This woodpecker occurs on Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre in Guadeloupe. It uses several island habitats, including humid forest, semi-deciduous forest, and mangroves.
It has black plumage, bluish wings, and red on the throat and belly. The sexes differ in bill and body size.
It probes bark for ants, termites, and their larvae. It also eats small fruits.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.