The Mottled Piculet is a tiny woodpecker, about 10–11 cm long. Its back is olive-brown, and its belly has dark marks. It lives in moist lowland forest in southeastern South America and also searches for food in dead bamboo.
The head from forehead to nape is black with white spots; males have red spots on the crown. The back is olive-brown, the throat is finely barred with black, and the pale belly has dark streaks or spots.
It may feed alone or join mixed-species flocks. It eats insect larvae and has been observed searching low on dead bamboo.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.