Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Picidae
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
European great spotted woodpecker
Quizzes
Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.
Ultimate Animals Quiz
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters
Animal Group Names
pigeon. pigeon and dove. member of the order Columbiformes, family Columbidae
Ultimate Bird Trivia Quiz
Lion (panthera leo)
Deadliest Animals Quiz
Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)
Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz
Quick Facts
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
European great spotted woodpecker
European great spotted woodpecker European great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major).

Picidae

bird family
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
Last updated
•History

Picidae, bird family of the order Piciformes that includes woodpeckers, piculets, and wrynecks. The 210 species occur worldwide except in Madagascar and east of Borneo and Bali (i.e., they do not cross Wallace’s Line). Most are specialized for gleaning insects from tree bark, usually by boring with their bills; some also eat nuts, fruits, and sap; and a few gather ants and grubs from the ground.