The red-rumped woodpecker (Veniliornis kirkii) is a species of bird in the subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Costa Rica south to Peru and east to Brazil, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Taxonomy and systematics
The International Ornithological Committee and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World place the red-rumped woodpecker in the genus Veniliornis. However, starting in 2018, the American Ornithological Society and the Clements taxonomy moved all species of the genus Veniliornis into genus Dryobates.
The taxonomic systems agree that the red-rumped woodpecker has these five subspecies:
Subspecies monticola is larger than the nominate and has heavy blackish barring on its underparts. Subspecies continentalis is smaller than the nominate, has more yellow on its nape, and wider pale bars on its underparts. Subspecies cecilii is smaller than continentalis, and compared to the nominate has less pattern on the chin and throat and more barring on the tail. Subspecies neglectus is brighter above and darker below than the nominate. It also makes a nasal "keer", "mewing 'wih' or 'kwee' in...ventriloquial series", and a "repeated 'kee-yik kee-yik'." Its drumming is "rapid, noisy, [and] often prolonged".