شمال أمريكا الجنوبية
Until recently, it was united with the golden-naped woodpecker ("M. chrysauchen") of Central America as subspecies. But the different appearance and allopatric ranges argue in favor of recognizing the two as distinct species. According to "Birds of Northern South America" by Robin Restall the back is barred and the belly and breast are white, but that appears to be in error based on photos of the birds in Colombia.