White-browed Piculet

Overview

The white-browed piculet (Sasia ochracea) is a small bird in the family Picidae found across tropical southeastern Asia. It is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN due to its extensive range and stable population.

Identification

• Sasia ochracea has olive-green upper parts tinged with chestnut and cinnamon or rufous underparts, sometimes yellowish on the flanks.
• Distinguished by a white streak above and behind the eye, surrounded by a ring of bare pinkish or reddish skin.
• Males possess a small golden-yellow patch on the forehead, while females lack this mark.
• The bird has a grey beak, red iris, yellow or orange legs, and notably only three toes instead of the four typical for woodpeckers.

Habitat

Native to tropical southeastern Asia, the range extends from northern India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh through southern China to Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. It inhabits dense wet or dry forest with plenty of vines and bamboo, as well as scrub and swampy woodlands, found at altitudes up to 2,600 m.

Diet

It forages in the understory layer not far above the ground, pecking and probing with its sharp beak for small insects, bark beetles, ants, termites, spiders and other small invertebrates. It often forages in pairs or joins small mixed-species flocks, occasionally descending to the ground to hop for short distances.

Did you know?

This bird uses pieces of broken bamboo to construct its nest, picking up the fragments with its feet and pulling away partially broken parts with its beak.