This large woodpecker is endemic to Sri Lanka’s forests. It has deep crimson upperparts, and pairs have been reported in the forest understory.
The upperparts are deep crimson and the pale underparts have black scaling. Males have a red crest; females have a black crest with fine white markings. The pale face and yellow bill are useful field marks.
Pairs use forest understory and may join mixed-species flocks. Sri Lankan field guides describe a rapid, high-pitched trill, and birding reports record the species in several forest sites.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.