Melanerpes genus of woodpeckers of the family Picidae found in the New World.
The genus was introduced by the English ornithologist William John Swainson in 1832. The word Melanerpes come from the Greek melas meaning black and herpēs meaning creeper.
The genus includes 24 species:
White woodpecker, Melanerpes candidus Lewis's woodpecker , Melanerpes lewis Guadeloupe woodpecker , Melanerpes herminieri Puerto Rican woodpecker , Melanerpes portoricensis Red-headed woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus Acorn woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus Yellow-tufted woodpecker , Melanerpes cruentatus Yellow-fronted woodpecker , Melanerpes flavifrons Golden-naped woodpecker , Melanerpes chrysauchen Beautiful woodpecker , Melanerpes pulcher Black-cheeked woodpecker , Melanerpes pucherani White-fronted woodpecker , Melanerpes cactorum Hispaniolan woodpecker , Melanerpes striatus Jamaican woodpecker , Melanerpes radiolatus Golden-cheeked woodpecker , Melanerpes chrysogenys Grey-breasted woodpecker , Melanerpes hypopolius Yucatan woodpecker , Melanerpes pygmaeus Red-crowned woodpecker , Melanerpes rubricapillus Gila woodpecker, Melanerpes uropygialis Hoffmann's woodpecker , Melanerpes hoffmannii Golden-fronted woodpecker , Melanerpes aurifrons Velasquez's woodpecker , Melanerpes santacruzi Red-bellied woodpecker , Melanerpes carolinus West Indian woodpecker , Melanerpes superciliaris Grand Bahama West Indian woodpecker, Melanerpes superciliaris bahamensis (extinct: 1950s) 
