- Picumnus squamulatus
Identification
8- 9.2cm. A tiny woodpecker.
- Black forehead to nape with white tipped feathers (male with red tipped ones on forecrown)
- Whitish lores and thin line behind eye
- Brown ear-coverts white tipped
- Brownish-black hindneck white spotted
- Olive-brown upperparts scaly-looking
- Whitish underparts with prominent scaling
Juveniles are darker above and more diffusely patterned below.
Distribution
South America: found in Colombia and Venezuela.
No data on population size.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 5 subspecies[1]:
- P. s. roehli:
- P. s. squamulatus:
- North-eastern and central Colombia (Arauca to Huila and north-eastern Meta)
- P. s. lovejoyi:
- Extreme north-western Venezuela (north-western Zulia) (maybe not sufficiently distinct to warrant subspecies status)
- P. s. apurensis:
- North-central Venezuela (Apure, Guárico and Anzoátegui)
- P. s. obsoletus:
- Extreme north-eastern Venezuela (eastern Sucre)
An additional subspecies salvini is generally considered invalid[2].
Habitat
Gallery forest, forest edge, second growth and deciduous woodland. Also in more open terrain.
Occurs from lowlands up to 1900m.
Behaviour
Feeds on small insects.
Forages singly or in pairs.
Nesting reported from April to June and in September in Venezuela. No other information on breeding.
Presumably a resident species.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and J Sargatal, eds. 2002. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 7: Jacamars to Woodpeckers. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334375
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Scaled Piculet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Scaled_Piculet
