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Melanerpes

Melanerpes

9.9
A group of woodpeckers from North and South America with bright markings
  • noun
  • /ˌmɛləˈnɜrpiːz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Melanerpes
  • The Melanerpes genus includes the acorn woodpecker, which is known for storing acorns in tree bark.

Examples

  • The Melanerpes genus includes several colorful woodpeckers.

  • Scientists have identified more than twenty species within the Melanerpes genus across the Americas.

  • Unlike other woodpeckers, birds of the Melanerpes genus often exhibit social nesting behaviors.

  • Look at that Melanerpes!

  • Scientists have identified more than twenty species within the Melanerpes genus across the Americas.

  • The Melanerpes genus includes the acorn woodpecker, which is known for storing acorns in tree bark.

  • Unlike other woodpeckers, birds of the Melanerpes genus often exhibit social nesting behaviors.

Compounds

9.9

A North American woodpecker with black and white feathers and a bright red head

Surface Forms

Melanerpes singular
Melanerpes plural

Etymology

Melanerpes comes from Greek pieces melan- meaning 'black' and -erpes meaning 'creeper', a word for something that climbs slowly. So, the name helps you remember these woodpeckers as 'black creepers' that climb tree trunks and often have dark marks.