Guatemalan Flicker

The Guatemalan flicker (Colaptes mexicanoides) is a species of bird in the family Picidae, the woodpeckers. It is found in Middle America from southern Mexico to Nicaragua. == Taxonomy and systematics == The Guatemalan flicker was described in 1844 by Frédéric de Lafresnaye under the name Colaptes mexicanoides. During the 1940s to 1960s several authors treated it as a subspecies of what was then Colaptes cafer. That subspecies, mexicanoides, and some other subspecies of flicker were later classified as subspecies of the widespread northern flicker (C. auratus). BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World reclassified it as a separate species in 2014 based on plumage differences. In 2024 David Tønnessen synthesized the results of several studies and proposed that the North American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society recognize the species. The AOS, the International Ornithological Congress, and the Clements taxonomy all recognized it as a species in 2024. The Guatemalan flicker is monotypic. == Description == The Guatemalan flicker is 25.9 to 32.9 cm (10 to 13 in) long and weighs about 115 to 135 g (4.1 to 4.8 oz). The sexes have almost the same plumage, differing only on the face. Females have a cinnamon…