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Piciformes

The order Piciformes is made up of the woodpecker family Picidae plus 8 other families. Picidae make up about half of the species. In general, the Piciformes are insectivorous, but some exceptions eat mostly fruit. Nearly all Piciformes have parrot-like feet—two toes forward and two back, an arrangement that has obvious advantages for birds that spend much of their time on tree trunks. And most Piciformes do not have down feathers at any age, only true feathers. All nest in cavites.



Family Indicatoridae: Honeyguides

The honeyguides are found mainly in Africa, but some are also in Asia. One or two species deliberately lead humans directly to bee colonies, so that they can feast on the grubs and beeswax that are left behind. Most honeyguides are dull-colored, though some have bright yellow coloring in the plumage. All have light outer tail feathers, which are white in all the African species.


Genus Indicator
Most of these honeyguides are found in Africa

Honeyguide,_Dwarf  Indicator pumilio  Found: DR Congo, Rwanda, Uganda
Image by: 1) Greg & Yvonne Dean


Honeyguide,_Greater  Indicator indicator  Found: Africa
The Greater Honeyguide has bold white patches on side of tail. Male has gray-brown upperparts; yellowish-white underparts; black throat; pink bill.
Image by: 1) Allan Hopkins  - Gambia  2) Lohman-Braun - Gambia  3) Wilferd Duckitt
1) Juvenile


Honeyguide,_Least  Indicator exilis  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) hbw.com  2) Nik Borrow - Ghana


Honeyguide,_Lesser  Indicator minor  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Alan Manson  2) Ian White - Botswana  3) Derek Keats - South Africa


Honeyguide,_Malaysian  Indicator archipelagicus  Found: Indonesia (Borneo, Sumatra), Malaysia, Thailand,
The Malaysian Honeyguide has olive-brown upperparts with greenish streaks; thick gray bill; grayish-white underparts. Male has yellow patch on shoulder; female doen't.
Image by: 1) Nicolas LeJeune  2) Zohairi
1) Male


Honeyguide,_Pallid  Indicator meliphilus  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Ken Clifton - Tanzania


Honeyguide,_Scaly-throated  Indicator variegatus  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - specimen in Nairobi National Museum, Kenya  2) Steve Garvie    3) Peter_Steward - Malawi


Honeyguide,_Spotted  Indicator maculatus  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Frans Vandewalle - Gambia  2) Michael Andersen - Sierra Leone


Honeyguide,_Thick-billed  Indicator conirostris  Found: Africa
The Thick-billed Honeyguide has yellow-green upperparts with dark streaking; dark gray head, underparts.
Image by: 1) Francesco_Veronesi


Honeyguide,_Willcocks's  Indicator willcocksi  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Vigel Voaden - Cameroon  2) Nik_Borrow - Senegal


Honeyguide,_Yellow-rumped  Indicator xanthonotus  Found: Asia
The Yellow-rumped Honeyguide has dusky olive upperparts; orange forehead, lores, rump; yellowish chin; pale gray underparts with streaks.
Image by: 1) R. E. B.  2) Dibyendu_Ash



Genus Melichneutes - 1 species

Honeyguide,_Lyre-tailed  Melichneutes robustus  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) hbw.com



Genus Melignomon

Honeyguide,_Yellow-footed  Melignomon eisentrauti  Found: Cameroon, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone
Image by: 1) hbw.com  2) Nik_Borrow - Ghana


Honeyguide,_Zenker's   Melignomon zenkeri  Found: Africa
Image by: 1, 2) Gareth_Knass - Uganda



Genus Prodotiscus
These African honeybirds have grayish upperparts; whitish-gray underparts; small bills.

Honeybird,_Brown-backed also  Wahlberg's Honeyguide  Prodotiscus regulus  Found: Africa
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Alan Manson  4) Peter_Steward
1) Juvenile 2) Juvenile with host parent Rock-loving Cisticola


Honeybird, Cassin's  also Cassin's Honeyguide  Prodotiscus insignis  Found: Africa
Image by: 1, 2) Arthur Grosset - Ghana


Honeybird,_Green-backed  also  Green-backed Honeyguide  Prodotiscus zambesiae  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Nigel Voaden - DR of Congo  2) Maans_Booysen - Angola





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