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Kids' Inquiry of Diverse Species

Local animals in this group:

woodpeckers and relatives

Piciformes

There are over 400 species in this order of birds, found all over the world except Australia. The species in this order range from the very small honeyguides of Africa to the large and colorful toucans of Central and South America. The most familiar birds in this order are the woodpeckers . All of these birds share an unusual characteristic: two of their four toes face forward, while two face backward.

 
University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyNational Science Foundation

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. "Piciformes" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 19, 2024 at http://www.biokids.umich.edu/accounts/Piciformes/

BioKIDS is sponsored in part by the Interagency Education Research Initiative. It is a partnership of the University of Michigan School of Education, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, and the Detroit Public Schools. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant DRL-0628151.
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