The genus
Gecinulus was introduced by the English zoologist
Edward Blyth in 1840 to accommodate the
pale-headed woodpecker (
Gecinulus grantia). The genus name is a diminutive of the genus name
Gecinus which had been introduced by the German ornithologist
Friedrich Boie in 1831.
Gecinus combines the
Classical Greek gē meaning "earth" or "ground" with
kineō meaning "to move". The genus contains three species: ==References==