Plain-breasted piculet endemic to South America on the eastern side of the Andes where it lives in the western part of the Amazon basin. The species is present in southern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, Peru and western Brazil at altitudes of up to . It is found in open parts of humid lowland forests, flooded forests, riverside corridors, swamps, thickets and groves, and logged areas with secondary growth and wooded pastures. It often occurs in areas of young "Cecropia" and "Mimosa" trees. The plain-breasted piculet is usually seen by itself or in pairs, but it will occasionally joins small flocks of birds of
Ochre-collared piculet are chocolate. The tail is mostly black but the inner webs of the central two feathers are white, and the inner webs of the outer four feathers are whitish near the tip. The chin and throat are white with slight barring, and the underparts are white or cream heavily barred with black, especially on the lower belly. The iris is brown, the beak is black and slightly curved and the legs are grey. The ochre-collared piculet is native to South America, its range extending from southeastern Brazil and eastern Paraguay to northeastern Argentina. It is a resident and sedentary species