Rufous piculet synchrony. The diet consists of ants, their larvae, termites, small beetles, spiders and other small invertebrates. In Borneo the breeding season is in February while in Malaysia, nestlings have been found in May and June. Sometimes the nest is in a hole in a dead branch, and at other times it may be in bamboo. The rufous piculet is a fairly common or common bird and has a very extensive range, estimated to be nearly . Its range extends from sea level up to about . No particular threats to this bird are known and the population is believed to
Black-dotted piculet Sucre, a few have finely barred chests. Rare individuals with scaly throats and pale buffy (rather than yellow) underparts resemble the scaled piculet, which can be distinguished by its scaly lower underparts. The crown is black with narrow scarlet streaks on the forepart and conspicuous white dots on the rear part, or throughout in some females. The upperparts are light olive-brown, slightly yellowish, with dusky spots on the shoulders and back. The song is "2 to several extremely high, thin notes, each slightly lower than the preceding, "tseeet, tseeet, tsee," etc." Possibly it is also used as a contact call.