Ochraceous piculet

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Ochraceous piculet (Picumnus limae)

The ochraceous piculet is a small woodpecker found only in north‑eastern Brazil. It is about 10 cm long and weighs 8–12 g. Males have a black cap with red on the forehead; females look similar but have no red on the forehead. The back can be grayish to brown, with a whitish nape, and the underparts range from whitish yellow to rusty brown, sometimes with pale streaks. The tail is blackish with white patches on some inner feathers. Juveniles look like adults but have a brown crown with white streaks on the sides.

Where it lives and how it behaves
This species is endemic to north‑eastern Brazil, from Ceará to Sergipe and inland to Piauí. It inhabits a variety of landscapes in the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest, from dry open forests to humid forests, and can even be found in urban parks. It is a year‑round resident. There is not much detailed information on its foraging, but it feeds on small branches and insect larvae.

Breeding
The breeding season appears to run from November to August. Both parents excavate a nest hole, usually in a tree trunk or sometimes a fence post, about 1–4 meters above the ground. Clutch size ranges from one to four eggs, and both parents incubate and feed the young. Exact incubation and fledging times are not well documented.

Vocalizations
The ochraceous piculet’s song is a series of high‑pitched, fast trills. Northern and southern populations have slightly different phrases. Calls are short, high‑pitched sounds used in various situations.

Conservation
The IUCN lists the ochraceous piculet as Least Concern. Its population size is not known but believed to be stable, and the species can live in degraded or urban habitats. Some authorities split the southern population as a separate species, the tawny piculet (P. fulvescens), which is considered Near Threatened due to deforestation. The ochraceous piculet occurs in several protected areas.