Fine-barred piculet

The fine-barred piculet is monotypic.^[2] Some authors consider it and the plain-breasted piculet (P. castelnau) to be sister species and they might hybridize.^[4]

The fine-barred piculet is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weighs about 10 to 11 g (0.35 to 0.39 oz). Adult males have a black crown and nape with wide reddish orange tips on the feathers of the forecrown and white spots on the rest. Their face is mostly light brown with some gray and whitish vermiculation. Their upperparts are yellowish olive with olive inclusions that give a faintly barred appearance. Their flight feathers are dusky brown with olive yellow edges on the secondaries. Their tail is black; the innermost pair of feathers have white inner webs. Their chin and throat are dull white. Their underparts are gray with straw yellow tips and bars. Their iris is brown, the beak black with a blue-gray base to the mandible, and the legs olive with a green tinge. Adult females are identical but with white spots on the whole crown and no red. Juveniles have a brownish black to sooty black crown with wide off-white to buff streaks, and their upperparts are more heavily barred than adults'.^[5]

The fine-barred piculet was long thought to be endemic to southeastern Peru but since about 2009 is also known from Acre state in far western Brazil though there appears to be a gap between the areas. In Peru it is best known along the upper Ucayali River; the Brazilian records are along the Purus River. Both are tributaries of the Amazon. In Peru it mostly occurs in primary forest along rivers but also in nearby secondary forest. In Brazil it occurs at the edges of terra firme forest in areas heavy with Guadua bamboo. In elevation it reaches as high as 1,100 m (3,600 ft).^[5]

Discover more about Distribution and habitat related topics

Acre (state)

Acre (state)

Acre is a state located in the west of the North Region of Brazil and the Amazonia Legal. Located in the westernmost part of the country, at a two-hour time difference from Brasília, Acre is bordered clockwise by the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Rondônia to the north and east, the Bolivian department of Pando to the southeast, and the Peruvian regions of Madre de Dios, Ucayali and Loreto to the south and west. The state, which has 0.42% of the Brazilian population, generates 0.2% of the Brazilian GDP.

Ucayali River

Ucayali River

The Ucayali River is the main headstream of the Amazon River. It rises about 110 km (68 mi) north of Lake Titicaca, in the Arequipa region of Peru and becomes the Amazon at the confluence of the Marañón close to Nauta city. The city of Pucallpa is located on the banks of the Ucayali.

Purus River

Purus River

The Purus River is a tributary of the Amazon River in South America. Its drainage basin is 371,042 km2 (143,260 sq mi), and the mean annual discharge is 11,207 m3/s (395,800 cu ft/s). The river shares its name with the Alto Purús National Park and the Purús Province, one of the four provinces of Peru in the Ucayali Region.

Secondary forest

Secondary forest

A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. It is distinguished from an old-growth forest, which has not recently undergone such disruption, and complex early seral forest, as well as third-growth forests that result from harvest in second growth forests. Secondary forest regrowing after timber harvest differs from forest regrowing after natural disturbances such as fire, insect infestation, or windthrow because the dead trees remain to provide nutrients, structure, and water retention after natural disturbances. However, often after natural disturbance the timber is harvested and removed from the system, in which case the system more closely resembles secondary forest rather than seral forest.

Guadua

Guadua

Guadua is a Neotropical genus of thorny, clumping bamboo in the grass family, ranging from moderate to very large species.

Feeding

The fine-barred piculet forages on slender branches, stems, and vines, usually from the forest mid-storey to the canopy. It is typically seen singly or in pairs as part of mixed species foraging flocks. Its diet has not been detailed but is assumed to be insects.^[5]

Breeding

The fine-barred piculet's breeding season appears to include June and July and might extend to December. Nothing else is known about its breeding biology.^[5]

Vocal and non-vocal sounds

The fine-barred piculet's song is "a descending series of sharp, high notes (generally about 7): SEE see see see see see see." It makes soft tapping sounds while foraging.^[5]

The IUCN has assessed the fine-barred piculet as being of Least Concern, though its population size is unknown and believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.^[1] It is thought to be "fairly common", and "[h]uman activity has little short-term direct effect on Fine-barred Piculet, other than the local effects of habitat destruction."^[5]