Spotted Piculet
Picumnus pygmaeus
Tiny woodpecker, quite distinct from most other piculets, although hybrids with White-edged and White-barred Piculets are frequent where ranges overlap. Chestnut plumage with white spots diagnostic. Males have a red forehead. Mostly found in dry and open woodland with dense shrubs (caatinga), but expanding east into the Cerrado and Amazonia regions, where it is also found in mangroves and low intensity agricultural habitats. Song is a very fast descending trill.
Identification
The spotted piculet is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long. Adult males have a black cap with a red patch on the forehead and white spots on the rest of it. Their face is mostly dark brown with white tips on some feathers. Their upperparts are mostly dark brown whose feathers have black and white tips. Their rump is paler. Their flight feathers are dark brown with buff or cinnamon-buff edges and tips on the secondaries and tertials. Their tail is blackish; the innermost pair of feathers have mostly white inner webs and the outer two pairs have a white patch near the end. Their chin, throat, and sides of the neck are black and white in a variable pattern. Their underparts are light to darkish brown, usually with a rufous tinge, and large black and white spots. Adult females are identical but for no red on the forehead. Juveniles are generally duller than adults and their dots are less distinct.
Taxonomy
The spotted piculet is monotypic. However, some authors have suggested that the varzea piculet (P. varzeae) might be a subspecies of it. Others have suggested that it should be treated as having two subspecies, the nominate and P. p. distinctus.
- Scientific name
- Picumnus pygmaeus
- Authority
- (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1823)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Picumnus
Range and habitat
The spotted piculet is found only in northeastern Brazil, in an area bounded by central Maranhão, Pernambuco, northeastern Goiás, and extreme northern Minas Gerais. It inhabits dry open woodland and caatinga shrublands.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
As far as is known, the spotted piculet is a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>Nothing is known about the spotted piculet's foraging technique or diet.<p>The spotted piculet's breeding biology is essentially unknown. Nest building has been noted in December and a female was observed feeding a grown chick in October.<p>One author described the spotted piculet's vocalization as a "very high-pitched, squeaky 'tsirrrrr, tsi, tsi, tsi'." Another described it as a "very high, descending, fast, chivering trill 'ttrrrruh'."
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Algerian Nuthatch
Sitta ledanti
A small nuthatch endemic to a tiny area in northeastern Algeria with a sharply demarcated white eyebrow. Female similar to the male but slightly duller with a dark gray forehead. Somewhat similar to the closely related Corsican Nuthatch, but ranges do not overlap. Breeds in old-growth montane oak and mixed forests. Song is a loud, repeating, and rapid "Kyi kyi kyi kyi kyi kyi…" Call is a tit-like nazal "Dzuuee."
Malayan Black-capped Babbler
Pellorneum nigrocapitatum
Chunky, thickset brown babbler, endemic to Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. Note dark crown, gray face, orange breast, and bright white throat. Inhabits lowland and foothill forests, where it scurries about on the forest floor like a rodent, rummaging through leaf litter. Often forages singly or in pairs. Gives a bright, cheery-sounding “weedee”, sometimes with a rising second note or a raspy, descending third note.
Pallas's Bunting
Emberiza pallasi
Very similar to Reed Bunting, but smaller and more slender; also note finer bill, colder pale buffy-brown (instead of rufous) wing coverts, and less extensive streaking on the underparts. Breeding male has a black hood and bright white “moustache” stripe. Female and non-breeding birds are pale sandy brown with a pale but noticeable white “moustache.” Breeds in thickets and vegetation clusters in tundra and winters in reedbeds and tall grassy or brushy areas near water, where often associated with mixed-species flocks. Song is a series of wet buzzy “tsli” notes. “Chlip” calls distinctly sparrow-like.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.