Woodpeckers are a group of birds in the family Picidae, which also includes the
piculets,
wrynecks, and
sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known that live in treeless areas, such as rocky hillsides and deserts, and the
Gila woodpecker specialises in exploiting cacti. This photograph shows a female
campo flicker (
Colaptes campestris), a woodpecker species native to South America, in the
Pantanal, Brazil.
Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp