The Red-rumped Woodpecker is marked by a red rump. A Peru species account reports a red crown in males and no red crown in females.
It has olive-brown upperparts and barred throat and underparts. Males have red on the crown; females do not.
It gleans invertebrates from tree bark. Records include lowland and deciduous forest, montane evergreen forest, forest edges, and secondary growth.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.