The Golden-spangled Piculet is distributed along the coast of east Brazil from Pernambuco to Espírito Santo with a disjunct population from Venezuela to beyond the mouth of the Amazon.

It is found in a variety of habitats from rainforest to open woodland.

Its main distinguishing features are on the underparts which are yellow with black bars. These become more broken and spot-like on the belly in some sub-species. The back is olive and the wing-coverts are pale tipped in some races giving a spotted appearance.