This small woodpecker occurs in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. It uses humid lowland forest as well as forest edges, secondary growth, and clearings.
Its upperparts are yellowish green, and its underparts have black bars. The male has an olive-brown head with red forehead spots and a pale crown and nape. The female has white spots over the whole crown. Juveniles are duller and greener above, with fewer bars below.
It feeds on termites and other small arthropods, gleaning prey in the lower and middle vegetation and sometimes joining mixed-species flocks. It is usually quiet but sometimes gives high-pitched “tseeyt tsit” calls.
One nest recorded in Ecuador in August was a cavity in a shrub trunk 3 m above ground. It held two eggs, and both parents cared for the young.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.