| White-barred piculet | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Piciformes |
| Family: | Picidae |
| Genus: | Picumnus |
| Species: | P. cirratus |
| Binomial name | |
| Picumnus cirratus Temminck, 1825 | |
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The white-barred piculet (Picumnus cirratus) is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. [2] It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, and Uruguay. [3]
The white-barred piculet was first described in 1825 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck. Six subspecies are recognized: [2]
The white-barred piculet's taxonomy and that of genus Picumnus in general are uncertain. Molecular studies show that it is a sister species to the ochre-collared piculet (P. temminckii) and also closely related to the ocellated piculet (P. dorbignyanus), and at different times these species have been treated as synonymous. Subspecies pilcomayensis, thamnophiloides, and tucumanus intergrade in northern Argentina and are sometimes considered a separate species. Subspecies pilcomayensis and cirratus intergrade in eastern Paraguay. Subspecies confusus and macconnelli may also form a distinct species. The white-barred piculet also hybridizes widely with several other species of piculet where their ranges overlap; these include the varzea (P. varzeae) along the Amazon River, the ochre-collared in southeastern Brazil, and the ocellated and the white-wedged piculet (P. albosquamatus) in Bolivia. [4] [5] [6]
The specific epithet cirratus means "curly headed", cirrus being Latin for a ringlet or curl. [7]
The white-barred piculet is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weighs 6.3 to 12 g (0.22 to 0.42 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies P. c. cirratus have a black cap with a red patch on the forehead and white spots on the rest of it. Their face is mostly dark buff-brown with faint blackish bars and a white stripe behind the eye. Their upperparts are dull brownish, sometimes with faint darker bars. Their flight feathers are dark brown with buffish white edges on the secondaries and tertials. Their tail is dark brown; the innermost pair of feathers have mostly white inner webs and the outer two or three pairs have a white patch near the end. Their chin and throat feathers are white to pale buff with blackish bars. The rest of their underparts are white with black barring and a buff tinge to the belly and flanks. Their iris is dark chestnut-brown, the orbital ring blue-gray, the beak black with a pale base to the mandible, and the legs gray. Adult females are identical but with no red on the forehead. Juveniles are duller and darker than adults and have an unspotted crown, more obvious barring on their upperparts, and heavier barring on their underparts. [5] [8]
Subspecies P. c. confusus has a darker face than the nominate with no white line behind the eye, brown upperparts, and a heavily barred throat. P. c. macconnelli is similar to confusus but without barring on its upperparts; its face sometimes has white spots and the throat and breast have heavier barring. P. c. thamnophiloides has grayish upperparts and fewer markings on the underparts except for "arrowheads" on the flanks. P. c. tucumanus has distinctly barred gray-brown upperparts, a buffier throat and breast with more obscure bars than the nominate, and less red to no red on the crown. P. c. pilcomayensis has grayish upperparts, narrow black and white barring on the underparts, and little to no red on the crown. [5]
The white-barred piculet has two widely separated ranges. The subspecies are found thus: [2] [5]
The white-barred piculet inhabits a variety of landscapes including wet and dry woodland, forest edges, thickets, gallery forest in savannah, scrub, bamboo clumps, várzea , and overgrown parks and gardens. In elevation it ranges from near sea level to about 2,100 m (6,900 ft). [8] [5]
As far as is known the white-barred piculet is a year-round resident throughout its ranges. [5]
The white-barred piculet usually forages singly, but may join small mixed species foraging flocks. It feeds on ants, insect larvae and eggs especially those of wood-boring beetles, and other small invertebrates. It actively drills holes in wood and may also feed on sap that oozes from puncture marks. It mostly feeds on twigs and branch tips but also vines and bamboo, sometimes clinging to the underside. [8] [5]
The white-barred piculet's northern subspecies breed between July and December and the southern ones between September and March. Both sexes excavate a nest hole, usually in a slender tree branch; the height above ground varies but can be as low as 2 m (7 ft). the clutch size is two to four eggs. Both sexes incubate but the incubation period and time to fledging are not known. [8] [5]
The white-breasted piculet's primary vocalization is an "extr. high, dry, fast trill, like 'trrrrriut'." [10] It also makes a "tsirit, tsick" call, and its drumming on dead wood is "a loud staccato". [5]
The IUCN has assessed the white-breasted piculet as being of Least Concern. It has an extremely large range, and though its population size is not known and thought to be decreasing, neither have reached the thresholds for a more critical rating. No immediate threats have been identified. [1] It appears to be fairly common to common in most of its range and occurs in several protected areas. However, it is "locally threatened by continuing deterioration of remnant forest habitat" in areas of urban growth. [5]
The golden-olive woodpecker is a species of bird in the subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Mexico south and east through Panama, in every mainland South American country except Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The black-banded woodcreeper is a sub-oscine passerine bird in subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found discontinuously from Chiapas, Mexico, to Panama and in every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.
The white-wedged piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.
The bar-breasted piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru.
The plain-breasted piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in the Brazil, Colombia, and Peru.
The ocellated piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru and possibly Argentina.
The golden-spangled piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The rusty-necked piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found along the Brazilian-Bolivian border.
The greyish piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Colombia.
Lafresnaye's piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The arrowhead piculet or Guianan piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Suriname and possibly French Guiana and Guyana.
The olivaceous piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Guatemala south through Central America and western South America to Peru.
The Orinoco piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, and possibly Venezuela.
The spotted piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Brazil.
The white-bellied piculet is a Vulnerable species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela.
The fine-barred piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Brazil and Peru.
The ochre-collared piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.
The varzea piculet is a Near Threatened species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Brazil's Amazon basin.
Picumnus is a large genus of piculets. With a total length of 8–10 cm (3–4 in), they are among the smallest birds in the woodpecker family. All species are found in the Neotropics except the speckled piculet that has a wide distribution in China, India and Southeast Asia.
The black-dotted piculet, also known as the black-spotted piculet, is a subspecies of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Venezuela.
