Black-dotted piculet Foraging birds may repeat the song a few times and then fall silent for several minutes. Birds of this species forage in pairs, often widely separated, or alone. They occasionally join mixed-species flocks. They often "hitch sideways along branches," and they peck or drill like woodpeckers in rotting wood and at broken ends of branches. The taxonomy of "Picumnus" is controversial, and this taxon has been considered conspecific with the white-bellied piculet, conspecific with the golden-spangled piculet, and a synonym (incorrect name) of a subspecies of the scaled piculet ("P. squamulatus obsoletus"). Here it is considered a separate species following
Antillean piculet of fruit compared to other piculets. Individuals and pairs forage rapidly through the understory of their habitat, mostly on small branches, twigs, vines and stalks, and less commonly on trunks. Food is mostly obtained by gleaning, with a few weak pecks (but no hammering as found in the true woodpeckers). The breeding season of the Antillean piculet is March to July. A cavity is excavated in a stump, tree, palm or fence post in which two to four eggs are laid. The pair are highly territorial and will aggressively call and display towards intruders. Antillean piculet The Antillean piculet ("Nesoctites