It was lodged in the American Museum of Natural History but was not formally described until 1973, when Lester Short classified it as a subspecies of the rufous-headed woodpecker (Celeus spectabilis).

[3] What is now Kaepfer's woodpecker retained its classification as a subspecies until the early 2000s when regional and worldwide taxonomic systems recognized it as a full species based on the plumage and habitat differences and the huge separation in ranges.

Juveniles are overall duller, have a mostly chocolate-brown head, a reddish brown crest, and a light buffish mantle with no dark bars.

The sightings and specimens are scattered throughout an area of about 800,000 km2 (310,000 sq mi) in the northeastern Brazilian states of Maranhão, Piauí, Tocantins, Goiás, and Mato Grosso.

[7][6] Little is known about the habitat preference of Kaempfer's woodpecker, but it appears to be associated with bamboo (specifically Guadua paniculata) growing in Cerrado and babassu palm forest.

Kaempfer's woodpecker makes a "[l]oud, upslurred squeal followed by a softer bubbling chuckle, e.g. 'skweeah kah-kah-kah-kah-kah' or 'kreear klu-klu-klu-klu-klu'."

"The main threats to the species are probably from habitat loss and degradation through fires, infrastructure development, pasture expansion and conversion to soya plantations."

It is estimated that only about 3% of its original habitat remains, and it is "highly fragmented, with patches of cerrado woodland mostly smaller than 5 ha (10 acres).