7i /.0 67-3 Vol. 85, No. 44, pp. 499-508 30 December 1972 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON THE GENERIC DISTINCTION OF THE HISPANIOLAN WOODPECKER, CHRYSERPES STRIATUS (AVES: PICIDAE) By Storrs L. Olson Smithsonian Institution Washington, D. C. 20560 The Hispaniolan Woodpecker, Chryserpes striatus, is the only resident woodpecker on an island of nearly 30,000 square miles area. Throughout most of its taxonomic history it has been considered a member of the Centurus group of barred-backed woodpeckers now often included in the genus Melaner-pes. Miller (1915) recognized the distinctiveness of striatus and created for it the monotypic genus Chryserpes. This name found some usage at first, but Peters (1948) did not recognize it and striatus subsequently resided in Melanerpes (or Cen-turus ) unchallenged. In 1963, Selander and Giller reviewed the genus Centurus, including striatus. Of this species they said ( p. 256 ) , "without question it is not closely related to any species of [Centurus] or of Melanerpes, and there would seem to be much justifica-tion for placing it in its own monotypic genus, Chryserpes. . . ." They speculated that there might be some possibility of its being allied to Piculus. Bond ( 1963 ) took issue with the judgment of Selander and Giller. "Granted that C. striatus is an aberrant species of Cen-turus, its affinity with that genus is clearly felt by ornithologists with experience of this bird in life," (Bond, 1963:6). He cited his own field observations and those of Wetmore and Swales (1931) as confirming the behavior of striatus to be like that of Centurus. Selander (In Bond, 1964:7) later wrote Bond as follows ... "I was in Hispaniola last summer and spent about 2 weeks working with the woodpecker. I am sure that striatus is a melanerpine type, and in fact I have no objection to putting 44— Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. 85, 1972 (499)
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