Dendrocopos

Dendrocopos is a widespread genus of woodpeckers from Asia, Europe and Northern Africa. The species range from the Philippines to the British Isles.

==Taxonomy== The genus Dendrocopos was introduced in 1816 by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch. The name combines the Ancient Greek dendron meaning "tree" with kopos meaning "striking". The type species was designated as Picus major Linnaeus, 1758, the great spotted woodpecker, by the Scottish ornithologist Edward Hargitt in 1890 in his catalogue of woodpeckers in the collection of the British Museum.