The fine-barred piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Brazil and Peru.
Region
Southwestern Amazon Basin
Typical Environment
Occurs in lowland forests of eastern Peru and western Brazil (notably Acre), favoring bamboo-dominated thickets, riverine secondary growth, and forest edges. It is particularly associated with stands of Guadua bamboo and often uses vine tangles and young regenerating woodland. The species forages at low to mid-levels, frequently along stream margins and clearings. It can persist in lightly disturbed habitats provided dense understory is present.
Altitude Range
100–900 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The fine-barred piculet is one of the tiniest woodpeckers, able to forage on the thinnest twigs and bamboo stems where larger woodpeckers cannot. Unlike many woodpeckers, it rarely drums and instead communicates with thin trills and high, sibilant calls. It is closely associated with bamboo thickets in the southwestern Amazon and is easily overlooked due to its quiet, unobtrusive behavior.
Temperament
quiet, furtive, and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with brief undulations
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly, in pairs, or small family groups, and often joins mixed-species flocks in bamboo-rich areas. Both sexes excavate a small cavity nest in soft wood or a rotting stem. Clutches are small, and parents share incubation and chick rearing. Territorial displays are subtle, relying on posture and calls rather than drumming.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives high, thin trills and squeaky, sibilant notes in short series. Calls are soft and easily lost in background insect noise, often a rapid, descending tsee-tsee-tsee.
Plumage
Fine, even barring across the underparts and often on the upperparts, giving a subtly striped appearance; texture is sleek with tight, short contour feathers.
Diet
Feeds mainly on tiny arthropods such as ants, termites, beetles, and their larvae gleaned from bark crevices, bamboo nodes, and thin twigs. It probes and pecks delicately rather than heavy chiseling, reflecting its small size. Occasionally takes small spiders and other soft-bodied invertebrates.
Preferred Environment
Forages in dense bamboo stands, vine tangles, and secondary growth along rivers and edges. Often works at lower to mid-level strata, including outer branchlets and bamboo culms where prey is abundant.
