Bird Guide

Chestnut Piculet vs Lafresnaye's Piculet

Chestnut Piculet (Picumnus cinnamomeus)

Chestnut Piculet

Picumnus cinnamomeus

Tiny11 gWoodland

The chestnut piculet is 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) long. Adult males of the nominate subspecies P. c. cinnamomeus have a pale creamy forehead, a black crown with yellow-tipped feathers, and a black nape with white-tipped feathers. The rest of their body is deep rufous to rusty brown, with the rump and belly being a bit paler than the rest. Their wings are dark brown with cinnamon to rufous edges and tips to the feathers. Their tail is brownish black; the innermost pair of feathers have a cinnamon stripe on the inner webs and the outer two pairs a cinnamon stripe on the outer webs. Voice: The chestnut piculet's song is "a series of 3-8 high-pitched notes ti.ti.ti.ti.ti descending in pitch".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: tomas_kay · CC BY 4.0
Lafresnaye's Piculet (Picumnus lafresnayi)

Lafresnaye's Piculet

Picumnus lafresnayi

Tiny9 gForest

Lafresnaye's piculet is 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) long and weighs 9 to 10 g (0.32 to 0.35 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies P. l. lafresnayi have a dark olive-brown cap with red spots on the forehead and whitish ones on the rest of it and the nape. Their face is grayish buff with brown streaks or spots and a pale stripe behind the eye. Their upperparts are dark green or brownish green with yellowish green bars. The upper side of their tail is blackish; the innermost pair of feathers have mostly white inner webs and the outer three pairs have a large white area near the tip. Voice: Lafresnaye's piculet is not highly vocal, but does occasionally make a "high-pitched 'tseeyt, tsit'." The call has also been described as an "extr. high 'see-see'."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Lafresnaye's Piculet
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Zamora-Chinchipe: SE Zumba: turnoff to Chito on La Chonta - El Chorro road, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: David F. Belmonte · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Chestnut Piculet and Lafresnaye's Piculet.