Juan Ruiz-Esparza et al. 217 Bull. B.O.C. 2011 131(3) Expansion of the known range of Tawny Piculet Picumnus fulvescens including the south bank of the São Francisco River in north-east Brazil by Juan Ruiz-Esparza, Patrício Adriano da Rocha, Adauto de Souza Ribeiro, Stephen F. Ferrari & Helder F. P. Araujo Received 28 April 2011 Tawny Piculet Picumnus fulvescens is a small-bodied Picidae, with predominantly tawny- coloured plumage and ferruginous, white-speckled underparts. Males are distinguished from females by the red forehead (Sick 1997). The species is currently listed as Near Threatened, due primarily to extensive and ongoing habitat loss within its range (BirdLife International 2008). The species occurs predominantly in Caatinga scrub, but also in drier forests of the Atlantic Forest domain. Like other piculets, P. fulvescens appears relatively tolerant of habitat disturbance, and is often found in second growth, where it feeds on insects, particularly the larvae and pupae of ants (Sick 1997). P. fulvescens is endemic to north-east Brazil, in the northern Caatinga east to the coastal Atlantic Forest. Prior to the present study, the species’ known range (cf. Ridgely et al. 2007) encompassed a relatively limited area parallel to the left (north) bank of the São Francisco River in the states of Alagoas, Ceará, Pernambuco and south-east Piauí (Fig. 1). boc1313-110712.indd 217 7/12/2011 2:37:04 PM