Arrowhead Piculet
Picumnus minutissimus
Common piculet of coastal forests. Note short-tailed profile, large feet, and cone-shaped bill. Found in mangroves, gardens, abandoned plantations, and disturbed areas. Creeps quietly through vine tangles and bores into dead twigs at lower and middle levels. Similar to Golden-spangled and White-barred Piculets, but Arrowhead has chevron-shaped spots (not barring) on the breast and belly, and is strictly confined to coastal habitats.
Identification
The arrowhead piculet is 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) long and weighs 11 to 16 g (0.39 to 0.56 oz). 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 and a white line behind the eye. Their upperparts are olive brown whose feathers have blackish wedge-shaped centers, a very thin black bar at their tip, and a white spot just inside the tip. Their rump is plainer but their undertail coverts can have dark bars. Their flight feathers are brown with light buffy edges, especially on the secondaries and tertials. Their tail is brownish black; the innermost pair of feathers have mostly white inner webs and the outer two pairs have a white stripe on the outer webs. Their chin, throat, and sides of the neck are whitish with blackish bars. Their underparts are white with a brownish buff tinge on the belly and flanks; the underparts' feathers have brownish black fringes that give a scaly appearance. Adult females are identical but for no red on the forehead. Juveniles have a plain brown crown; their upperparts are browner than the adults' and have blackish bars. Their underparts are duller with a more obscure pattern.
Taxonomy
The arrowhead piculet is monotypic. However, subspecies P. spilogaster pallidus of the white-bellied piculet has been considered a subspecies of arrowhead. The white-bellied as a whole has also at times been treated as a synonym of the arrowhead piculet.
- Scientific name
- Picumnus minutissimus
- Authority
- (Pallas, 1782)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Picumnus
Range and habitat
The South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society considers the arrowhead piculet to be endemic to Suriname with no records elsewhere. The Clements taxonomy adds that it is "possibly also in adjacent Guyana and French Guiana". The International Ornithological Committee lists it simply in the Guianas. Despite its rather small range, it inhabits a wide variety of landscapes, from mangroves, secondary forest, plantations, gallery forest to montane forest.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The arrowhead piculet is a year-round resident.<p>The arrowhead piculet's diet has not been fully described but is known to include ants and small beetles. It forages somewhat like a chickadee, hanging from twigs and small branches and hammering on them.<p>The arrowhead piculet's breeding season is from March to December. Males excavate a nest hole with some contribution by the female, placing it as high as 8 m (26 ft) above the ground. The clutch size is two or three eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs for 12 to 14 days and both provision nestlings. Fledging occurs about 28 days after hatch.<p>The arrowhead piculet makes a "[s]eries of c. 14 thin notes, 'it-it-it-it...', or 'kee kee kee'." It also makes a "loud twitter" during agonistic encounters.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Small vireo with limited distribution in Colombia and northern Ecuador. Dull olive above, paler grayish below, with whiter throat and face. Distinctive rufous shawl extends from the crown down the nape and bleeds onto the breast sides. Sexes similar. Found in foothills and subtropics from around 1,000–2,000 m, typically higher than most other greenlet species. Usually uncommon and sticks to the forest canopy, where singles or pairs follow mixed-species flocks.
Abyssinian Scimitarbill
Rhinopomastus minor
This all-black bird has a curved orange bill and a fairly long tail. Northern birds have white bars across the wings, which are conspicuous in flight, while southern birds have entirely black wings. Found in dry savanna and thornscrub. Separated from other scimitarbills by its orange bill. Similar to some woodhoopoes, but separated by its smaller size, shorter all-black tail, and black legs. Vocalizations include a series of wavering, rising notes and an agitated-sounding series of “dok” notes.
Red-faced Barbet
Lybius rubrifacies
Chunky, medium-sized black barbet. There is red on the face, and the bottom part of the wing has white edging. Found locally in woodland, cultivated areas, and gallery forest. Usually in pairs or small groups. The call is an unmusical duet of low, rasping calls. Similar to Black-billed Barbet, but not known to overlap in range, and easily separated by lack of red on the throat or white edges to the top part of the wing.
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