Medium-sized woodpecker found from Costa Rica to northern South America. Pale buffy overall with a red nape and belly and black-and-white barring on the back. The female has a pale crown with restricted red on the back of the nape; the male has red extending to the top of the crown. Common in open woodlands, second growth, and gardens. Distinctive in range, but hybridizes extensively with Hoffmann’s Woodpecker on the Pacific slope in Costa Rica. Hybrids usually show an orange nape and belly.