This woodpecker lives in the lowlands of western Mexico. It has golden cheeks and a black marking around the eye. Males have a red crown; females have a gray crown.
Golden cheeks and a black marking around the eye are useful field marks. The male has a red crown, while the female's crown is gray.
It occurs in lowland forest, coconut plantations, and gardens in western Mexico, and is also recorded in semi-open places with tall trees.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.