The male has a scarlet crown flecked with black and a bright red nape.

The female has a blackish crown spotted with white and a red nape.

[3] The little spotted woodpecker is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

[3] The little spotted woodpecker feeds mainly on ants and termites, which it finds on trees.

It often forages in pairs or may form part of small groups of mixed bird species.