The genus Celeus was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1831.
The type species was subsequently designated as the blond-crested woodpecker (Celeus flavescens) by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1840.
The generic name is from the Ancient Greek word keleos for a "green woodpecker".

This genus is a member of the Picini tribe in the subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family, Picidae.
Most of the 13 species of Celeus are polytypic, with the C. occidentalis, C. tinnunculus, C. castaneus, C. galeatus and C. obrieni being exceptions as  monotypic.
 Head markings were the main diagnostic feature for taxonomy until recent molecular phylogenetic  analysis brought changes to the species list.
 Benz and Robbins (2011) in their DNA analysis of this genus found the species C. loricatus - C. torquatus as basal taxa.
 Recent DNA analysis placed the rufous woodpecker, previously thought to belong to Celeus,  in  Micropternus brachyurus.
 Subspecies  caatinga woodpecker (C. spectabilis obrieni) previously thought extinct was captured, using a mist net  by A.D Prado in Tocantins in 2006, and was elevated in 2008 to Kaempfers woodpecker (C. obrieni).
 The scaly-breasted woodpecker's English name has recently changed to scale-breasted woodpecker.
The South Asian rufous woodpecker (Micropternus brachyurus) is a peculiar species that was formerly placed in Celeus too.
However, its similarity seems to be due to convergent evolution, as it does not even seem to belong to the same tribe of Picinae as Celeus does.

Postcranial homogeneity in woodpeckers has made genus identification of fossils difficult and no Celeus fossils are noted.
 An example of a woodpecker fossil,  Bathoceleus hyphalus, was found in 1959 in the Bahamas in a  limestone Pleistocene sinkhole, and is believed to be the earliest recorded North American Picidae dated at 2.588 – 0.012 mya.
 The origin of the genus Celeus is ambiguous; it is not believed to have originated in Central America and may have come originally from Eurasia.

Late Pliocene continental interchange of C. loricatus and  C. torquatus occurred with the opening of the Isthmus of Panama 3.1 - 4.0 mya as part of the Great American Interchange, with later radiations of these birds back across the Isthmus.
 Quaternary environmental changes are thought to be responsible for the relatively recent gene flow of this genus and for the shallow genetic structures of the remaining Celeus sister taxa with some of the species capable of dispersal to form allopatric, or isolated, communities.
Corridors may have opened up in the last glacial period (21 ka years before the present) that may have enabled westward movement of species in this genus.

The genus contains the following 13 species:
Cinnamon woodpecker, Celeus loricatus
Waved woodpecker, Celeus undatus
Scaly-breasted woodpecker, Celeus grammicus
Chestnut-colored woodpecker, Celeus castaneus
Chestnut woodpecker, Celeus elegans
Pale-crested woodpecker, Celeus lugubris
Blond-crested woodpecker, Celeus flavescens
Ochre-backed woodpecker, Celeus ochraceus
Cream-colored woodpecker, Celeus flavus
Rufous-headed woodpecker, Celeus spectabilis
Kaempfer's woodpecker, Celeus obrieni
Ringed woodpecker, Celeus torquatus
Helmeted woodpecker, Celeus galeatus
The online edition of the Handbook of the Birds of the World has split the ringed woodpecker creating two more species: the Amazonian black-breasted woodpecker (Celeus occidentalis) and the Atlantic black-breasted woodpecker (Celeus tinnunculus).
Neither of the splits was supported by the results of molecular genetic studies.
These splits have not been adopted by the online edition of the Clements Checklist of Birds of the World maintained by ornithologists at Cornell University, nor in the lists maintained by the American Ornithological Society.
The genus Celeus was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1831. The type species was subsequently designated as the blond-crested woodpecker (Celeus flavescens) by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1840. The generic name is from the Ancient Greek word keleos for a "green woodpecker".
This genus is a member of the Picini tribe in the subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family, Picidae. Most of the 13 species of Celeus are polytypic, with the C. occidentalis, C. tinnunculus, C. castaneus, C. galeatus and C. obrieni being exceptions as  monotypic.  Head markings were the main diagnostic feature for taxonomy until recent molecular phylogenetic  analysis brought changes to the species list.  Benz and Robbins (2011) in their DNA analysis of this genus found the species C. loricatus - C. torquatus as basal taxa.  Recent DNA analysis placed the rufous woodpecker, previously thought to belong to Celeus,  in  Micropternus brachyurus.  Subspecies  caatinga woodpecker (C. spectabilis obrieni) previously thought extinct was captured, using a mist net  by A.D Prado in Tocantins in 2006, and was elevated in 2008 to Kaempfers woodpecker (C. obrieni).  The scaly-breasted woodpecker's English name has recently changed to scale-breasted woodpecker. The South Asian rufous woodpecker (Micropternus brachyurus) is a peculiar species that was formerly placed in Celeus too. However, its similarity seems to be due to convergent evolution, as it does not even seem to belong to the same tribe of Picinae as Celeus does.
Postcranial homogeneity in woodpeckers has made genus identification of fossils difficult and no Celeus fossils are noted.  An example of a woodpecker fossil,  Bathoceleus hyphalus, was found in 1959 in the Bahamas in a  limestone Pleistocene sinkhole, and is believed to be the earliest recorded North American Picidae dated at 2.588 – 0.012 mya.  The origin of the genus Celeus is ambiguous; it is not believed to have originated in Central America and may have come originally from Eurasia.
Late Pliocene continental interchange of C. loricatus and  C. torquatus occurred with the opening of the Isthmus of Panama 3.1 - 4.0 mya as part of the Great American Interchange, with later radiations of these birds back across the Isthmus.  Quaternary environmental changes are thought to be responsible for the relatively recent gene flow of this genus and for the shallow genetic structures of the remaining Celeus sister taxa with some of the species capable of dispersal to form allopatric, or isolated, communities. Corridors may have opened up in the last glacial period (21 ka years before the present) that may have enabled westward movement of species in this genus.
The genus contains the following 13 species:
Cinnamon woodpecker, Celeus loricatus
Waved woodpecker, Celeus undatus
Scaly-breasted woodpecker, Celeus grammicus
Chestnut-colored woodpecker, Celeus castaneus
Chestnut woodpecker, Celeus elegans
Pale-crested woodpecker, Celeus lugubris
Blond-crested woodpecker, Celeus flavescens
Ochre-backed woodpecker, Celeus ochraceus
Cream-colored woodpecker, Celeus flavus
Rufous-headed woodpecker, Celeus spectabilis
Kaempfer's woodpecker, Celeus obrieni
Ringed woodpecker, Celeus torquatus
Helmeted woodpecker, Celeus galeatus
The online edition of the Handbook of the Birds of the World has split the ringed woodpecker creating two more species: the Amazonian black-breasted woodpecker (Celeus occidentalis) and the Atlantic black-breasted woodpecker (Celeus tinnunculus). Neither of the splits was supported by the results of molecular genetic studies. These splits have not been adopted by the online edition of the Clements Checklist of Birds of the World maintained by ornithologists at Cornell University, nor in the lists maintained by the American Ornithological Society.
Celeus (bird)