Like Gila woodpecker (male has round red crown patch), but pale red on cheek; short black line over eye; much darker and grayer below and on head. It is also similar to the zebra-backed birds of the same genus.
Areas of domain in Mexico include Guerrero, Morelos, and Puebla. Knowledge of the behavior of this bird was widely unknown before a 1990 study out of the Cooper Ornithological Society which observed six of the birds. The study confirmed the communal roosting habits of the birds, specifically on cacti. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland.