Ask the Experts

Q Pileated woodpeckers strongly resemble ivory-billed woodpeckers. Are they related? Susan Shepherd SANFORD, MICHIGAN Kenn and Kimberly: These similar woodpeckers might seem to be close cousins, but they actually belong to different groups that are only distantly related. The ivory-billed woodpecker’s closest relatives (genus Campephilus) live in the American tropics, while the genus of the pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus) includes the black woodpecker of Europe and Asia. Unrelated but similar pairs occur elsewhere in the woodpecker family, too. Downy and hairy woodpeckers, familiar backyard visitors over much of North America, look almost identical except for size, but they are actually not close relatives. And in Asia, the greater yellow-nape and lesser yellownape—which are green woodpeckers with yellow in their crests—are near look-alikes but are not related at all. Q What kind of bird did…