Little Woodpecker

Overview

The little woodpecker (Dryobates passerinus) is a small bird in the woodpecker family Picidae, found in mainland South America excluding Chile, Suriname, and Uruguay. It is a highly adaptable species that inhabits a wide variety of wooded landscapes while generally avoiding dense forest interiors.

Identification

• Size and Weight: Approximately 14 to 15 cm long and weighing between 24 and 37 g.
• Plumage: Upperparts are bronzy olive-green with red feather tips; underparts are dark olive narrowly barred with buffish white.
• Head Markings: Males typically possess a red forehead, crown, and nape, whereas females are greyish olive-brown in these areas; both have a dark brownish-olive face with pale barring on the chin and throat.
• Call: Produces a high-pitched series of 'ki, ki, ki' or 'wi-wi-wi' sounds, along with 'wicka' or 'wik-wik-wik' calls, and also drums.

Habitat

Found in gallery forest with bamboo stands, deciduous woodland, mangroves, secondary forest, wooded savanna, and caatinga, as well as the edges of cloudforest, várzea, and riparian forest. It ranges from sea level along the Atlantic coast to elevations of up to 1,300 m in Ecuador, although it is usually found below 700 m.

Diet

The species feeds on a wide variety of adult and larval insects, including ants, termites, and beetles. It forages at all levels of the forest, from undergrowth to canopy, with a preference for bamboo, and vigorously pecks and hammers on trunks and branches to extract prey.

Did you know?

The specific name passerinus is derived from Latin and means 'sparrow-like'.