Plain-breasted piculet

A small bird with a short tail, the plain-breasted piculet typically grows to a length of 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in).[3] It is mostly grey on the face and its nape and upper neck are finely barred in an olive green color. Its mantle and back are an olive, brown or grey color with slight pale barring and a light yellowish-brown, or buff, tinge. The wings are a darker shade of brown. The upper side of its tail is brown with a pair of white feathers in the center. Its underparts are a pale buff or white.[3]

The sexes differ slightly in that the male has a black crown speckled with red and orange and the female has a plain black crown. Both sexes have chestnut irises, pinkish-buff orbital rings, greyish legs and a greyish beak with the upper mandible appearing somewhat darker than the lower one.[4] The bird's song is a descending series of high-pitched notes "Tree'e'e'e'e'e'e."[5]

The species is endemic to South America on the eastern side of the Andes where it lives in the western part of the Amazon basin. The species is present in southern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, Peru and western Brazil at altitudes of up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft). It is found in open parts of humid lowland forests, flooded forests, riverside corridors, swamps, thickets and groves, and logged areas with secondary growth and wooded pastures. It often occurs in areas of young Cecropia and Mimosa trees.[4]

The plain-breasted piculet is usually seen by itself or in pairs, but it will occasionally joins small flocks of birds of mixed species. It forages inconspicuously in mid-to-low canopies and may be detected from the pecking sounds it makes while foraging. Its diet is unknown.[6] It probably breeds between May and July.[6]

P. castelnau is fairly common over most of its range, and common on certain islands in the Amazon. Although there is a decline in the quantity and quality of its rainforest habitats, it is a fairly adaptable species and has moved into secondary growth forest, degraded forest and even wooded farmland and gardens. The total population is thought to be steady and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern."[1][4]

• Data related to Picumnus castelnau at Wikispecies