Imperial woodpecker

Imperial woodpecker
Female (left) and male (right) mounted specimens, Museum Wiesbaden

Critically endangered, possibly extinct  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Campephilus
Species:
C. imperialis
Binomial name
Campephilus imperialis
(Gould, 1832)
Synonyms[2]

Picus imperialis Gould, 1832

The imperial woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis) is a woodpecker species endemic to Mexico. If it is not extinct, it is the world's largest woodpecker species, at 56–60 cm (22–23.5 in) long.[3] Researchers have discovered that the imperial woodpecker has slow climbing strides and a fast wing-flap rate compared with other woodpeckers. Owing to its close taxonomic relationship, and its similarity in appearance, to the ivory-billed woodpecker (C. principalis), it is sometimes called the Mexican ivory-billed woodpecker, but this name is also used for the extant pale-billed woodpecker (C. guatemalensis). The large and conspicuous bird has long been known to the native inhabitants of Mexico and was called cuauhtotomomi in Nahuatl, uagam by the Tepehuán and cumecócari by the Tarahumara.

There have been no confirmed sightings of the Imperial Woodpecker since 1956. It is generally believed to be extinct, although the survival of some individuals is considered a remote possibility.

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2020). "Campephilus imperialis ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22681417A179185354. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22681417A179185354.en. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  2. ^ Prŷs-Jones, Robert P. (2011). "Type Specimens of the Imperial Woodpecker Campephilus imperialis (Gould, 1832)". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 131 (4): 256–260. Retrieved 6 December 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ "Imperial Woodpecker Campephilus imperialis ". BirdLife International. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-02-28.