Scaled Piculet

About the Scaled Piculet

The scaled piculet (Picumnus squamulatus) is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. The scaled piculet was formally described in 1854 by the French ornithologist Frédéric de Lafresnaye under the current binomial name Picumnus squamulatus based on a specimen collected in Colombia. The specific epithet is from Latin squamula meaning "little scale".

Five subspecies are recognised: P. s. squamulatus Lafresnaye, 1854 – northeast, central Colombia P. s. roehli Zimmer, JT & Phelps, WH, 1944 – northeast Colombia and north Venezuela P. s. obsoletus Allen, JA, 1892 – northeast Venezuela

P. s. lovejoyi Phelps, WH Jr & Aveledo, 1987 – northwest Venezuela P. s. apurensis Phelps, WH Jr & Aveledo, 1987 – central north Venezuela Subspecies P. s. lovejoyi might not be distinctive enough to warrant treatment as a taxon.

A study published in 2014 found that the black-dotted piculet, P. nigropunctatus Zimmer and Phelps (1950) was a junior synonym of Picumnus obsoletus Allen, JA (1892). The scaled piculet is 8 to 9.2 cm (3.1 to 3.6 in) long and weighs 7 to 12 g (0.25 to 0.42 oz). Adult males of... Wikipedia →