The order Piciformes is made up of the woodpecker family Picidae plus 8 other families. Picidae make up about half of the species. In general, the Piciformes are insectivorous, but some exceptions eat mostly fruit. Nearly all Piciformes have parrot-like feet—two toes forward and two back, an arrangement that has obvious advantages for birds that spend much of their time on tree trunks. And most Piciformes do not have down feathers at any age, only true feathers. All nest in cavites.
Family Picidae: Piculets
The picutlets are mainly Central and South American woodpeckers. They are among the smallest of the woodpecker family. Most have white dots on dark caps. The males also have red dots or streaks on the fore-crown.
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Genus Picumnus (Asia)
Piculet,_Speckled Picumnus innominatus Found: Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia
The Speckled Piculet has olive-green upperparts; white stripe side of head; creamy white underparts with black spots. Male has orange and brown on forecrown.
Image by: 1) Naturelly 2) Francesco Veronesi - Thailand 3) Imran_Shah - Pakistan
1) Female 2) Male
Genus Picumnus (Central and South America)
Piculet,_Arrowhead Picumnus minutissimus Found: French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname
The Arrowhead Piculet has olive-brown upperparts; browner over wings; whitsih underparts marked with brownish-black scales. Upperpart feathers have blackish wedge-shaped centers, whence its name. Male has predominantly red crown; female has black crown with white spots.
Image by: 1) Mike_Allen - Suriname 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Henk Nijssen in Guyana1) Female 2) Male
Piculet,_Bar-breasted Picumnus aurifrons Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru
The Bar-breasted Piculet has yellowish-green plumage; horizontal barring on breast; vertical stripes on belly.
Image by: 1) Mac_Dodge 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Anselmo_d’Affonseca 3) Nick_Athanas - Brazil
Piculet,_Chestnut Picumnus cinnamomeus Found: northern Colombia, northwestern Venezuela
The Chestnut Picolet has mainly chestnut-brown plumage; black crown flecked with gold (males); black crown flecked whitish (females).
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Andrew_Spencer 2) Nick_Athanas - Columbia1) Female 2) Male
Piculet,_Ecuadorian Picumnus sclateri Found: Ecuador, Peru
The Ecuadorian Piculet has brownish upperparts; black cap spotted with white (male has some yellow spots); whitish underparts with brown barring.
Image by: 1) Francesco_Veronesi - Ecuador 2) Dusan_Brinkhuizen - Ecuador 3, 4) Nick_Athanas - Ecuador, Peru
3) Picumnus sclateri sclateri 4) Picumnus sclateri porcullae
Piculet,_Fine-barred Picumnus subtilis Found: eastern Peru, western Brazil
The Fine-barred Piculet olive upperpart; black crown (male's has some red); grayish underparts with some fine barring.
Image by: 1) Joel_Rosenthal 2) Daniel_Lane 3) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Silvia Faustino Linhares 1) Female 2, 3) Male
Piculet,_Golden-spangled Picumnus exilis Found: South America
The Golden-spangled Piculet has black-barred yellowish underparts; black cap with mainly white dots (male has red dots at forehead); yellow spangles on back; small white patch above base of bill. It is Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Similar to: Lafresnaye's Piculet. Golden-spangled Piculet has yellow spangles on back; Lafresnaye's Piculet has barred back. Golden-spangled Piculet has small white patch above base of bill; Lafresnaye's Piculet does not.
Similar to: Orinoco Piculet. Golden-spangled Piculet has darker barring on underparts than Orinoco Piculet.
Image by: 1) Guilherme Jófili 2) Nick_Athanas 3) Claudio_D_Timm - BrazilSimilar to: Lafresnaye's Piculet. Golden-spangled Piculet has yellow spangles on back; Lafresnaye's Piculet has barred back. Golden-spangled Piculet has small white patch above base of bill; Lafresnaye's Piculet does not.
Similar to: Orinoco Piculet. Golden-spangled Piculet has darker barring on underparts than Orinoco Piculet.
1, 2) Female 4) Male
2) Picumnus exilis nigropunctatus 4) Picumnus exilis pernambucensis
Piculet,_Grayish Picumnus granadensis Found: Columbia
The Grayish Piculet has light gray underparts (most subspecies have faint streaks); black cap with white freckles (male forehead has yellow freckles); greenish-brown upperparts and ear coverts.
Similar to: White-bellied Piculet. White-bellied Piiculet has speckled flanks; Grayish Piculet does not have speckled flanks, Ranges not overlap.
Image by: 1) Dave Curtis 2) Francesco_Veronesi 3) Ron Knight 4) Arley_VargasSimilar to: White-bellied Piculet. White-bellied Piiculet has speckled flanks; Grayish Piculet does not have speckled flanks, Ranges not overlap.
1, 2) Female 3, 4) Male
Piculet, Lafresnaye's Picumnus lafresnayi Found: Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
The Lafresnaye's Piculet has black-barred yellowish underparts; black cap with mainly white dots (male has red forehead).
Similar to: Golden-spangled Piculet. Golden-spangled Piculet has yellow spangles on back; Lafresnaye's Piculet has barred back. Golden-spangled Piculet has small white patch above base of bill; Lafresnaye's Piculet does not.
Similar to: Orinoco Piculet. Orinoco Piculet has thinner barring on underparts than Lafresnaye's Piculet.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Anselmo_d’Affonseca 3) Nick_AthanasSimilar to: Golden-spangled Piculet. Golden-spangled Piculet has yellow spangles on back; Lafresnaye's Piculet has barred back. Golden-spangled Piculet has small white patch above base of bill; Lafresnaye's Piculet does not.
Similar to: Orinoco Piculet. Orinoco Piculet has thinner barring on underparts than Lafresnaye's Piculet.
Piculet, Mottled Picumnus nebulosus Found: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay
The Mottled Piculet has brown upperparts; whitish throat with black bars; yellowish-buff underparts with broad black streaks; black cap with mainly white dots (male has red streaks on forehead)
Image by: 1) Nick_Athanas 2, 3) Cláudio Timm - Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil1, 2) Female 3) Male
Piculet,_Ocellated Picumnus dorbignyanus Found: Argentina, Bolivia, Peru
The Ocellated Piculet has gray or grayish-brown upperparts; white or buffy underparts with scales or sparse black spots; black crown (red fore-crown for male).
Image by: 1) Kristian_Svensson - Peru 2) Joseph_Smit 3) Fabrice_Schmitt - Peru
Piculet,_Ochraceous Picumnus limae Found: eastern Brazil
The Ochraceous Piculet has brown upperparts; pale tawny underparts with faint streaks over the breast; black crown, spotted with white. Male has red on fore-crown.
Similar to: Tawny Piculet. Tawny Piculet has more deeply saturated underparts, neck and back than Ochraceous Piculet. Tawny's range is more south and east than Ochraceous's range.
Image by: 1, 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Joao_Quental, Celuta_Machado 3) Hector Bottai Similar to: Tawny Piculet. Tawny Piculet has more deeply saturated underparts, neck and back than Ochraceous Piculet. Tawny's range is more south and east than Ochraceous's range.
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1) Female 2, 2) Male
Piculet,_Ochre-collared Picumnus temminckii Found: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay
The Ochre-collared Piculet has ochre face, hind-neck; brown upperparts; black-barred white underparts; black cap with mainly white dots (male has red fore-crown)
Image by: 1, 2)
Dario Sanches - Brazil 3) Ben Tavener - Brazil 4) Francesco_Veronesi - Brazil.jpg){kind=link}
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1) Female 2, 3, 4) Male
Piculet, Olivaceous Picumnus olivaceus Found: Central America, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
The Olivaceous Piculet has olive-brown upperparts; tawny underparts with darker brown streaks; black cap with mainly white dots (male has red-streaked forehead); brownish nape.
Image by: 1) Neil_Martinez - Columbia 2) Jei_Pov - Columbia 3) Sergey_Pisarevskiy - Columbia
Piculet, Orinoco Picumnus pumilus Found: Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela.
The Orinico Piculet has black-barred yellowish underparts; black cap with mainly white dots (male has yellow dots on forehead).
Similar to: Golden-spangled Piculet. Golden-spangled Piculet has darker barring on underparts than Orinoco Piculet.
Similar to: Lafresnaye's Piculet. Orinoco Piculet has thinner barring on underparts than Lafresnaye's Piculet.
Image by: 1, 2) Diego Calderon 3) Nick_Athanas - ColumbiaSimilar to: Golden-spangled Piculet. Golden-spangled Piculet has darker barring on underparts than Orinoco Piculet.
Similar to: Lafresnaye's Piculet. Orinoco Piculet has thinner barring on underparts than Lafresnaye's Piculet.
Piculet,_Plain-breasted Picumnus castelnau Found: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
The Plain-breasted Piculet has grayish-olive upperparts; whitish underparts; black crown.. Male has some red on the crown.
Image by: 1) Felix_Uribe - Columbia 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Susana Cubas Poclin1, 2) Female
Piculet,_Rufous-breasted Picumnus rufiventris Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
The Rufous-breasted Piculet has has olive upperparts with some rufous on mantle; black crown with white spots ( some red on male); rufous-chestnut, underparts).
Image by: 1) Joe_Tobias 2) Ximeconjota 3) Joaquin_Ugarte1) Female 2, 3) Male
Piculet,_Rusty-necked Picumnus fuscus Found: along Bolivia / Brazil border
The Rusty-necked Piculet has mainly buffy-cinnamon plumage; black crown (male has reddish-orange streaking).
Image by: 1) hbw.com 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Adrian_Eisen_Rupp |1, 2) Male
Piculet,_Scaled Picumnus squamulatus Found: Columbia, Venezuela
The Scaled Piculet has brownish-olive upperparts with darker scale-like pattern; white underparts with blackish scale-like pattern; black cap with mainly white dots (male has red streaks on forehead).
Image by: 1, 2) Barloventomagico - Venezuela 3) Fernando_Flores_(%E2%99%80)_(13984956814).jpg){kind=link}
Piculet,_Speckle-chested Picumnus steindachneri Found: Peru
Tje Speckle-chested Piculet has gray or grayish-brown upperparts; black breast speckled with with; white belly barred with black. Male has mainly black crown with red fore-crown; female has black crown.
Image by: 1) Joseph_Smit 2) Carlos_Calle - Peru 3) Nick_Athanas 
Piculet,_Spotted Picumnus pygmaeus Found: northeast Brazil
The Spotted Piculet has black head; brown underparts with white spots, Male has red forecrown; female has black.
Image by: 1) Hector_Bottai 2) J_Quental .jpg){kind=link}
Piculet,_Tawny Picumnus fulvescens Found: eastern Brazil
The Tawny Piculet has brown upperparts; pale tawny underparts with faint streaks over the breast; black crown, spotted with white. Male has red on fore-crown.
Similar to: Ochraceous Piculet. Tawny Piculet has more deeply saturated underparts, neck and back than Ochraceous Piculet. Tawny's range is more south and east than Ochraceous's range.
Image by: 1, 2) Murilo_Nascimento 3) Nick_AthanasSimilar to: Ochraceous Piculet. Tawny Piculet has more deeply saturated underparts, neck and back than Ochraceous Piculet. Tawny's range is more south and east than Ochraceous's range.
Piculet,_Varzea Picumnus varzeae Found: Brazil's Amazon basin.
The Varzea Piculet has dark brown face, underparts. Male has mainly black crown with red fore-crown; female has black crown.
Image by: 1, 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Anselmo_d’Affonseca 1) Female 2) Male
Piculet,_White-barred Picumnus cirratus Found: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay
The white-barred Piculet has brown upperparts; black crown (male has red fore-crown); white underparts with black bars.
Image by: 1) Cláudio Timm - Argentina, 2) Dario_Sanches 3) Carlos_Henrique 4) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Hudson 
1, 2, 3) Female 4) Male
Piculet, White-bellied Picumnus spilogaster Found: Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela.
The White-bellied Piculet has off-white underparts with speckled flanks; greenish-brown upperparts; black cap with mainly white dots (male has red dots at forehead). It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Similar to: Grayish Piculet. White-bellied Piiculet has speckled flanks; Grayish Piculet does not have speckled flanks, Ranges not overlap.
Image by: 1) Dave Curtis - Guyana 2) Kester_Clarke - Guyana Similar to: Grayish Piculet. White-bellied Piiculet has speckled flanks; Grayish Piculet does not have speckled flanks, Ranges not overlap.
1) Female 2, 3) Male 3) Picumnus spilogaster orinocensis
Piculet, White-wedged Picumnus albosquamatus Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay
The White-wedged Piculet has brown upperparts; black crown (male red fore-crown); black and white underparts with breast feathers scaly black also..
Image by: 1) Claudio_D_Timm 2) Nick_Athanas - Brazil 3) Wagner Lemes 1, 2) Female 3) Male
Genus Sasia
Piculet,_African Sasia africana Found: Africa
The male African Piculet has upperparts mainly dark green tinged with yellow; greenish crown; reddish forehead; brownish-black wings; gray throat, breast; paler belly; black bill; reddish legs. Female does not have red forehead.
Image by: 1) Ulrich_prokop 2) Lars_Peterrson_distr05.png){kind=link}
Piculet,_Antillean Nesoctites micromegas Found: Caribbean island of Hispaniola
The Antillean Piculet has olive green upperparts; off-white underparts with streaks and spots; male has yellow crown with yellow spot in the center. Female lacks the yellow spot. It is twice as large as the other piculets.
Image by: 1, 2) Ron_Knight
Piculet,_Rufous Sasia abnormis Found: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand
The Rufous Piculet has green upperparts; rufous, orange, or cinnamon underparts; paler flanks; brownish upper-wing; buff under-wing; blackish tail. Male has yellows patch on forehead; female has bronze patch.
Image by: 1) Francesco_Veronesi - Thailand 2) Michael_Gillam - Thailand 3) LonelyShrimp
Piculet,_White-browed Sasia ochracea Found: Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia
The White-browed Piculet uses its feet to pick up broken bamboo, and its beak to tear off bamboo that is partially broken.
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Vijay_Ismavel - India 4) Dibyendu_Ash - India
