Picumnus minutissimus
The diminutive Arrowhead Piculet (Picumnus minutissimus) is a captivating member of the Picidae family, renowned for being one of the smallest woodpecker relatives globally, typically measuring only 7-9 cm in length and weighing a mere 8-12 grams. Its plumage is subtly beautiful, featuring olive-green upperparts often faintly barred or streaked, contrasting with plain, pale underparts that lend it the alternate name "Plain-breasted Piculet." Distinctive field marks include its minuscule size,...
This piculet primarily inhabits tropical and subtropical moist lowland forests, often favoring forest edges, secondary growth, gallery forests along watercourses, and areas with dense understory vegetation up to elevations of around 1000 meters.
The diet of the Arrowhead Piculet consists almost exclusively of insects, particularly ants, ant larvae, small beetles, and other arthropods, which it extracts by gleaning and probing bark, moss, and rotten wood.
The Arrowhead Piculet is a diurnal and generally solitary or pair-bonded bird, often observed methodically foraging in the lower to mid-strata of the forest. Its foraging strategy involves active gleaning, probing, and tapping on small branches, twigs, and vines, meticulously searching for insect...
The Arrowhead Piculet boasts a broad distribution across northern South America, primarily within the Guianan Shield and parts of the Amazon Basin. Its breeding range extends from eastern Venezuela, throughout Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, and into northern Brazil, specifically north of th...
Least Concern
- The Arrowhead Piculet is one of the smallest members of the Picidae family (woodpeckers and allies) in the world, often weighing less than a quarter of an ounce. - Unlike true woodpeckers, piculets have short, stiff tails that are not used as a prop against tree trunks, reflecting their prefere...