This African woodpecker uses forests and secondary growth and searches trees for ants, termites, and other invertebrates.
Adults are dark olive above, with bold buff or white spots on the chest and breast and cream bars on the lower belly and flanks. Adult males have an orange or red nape; females lack it.
The account places it in tropical forest with dense undergrowth and in secondary growth. It forages in trees for ants, termites, caterpillars, and other invertebrates.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.