Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus nanus) [XC741495]
by id from Keezhanthoor, Idukki, Kerala, India (uncertain)
Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker (Yungipicus nanus) [XC19612]
by Frank Lambert from Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India (call)
Subspecies
Genus sometimes merged into Picoides. Closest to Sulawesi Pygmy Woodpecker (Picoides temminckii) and Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker (Picoides maculatus). Indian Subcontinent subspecies often treated as forming a separate species on grounds of shared morphological differences from eastern subspecies. Alternatively, subspecies nanus has sometimes been considered conspecific with Grey-capped Woodpecker (Picoides canicapillus), but the two are sympatric in Nepal without interbreeding. Birds in eastern peninsular India described as subspecies hardwickii, and those from Alor (eastern Lesser Sundas) as excelsior, but in both cases differences are a result of clinal variation.
The following 6 subspecies are recognised:
nanus (Vigors, 1832) - Northern and peninsular India (except south-west) and southern Nepal east to Bangladesh.
cinereigula (Malherbe, 1849) - South-western India in Kerala and western Tamil Nadu. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker (Picoides moluccensis).
gymnopthalmos (Blyth, 1849) - Sri Lanka. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker (Picoides moluccensis).
moluccensis (J. F. Gmelin, 1788) - Western and southern Peninsular Malaysia south to Greater Sundas, including Riau Archipelago, Bangka and Belitung. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker (Picoides moluccensis).
grandis (Hargitt, 1882) - Lesser Sundas, from Lombok east to Alor. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker (Picoides moluccensis).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet