Kingfisher and Woodpecker Assemblages

Taxonomists believe that the relationship between these two large assemblages of land birds -- the order Coraciiformes (kingfishers, rollers, hornbills, and their relatives) and the order Piciformes (woodpeckers, barbets, toucans and their relatives is, in fact, a controversial matter.

Certain families within the order Piciformes appear to fill a similar ecological role as those of some families of the order Coraciiformes. Jacamars and puffbirds of the New World tropics resemble todies, bee-eaters and motmots in many ways, Feeding on fruits, insects, and vertebrates with their lightweight but gigantic bills, toucans are reminiscent of the hornbills of the Old World tropics. A small family of African and tropical Asian birds known as honeyguides are notable for their brood parasitism and the fact that some species eat beeswax. The family of barbets, of which there are over 70 species, is a group of strong-billed arboreal birds that are occasionally terrestrial. Barbets live in tropical regions, and their ability to excavate nest cavities with their beaks suggests a close relationship to woodpeckers.

More than 200 species of woodpeckers comprise the family of Picidae of the order Piciformes, Woodpeckers inhabit wooded regions throughout the world, with the exception of Madagascar and the Australia and the New Guinea region. Special adaptations of the bill, skull, neck, claws, and tail contribute to the woodpeckers' skill at obtaining food by climbing on vertical surfaces and chiseling into wood.

It appears that trogans, which taxonomists often place alone in the order Trogoniformes, are closely related to Coraciiformes. The Trogon family contains about three-dozen tropical species that are brilliantly garbed in greens, reds, and other colors. These are arboreal birds that often capture their food -- fruits, insects, and small animals -- in hovering flight. The most spectacular of the trogans are quetzals of Central America and northern South America, some of which show a dazzling train of feathers formed by the upper tail coverts.