The rufous woodpecker is a medium-sized bird mostly found in the northern foothills of India. It has a short tuft of feathers on its head and a black-coloured short bill. The upper part of its body is covered with black bars. The male birds of the species can be identified by the small red patch at its eyes. These birds produce a high-pitched ke-ke kre-ke call which is very loud. They also have a peculiar way of drumming wood tree trunks with an irregular rhythm.
These birds prefer living in large leaf forests. Rufous Woodpecker builds its nest inside the nest of acrobat ants. They don’t even mind being bitten by ants while poking their head into the active ant nests for food. They also eat fig fruits.
Outside India, these birds are very commonly seen in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, south China and other regions of Asia. These are not a threatened bird species.