Lafresnaye's piculet (''Picumnus lafresnayi'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Picumninae The piculets are a distinctive subfamily, Picumninae, of small woodpeckers which occur mainly in tropical South America, with just three Asian and one African species. Like the true woodpeckers, piculets have large heads, long tongues which the ...

of the woodpecker family

Picidae Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. M ...

. It is found in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved July 24, 2022

Taxonomy and systematics

Lafresnaye's piculet has these four subspecies: *''P. l. lafresnayi''

Malherbe Malherbe may refer to: People * Malherbe (surname) ** François de Malherbe (1555-1628), French poet, reformer of French language Places France * La Haye-Malherbe, municipality of Eure (département), Eure * Malherbe-sur-Ajon, new municipal ...

, 1862 *''P. l. punctifrons'' Taczanowski, 1886 *''P. l. taczanowskii'' Domaniewski, 1925 *''P. l. pusillus''

Pinto Pinto is a Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish language, Spanish, Sephardi Jews, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian language, Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all List of countries and territories where Portuguese is an officia ...

, 1936 What is now Lafresnaye's piculet was for a time treated as a subspecies of the

bar-breasted piculet The bar-breasted piculet (''Picumnus aurifrons'') is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbi ...

(''P. aurifrons''). Subspecies ''P. l. punctifrons'' was at one time treated as a separate species. What is now the Orinoco piculet (''P. pumilus'') was previously considered to be a subspecies of Lafresnaye's piculet, and they are now thought to form a superspecies.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved July 24, 2022

Description

Lafresnaye's piculet is long and weighs . Adult males of the nominate subspecies ''P. l. lafresnayi'' have a dark olive-brown cap with red spots on the forehead and whitish ones on the rest of it and the nape. Their face is grayish buff with brown streaks or spots and a pale stripe behind the eye. Their upperparts are dark green or brownish green with yellowish green bars. The upper side of their tail is blackish; the innermost pair of feathers have mostly white inner webs and the outer three pairs have a large white area near the tip. Their chin and throat are buffish white with narrow black marks. Their underparts are pale yellowish white with wide black bars. Adult females are identical but for whitish spots on their entire crown. Juveniles are similar to adults but duller overall, greener above, and less evenly barred below.Winkler, H. and D. A. Christie (2020). Lafresnaye's Piculet (''Picumnus lafresnayi''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.lafpic1.01 retrieved January 9, 2023 The other three subspecies of Lafresnaye's piculet have yellow-orange spots on the forehead instead of the nominate's red ones. In addition, ''P. l. punctifrons'' has a darker face and narrower bars on its underparts than the nominate. ''P. l. taczanowskii'' has a blacker crown and wider, more irregular, dark barring on its underparts. ''P. l. pusillus'' has a slight rufous tinge to its upperparts, narrow dark bars on its underparts, and a mostly unbarred center of the belly.

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of Lafresnaye's piculet are found thus: *''P. l. lafresnayi'', from southeastern Colombia south through eastern Ecuador to Peru's

Department of San Martín San Martín () is a department and region in northern Peru. Most of the department is located in the upper part of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. Its capital is Moyobamba and the largest city in the department is Tarapoto. Geography Boundar ...

*''P. l. punctifrons'', northern Peru's

Amazonas Department Amazonas () is a department of Southern Colombia in the south of the country. It is the largest department in area while also having the 3rd smallest population. Its capital is Leticia and its name comes from the Amazon River, which drains t ...

*''P. l. taczanowskii'', northeastern and north-central Peru between the departments of

Huánuco Huánuco (; qu, Wanuku) is a city in central Peru. It had a population of 196,627 as of 2017 and in 2015 it had a population of 175,068. It is the capital of the Huánuco Region and the Huánuco District. It is the seat of the diocese of Huán ...

and

Ayacucho Ayacucho (, qu, Ayak'uchu) is the capital city of Ayacucho Region and of Huamanga Province, Ayacucho Region, Peru. During the Inca Empire and Viceroyalty of Peru periods the city was known by the name of Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga), and it c ...

*''P. l. pusillus'', north-central Brazil along the middle Amazon east to the Rio Negro Lafresnaye's piculet inhabits the edges and clearings of humid mature forest and also

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth 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. ...

. In elevation it mostly is found up to but occurs occasionally as high as in Ecuador.

Behavior

Movement

As far as is known, Lafresnaye's piculet is a year-round resident throughout its range.

Feeding

Lafresnaye's piculet gleans prey in the lower and middle strata of the forest. It is known to favor termites and is assumed to also feed on other small invertebrates. It often joins

mixed-species foraging flock A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These ar ...

Breeding

Lafresnaye's piculet apparently breeds between July and November. Few nests are known; one was in a hole about above the ground in a shrub and had two eggs. Both sexes care for hatchlings. The incubation period and time to fledging are not known.

Vocalization

Lafresnaye's piculet is not highly vocal, but does occasionally make a "high-pitched 'tseeyt, tsit'." The call has also been described as an "extr. high 'see-see'."

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed Lafresnaye's piculet as being of Least Concern. It has a large range but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered " common to fairly common" in Ecuador and rare in Peru.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1266137

Lafresnaye's piculet Lafresnaye's piculet (''Picumnus lafresnayi'') is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Ja ...

Birds of the Colombian Amazon Birds of the Peruvian Amazon Birds of the Amazon Basin

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot