This woodpecker has a green back and red head and searches for ants on open ground beside woodland. Its range is centred on the Iberian Peninsula.
The male has red from the forehead to the nape and a green back. The female lacks the male's red moustachial stripe, which is black.
It uses open woodland beside grassland and catches ants and other insects mainly on the ground or dead trees. It also eats small amounts of fruit.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.