The African piculet, sometimes placed in the genus Sasia, is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Verreauxia. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, and Uganda. This species is described as locally common and has a very large range, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Region
West and Central Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs through the Guineo-Congolian lowland forests from West Africa east into the Congo Basin and locally into western Uganda. It inhabits primary and secondary rainforest, forest edges, clearings with regrowth, gallery forest, and tangled vine thickets. The species favors dead or decaying wood, thin branches, and lianas where small insects are abundant. It can also be found in partially degraded habitats and farmbush close to forest.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The African piculet is the only member of the genus Verreauxia and is sometimes placed with Asian piculets in Sasia. It is one of Africa’s smallest woodpeckers and typically forages on thin vines and dead twigs rather than large trunks. Unlike many woodpeckers, it lacks a stiff tail for bracing and relies on delicate gleaning and tapping. Males usually show a small red forecrown patch.
Temperament
secretive but active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly, in pairs, or family parties, and often joins mixed-species flocks in the understory and midstory. Nests are small cavities excavated in soft, decaying wood or dead twigs. Both parents are thought to share incubation and feeding duties for the young.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Voice consists of thin, high-pitched notes and short trills; calls can be easily overlooked in dense foliage. Drumming is weak and infrequent, more a soft tapping than the rolling drum of larger woodpeckers.
Plumage
Tiny, woodpecker-like bird with olive-brown to dusky upperparts and finely barred or scalloped pale underparts; short tail and very short, straight bill.
Diet
Feeds mainly on small insects and their larvae, including ants, beetles, and other arthropods found in dead wood and under bark. It gleans and probes on twigs, small branches, and vine tangles, occasionally pecking at soft, decayed wood. Foraging is delicate and methodical rather than heavy hammering.
Preferred Environment
Most often forages in the understory to mid-canopy on slender branches and lianas, especially in edges and secondary growth. Frequently exploits vine tangles, dead twigs, and small stubs where insect larvae concentrate.
