This colourful woodpecker is about 18 cm (7 in) long. The sexes are similar apart from the male having a red crown and nape while this region in the female is bluish black. Both have a yellow fore-crown, yellow cheeks, chin and throat, and a broad black band running from the base of the beak, through the eye to the nape. The mantle and upper wings are mainly black, and the back and rump are white. The tail is black with some white barring on the outer feathers. The breast is grey or olive, the belly red and the flanks barred in black and white or black and buff. The iris is blue-black and the distinct orbital ring is yellowish or orange. The beak is black and the legs and feet olive-brown. The juvenile is similar to the adult but less glossy and rather browner, with less red on the belly and crown.
The yellow-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes flavifrons) belongs to the order Piciformes, the family Picidae, and the genus Melanerpes. It is a colorful species of woodpecker that ranges between 6.6-7 in (17-18 cm) in length and weighs between 1.7-2.2 oz (50-64 g). Males and females look similar to each other, with the only difference being the nape and crown coloration. Males are red in this region in color and females are blue-black in color. Both males and females have yellow-colored cheeks, throats, forecrowns, and chins. There is a wide black-colored stripe stretching to the nape from the base of the beak and through the eye. Their upper wings and mantle are mainly black, with a white-colored rump and back. The bird's crown looks similar to that of the golden-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons).