This woodpecker lives in woodlands of Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. It has a brown back and barred underparts, eats insects and centipedes, and nests in tree holes.
It has plain brown upperparts and heavy brown vertical streaks below, giving it a dark overall appearance.
Its diet includes insects and centipedes, and it nests in holes in trees.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.