Olivaceous Piculet

About the Olivaceous Piculet

The olivaceous piculet (Picumnus olivaceus) 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 olivaceous piculet has these six subspecies:

P. o. dimotus Bangs, 1903 P. o. flavotinctus Ridgway, 1889 P. o. olivaceus Lafresnaye, 1845 P. o. eisenmanni Phelps, W.H. Jr. & Aveledo, 1966 P. o. tachirensis Phelps, W.H. & Gilliard, 1941 P. o. harterti Hellmayr, 1909 The olivaceous piculet and the grayish piculet (P. granadensis) were at one time considered to be conspecific and are now treated as sister species. The "evidence for treatment as separate species is weak". Some authors have proposed splitting each of subspecies flavotinctus and olivaceous into two subspecies but those changes have not been accepted.

The olivaceous piculet is 8.5 to 10 cm (3.3 to 3.9 in) long and weighs 10 to 15 g (0.35 to 0.53 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies P. o. olivaceus have a black crown and nape with red tips on the feathers of the front and top and white spots on the rest. Their face is mostly brown with white feather tips... Wikipedia →