Orinoco piculet to . The Orinoco piculet is an active and acrobatic little bird, foraging at all levels of the canopy, sometimes in small mixed-species flocks, for termites, ants and other small invertebrates. Its breeding habits are poorly known, but it may nest in November and December. The Orinoco piculet has a wide range and is said to be generally uncommon. Its numbers are likely in decline as the tropical rainforest is gradually cleared, but this is not at such a fast rate as to make the International Union for Conservation of Nature rate it in a more threatened category than "least
White-barred piculet northeastern Brazil; "P. c. thamnophiloides" found in southeastern Bolivia and northeastern Argentina; "P. c. tucumanus" found in northwestern Argentina; the Pilcomayo piculet, "P. c. pilcomayensis" found in southeastern Bolivia, Paraguay and northeastern Argentina; and the nominate subspecies "P. c. cirratus" found in southeastern Brazil, southern Mato Grosso and eastern Paraguay. The taxonomy of this species is difficult; the races "pilcomayensis", "thamnophiloides" and "tucumanus" intergrade in northern Argentina and are sometimes considered a separate species, and "pilcomayensis" intergrades with "cirratus" in eastern Paraguay. The northern subspecies, "confusus" and "macconnelli" may also be a distinct species. The white-barred piculet also hybridizes widely