Acorn Woodpecker

The acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) is a medium-sized woodpecker with a length of around 20 cm (8 in), and an average weight of 85 g (3.0 oz). It is found across Central America, as well as North into the western United States and South into parts of Colombia. == Taxonomy == The acorn woodpecker was formally described in 1827 by the English naturalist William Swainson under the binomial name Picus formicivorus from a specimen collected in Mexico. The specific epithet combines the Latin formica meaning "ant" with -vorus meaning "eating". The type locality is Temascaltepec in Mexico. The acorn woodpecker is one of 24 species now placed in the genus Melanerpes that was introduced by Swainson in 1832. Within Melanerpes the acorn woodpecker is sister to a clade containing two South American species: the white woodpecker (Melanerpes candidus) and the white-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes cactorum). Seven subspecies are recognised: M. f. bairdi Ridgway, 1881 – Oregon (USA) to north Baja California (Mexico) M. f. angustifrons Baird, SF, 1870 – south Baja California (Mexico) M. f. formicivorus (Swainson, 1827) – southwest USA to southeast Mexico M. f. albeolus Todd, 1910 – east Chiapas (southeast Mexico) to Belize and northeast Guatemala M. f.…