White-browed Piculet - the woodpecker

Let me start with some fun facts about Piculets. They are one of the smallest woodpeckers. By small I mean about 3-4 inches, well that's about as long as an average persons index finger if you know what I mean. These Piculets are found in South America, Africa and Asia. There are about 30 species of these birds worldwide and Indian Subcontinent hosts two of them - the Speckled Piculet and the White-browed Piculet. The fun facts do not end here - these birds do not have the stiff feathers like the woodpeckers so they often perch upright.

The spread of the White-browed Piculet starts East of where I reside so it is not everyday that we come across these birds, infact let the truth be told that this sighting that I had last (that is yesterday) was the second in my life. The first time over it was in Sikkim with a great gang of birders, Mr Narbir, Mrs Rima and Mrs Alpana that we sighted this little bird - the problem was that it did not give us a fulfilling moment to stare and appreciate the bird. Yesterday turned out to be different, Not that the sighting was too great but in-between its hops from one tree to another it afforded us good looks and inspite of thick undergrowth gave a few shots that I consider good. The shots are shot at very high ISO @3200 and also agressively corpped so do take it with a pinch of salt when I say - good shots. 

Okay -first things first - it has not lost its tail - it is like this only...

Still wondering about it's tail? well those few small black feathers are all it's tail it has...

To find the bird you have to be in some bamboo thickets preferably in vicinity of fairly good (aka dense) broadleaved evergreen and mixed deciduous forest. Bamboo near water is a definate preference. The range of this small bird is surprisingly large with it starting in the Himalays and moving on to the Laos - Veitnam in the east and almost till Thailand in the South. 

The range of the bird...

Bird hunting - the piculet...

Since their primary food is ants and bark beetles you will most probably hear them before you see them - hear as in pecking wood and bamboo in search of insects or laughing out in a rapid succession like a kid. The audio embedded will give some idea as to what I am trying to say...