Ochraceous piculet facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ochraceous piculet
A male ochraceous piculet at Guaramiranga, Ceará state, Brazil
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Piciformes
Family:	Picidae
Genus:	Picumnus
Species:	P. limae
Binomial name
Picumnus limae Snethlage, 1924
Range of northern population of ochraceous piculet (see text)
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The ochraceous piculet (Picumnus limae) is a small, interesting bird that belongs to the woodpecker family. It's found only in eastern Brazil. This bird is special because it's one of the smallest woodpeckers!

About This Bird's Family Tree

Scientists who study birds often group them into families. This is called taxonomy. The ochraceous piculet is part of the woodpecker family, Picidae.

Sometimes, scientists disagree about how to classify animals. For a while, some thought there were two types of ochraceous piculets: a northern one and a southern one. The southern one was called the tawny piculet. However, most bird experts now agree that they are all the same species. This is because their color differences change slowly across their habitat, like a gradual fade.

What the Ochraceous Piculet Looks Like

The ochraceous piculet is a tiny bird, about 4 inches (10 cm) long. It weighs between 0.28 and 0.42 ounces (8 to 12 grams).

Colors and Patterns

• Males: They have a black cap on their head. The feathers on their forehead have red tips. The rest of their cap has small white spots.
• Females: They look just like the males, but they don't have any red on their forehead.
• Upper Body: Their back and wings can be grayish or brownish. They have a whitish area on the back of their neck.
• Under Body: Their belly and chest can be yellowish-white to a rusty brown. Sometimes, they have lighter streaks.
• Tail: Their tail is mostly blackish. The two feathers closest to their body have white on the inside. The two outer pairs of feathers have a white patch near the end.

The colors of these birds change gradually from north to south. Birds in the north are usually lighter, while those in the south are darker.

Other Features

Their eyes are brown. Their beak is gray with a black tip. Their legs are gray.

Young Birds

Young piculets, called juveniles, look similar to the adults. However, their crown (the top of their head) is brown with white streaks on the sides.

Where the Ochraceous Piculet Lives

This bird lives only in northeastern Brazil. You can find it from the state of Ceará in the north, all the way south to Sergipe. It also lives inland in Piauí.

Habitat

The ochraceous piculet lives in many different types of places. These include:

• Dry, open forests in the north, known as Caatinga.
• Dense, humid forests in the south, part of the Atlantic Forest.
• It can live in untouched forests.
• It also lives in places changed by people, like city parks!

How the Ochraceous Piculet Behaves

Movement

These birds don't migrate. They stay in the same area all year round.

Feeding Habits

Scientists don't know a lot about what the ochraceous piculet eats or how it finds food. We do know that it looks for food on small branches. Its diet includes insect larvae, which are like baby insects.

Reproduction (Life Cycle)

The breeding season for the ochraceous piculet seems to be from November to August.

• Nests: Both the male and female work together to dig a nest hole. They usually make their nests in a tree trunk. Sometimes, they even use a fence post! These nests are typically between 3 and 13 feet (1 to 4 meters) above the ground.
• Eggs: A female can lay anywhere from one to four eggs.
• Parenting: Both parents take turns sitting on the eggs to keep them warm (this is called incubating). They also both bring food to their baby birds once they hatch. The exact time it takes for eggs to hatch or for chicks to leave the nest is not known.

Vocalization (Sounds)

The sounds the ochraceous piculet makes are pretty similar across all its populations.

• Song: Its song is usually a series of high-pitched, fast trills. It starts with longer, higher-pitched sounds and ends with shorter, lower-pitched sounds.
  • The northern birds' song has been described as "tee-tee-tee-titiwi."
  • The southern birds' song (sometimes called the "tawny" population) sounds like "see-see-see-sisi-wi."
• Calls: The birds also make short, high-pitched sounds. These calls are not rhythmic and are used in different situations.

Status and Conservation

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) is an organization that checks on how many animals are left in the world. They used to consider the northern and southern populations of the piculet as separate.

• Northern Population: This group was once considered "Vulnerable," meaning they were at risk. But since 2010, they are listed as "Least Concern." This means there are enough of them, and their numbers seem to be stable.
• Southern Population: This group is currently listed as "Near Threatened." This means they might become endangered soon. Their numbers are believed to be going down.

Threats

The main problem for these birds is that their habitat (the places they live) is shrinking. Forests are being cut down for:

• Farms and growing crops.
• Land for animals to graze.
• New buildings and cities.

Even though their habitat is disappearing, the ochraceous piculet is quite adaptable. It can live in areas that have been changed by people, and even in cities! The southern population is more affected by "massive deforestation" for logging and sugarcane farms.

Luckily, this bird lives in several protected areas, which helps keep them safe.