This woodpecker has a reddish-brown back and a yellow-orange crest. It forages in the middle canopy for ant and termite nests hidden on trees.
The wings and back are reddish brown to maroon, and a shaggy yellow-orange crest rises from the back of the head. Strong black-and-white horizontal bars mark the belly and lower chest.
It forages in the middle canopy and often searches for nests of tree-dwelling ants and termites hidden in dead branches and epiphyte roots. It is generally quieter than woodpeckers that hammer loudly on hard wood.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.