Hoffmann's Woodpecker inhabits dry forest and also uses trees near human settlements along the Pacific slope. Males have a red crown and yellow nape; females have a white forehead and crown.
The male has a red crown, white forehead, yellow nape, and black-and-white barring above and on the wings. The female's crown and forehead are white; young birds are duller. Birds near the Río Tárcoles in Costa Rica may show signs of hybridization with a close relative.
It is sedentary and occurs in tropical or subtropical dry forest as well as pastures, plantations, rural gardens, and heavily modified woodland.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.