Males are red from forehead to hindneck and very widely on the malar (cheek); the rest of the face is golden-yellow.

Adults of both sexes have a dusky olive chin and throat that appear blackish at a distance.

Juveniles are duller and greener than adults, have red only on the nape, and have a streaked throat.

[5] The Lita woodpecker is found in Colombia in the middle Magdalena River Valley and the Pacific slope of the western Andes, and south into northwestern Ecuador to Pichincha Province.

[5] The Lita woodpecker forages from the forest's middle levels to the sub-canopy, usually by itself and sometimes in pairs.

Excavation of and attendance at apparent nest holes have been observed in July and August.