[2] The varzea piculet was first described in 1912 by the German-Brazilian ornithologist Emilie Snethlage who collected birds in Brazil for two decades.

[5] The specific epithet refers to "várzea", the Brazilian name for the seasonally flooded forest close to the Amazon River.

Adult males have a black cap with a red patch on the forehead and top and white spots on the hindcrown and nape.

It inhabits dense undergrowth in várzea, a seasonally flooded landscape that is mostly forest but includes grasslands and river islands.

[7] The varzea piculet's breeding season is poorly known but may be from June to December; young birds have been recorded in September.

[7] The IUCN originally assessed the varzea piculet as being of Least Concern, then in 2012 as Endangered, and then in 2022 downlisted it to Near Threatened.

A potential longer term threat are two hydroelectric dams upstream of its range which might alter the downstream hydrology.