[2] It is found in most mainland South American countries except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

[3] The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) assigns two subspecies to the cream-colored woodpecker, the nominate C. f. flavus (Statius Muller, 1776) and C.f.

[4] As of early 2023 the Clements taxonomy and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World retain all four subspecies.

[5][6] The subspecies "intergrade extensively, producing numerous intermediates, and in much of range many individuals [are] impossible to assign to a particular race; geographical limits given are therefore somewhat arbitrary.

The adult's bill is yellowish, their iris red or red-brown, and their legs dark gray to green-gray.

Much of its body plumage has wide brown bases, its wing coverts have much yellowish, and its flight feathers have no rufous.

[7] The cream-colored woodpecker's primary diet is ants and termites, and includes lesser but still significant amounts of fruits and seeds.

It generally forages at the forest's lower to middle level but will feed in the canopy and on the ground.

[7] The cream-colored woodpecker's breeding season apparently varies geographically but has not been fully defined.

It nests between April and June in Colombia and maybe earlier in Venezuela; in Suriname the season includes February.