A barbet of forests from Panama to northwestern Colombia. A Panama breeding study followed an adult pair as they excavated a cavity in a dead tree and raised nestlings.
Males have a white throat, while females show a black hood. The flanks have a yellowish wash concentrated into an orange or red patch in this species.
In 2015, one pair excavated a cavity in a dead balsa trunk at a forest edge in Achiote, central Panama. Nestlings received berries and insects; flowers and small lizards were also recorded.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.