Ecuadorian piculet
The Ecuadorian piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Ecuadorian piculet has three subspecies, the nominate P. s. sclateri, P. s. parvistriatus, and P. s. porcullae. P. s. parvistriatus was originally described as a separate species.Description
The Ecuadorian piculet is long and weighs about. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a black cap with tiny yellow spots on the forehead and tiny white ones on the rest of it. Their upperparts are gray-brown with obscure darker 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 white area near the tip. Their underparts are whitish with black or dusky barring on the breast and flanks and black streaks on the belly. Adult females are identical but for whitish spots on their entire crown.Subspecies P. s. parvistriatus has larger white spots on the crown than the nominate, and the bars and streaks on the underparts are much thinner. P. s. porcullae has pale beige streaking on the upperparts and its underparts have black barring and little to no streaking.
Distribution and habitat
Subspecies P. s. parvistriatus of the Ecuadorian piculet is the northernmost, and its range is separate from that of the other two. It is found in western Ecuador from Manabí Province to northern Guayas Province. P. s. sclateri is found from El Oro and Loja provinces in southwestern Ecuador south into extreme northwestern Peru. P. s. porcullae is found in northwestern Peru's departments of Piura and Lambayeque.The Ecuadorian piculet primarily inhabits deciduous forest and arid scrublands, though in Loja it also occurs in more humid landscapes. In elevation it ranges in Ecuador from near sea level to about, though mostly is below. In Peru it occurs up to but mostly is below.