Have you ever found yourself strolling through a park and then, out of the blue, hear a very loud drumming sound in the woods? Well, it definitely must have come from the beautiful speckled piculet (Picumnus innominatus), the only woodpecker that can be found in our amazingly diverse city. Measuring only 9 or 10 cm in length, the speckled piculet is a very small bird, which nevertheless can perform a powerful head bang to open holes in the trees, to build a nest or find some food. These little beauties have a reddish forehead; the color turns into an olive green that covers the entire back and wings. Their eyes are crossed by a broad dark patch with a beautiful white frame surrounding it. The body of this fantastic little bird is covered by dark speckles, giving them their name and making them an absolute pleasure to witness. An interesting fact about piculets is that they open holes on lower branches, dead trees or small trunks, so it is fairly easy to spot them if you can follow their sound. The breeding season for speckled piculets starts in January and goes through the end of spring, during which time the female will lay up to four eggs per clutch. Both parents will help incubate for about eleven days before the newborns hatch. To hear the sounds of the speckled piculet, go to the following website. https://ebird.org/media/catalog?taxonCode=spepic1®ionCode=&mediaType=a 2021.04.03 A speckled piculet perches on a tree at Donghu Park in Luohu District. | 