Red-headed Woodpecker - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The Red-headed Woodpecker was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work Systema Naturae. The specific epithet is derived from the Ancient Greek words erythros 'red' and kephalos 'head'.

There are three subspecies recognized:

• M. e. brodkorbi
• M. e. caurinus
• M. e. erythrocephalus