromegas ) 8. White and Lewis' woodpeckers {Melanerpes candidus, M. lewis) 9. Guadeloupe and Puerto Rican woodpeckers {Melanerpes herminieri, M. portoricensis ) 10. Red-headed Woodpecker {Melanerpes ery throcephalus) 11. Acorn Woodpecker {Melanerpes formicivorus) 12. Red-fronted Woodpecker {Melanerpes cruentatus) 13. Yellow-fronted and White-fronted woodpeckers {Melanerpes flavifrons, M. cactorum ) 14. Black-cheeked and Gold-naped woodpeckers {Melanerpes pucherani, M. ehrysauchen ) 15. Hispaniolan and Jamaican woodpeckers {Melanerpes striatus, M. radiolatus) . . . . 16. Gold-cheeked and Gray-breasted Woodpeckers {Melanerpes chrysogenys, M. hypopolius) 17. Red-crowned Woodpecker {Melanerpes rubricapillus) 18. Five woodpeckers of the Melanerpes carolinus superspecies 19. Races of Gold-fronted and Great Red-bellied woodpeckers {Melanerpes aurifrons, M. super ciliaris ) 20. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker {Sphyrapicus varius ) 21. Red-breasted and Red-naped sapsuckers {Sphyrapicus ruber, S. nuchalis) 22. Williamson's Sapsucker {Sphyrapicus thyroideus ) 23. Cuban Green Woodpecker {Xiphidiopicus pereussus) 24. Three species of the Campethera nubica superspecies 25. Two woodpeckers of the Campethera notata superspecies 26. Two woodpeckers of the Campethera maculosa superspecies 27. Tullberg's Woodpecker {Campethera tullbergi) 28. Buff-spotted and Brown-eared woodpeckers {Campethera nivosa, C. caroli ) .... 29. African Ground and Bearded woodpeckers {Geoeolaptes olivaceus, Dendropicos namaquus ) 30. Little Gray and Speckle-breasted woodpeckers {Dendropicos elachus, D. poecilolaemus ) 3 1 . Gold-mantled and Stierling's woodpeckers {Dendropicos abyssinicus, D. stierlingi ) 32. Cardinal Woodpecker {Dendropicos fuscescens) 33. Gaboon Woodpecker {Dendropicos gabonensis) 34. Two woodpeckers of the Dendropicos pyrrhogaster superspecies xi LIST OF COLOR PLATES xii 35. Elliot's Woodpecker ( Dendropicos elliotii) 36. Two woodpeckers of the Dendropicos goertae superspecies LIST OF COLOR PLATES xiii 77. Three woodpeckers of the Dryocopus pileatus superspecies 78. White-bellied and Black woodpeckers (Dryocopus javensis, D. martius ) 79. Powerful and Crimson-bellied woodpeckers ( Campephilus pollens, C. haematogaster) 80. Red-necked and Robust woodpeckers (Campephilus rubricollis, C. robustus ) ... 81. Three species of the Campephilus melan...