Golden-spangled Piculet

The golden-spangled piculet is 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) long and weighs 8.5 to 10 g (0.30 to 0.35 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies P. e. exilis have a black cap and nape, with red spots on the forehead and white spots on the rest. Their face is yellowish white with dark speckles, bare grayish skin around the eye, and a pale stripe behind the eye. Their upperparts are olive green with darker centers to the feathers. Their primaries and secondaries are brownish green with yellow-green edges. Their wing coverts are olive green with narrow white edges and black-edged white tips. The upper side of their tail is dark brown; the innermost pair of feathers have mostly white inner webs and the outer three pairs have a large white patch near the tip. Their chin, throat, and underparts are pale yellowish with blackish bars that are more spot-like on the belly. The beak's maxilla is black and the mandible black with a silvery base; the legs are grayish with sometimes a green or blue tinge. Adult females are identical but for white spots on their entire crown. Juveniles are similar to adults but duller overall, an olive crown with pale streaking, and more diffuse bars on the underparts. Subspecies P. e. undulatus has a more olive color on its upperparts than the nominate, with large black feather centers, and its wing coverts' tips are not as contrasting. P. e. …

The subspecies of golden-spangled piculet are found thus:

P. e. clarus, east-central Venezuela P. e. undulatus, from eastern Colombia through southeastern Venezuela into western Guyana and northern Brazil's state of Roraima P. e. buffonii, north of the Amazon River from eastern Guyana through Suriname and French Guiana to Amapá in northeastern Brazil P. e. pernambucensis, northeastern Brazil's Pernambuco and Alagoas states P. e. alegriae, northeastern Brazil south of the Amazon from northeastern Pará to northwestern Maranhão P. e. exilis, east central Brazil from Bahia south to Espírito Santo The golden-spangled piculet inhabits a variety of wooded landscapes including rain-, cloud-, and secondary forest. It also occurs in tracts of bamboo, in mangroves, and in open woodland and the edges of savanna. In elevation it ranges from sea level to about 1,900 m (6,200 ft) in the tepui region where Venezuela, Guyana, and Brazil meet.

The golden-spangled piculet's diet has not been fully defined but is known to include ants. It forages in the forest's lower strata, typically below 5 m (20 ft), and mostly takes its food from small branches, sometimes hanging upside down. It typically forages alone or in pairs and sometimes joins mixed-species foraging flocks.