The Lineated Woodpecker is distributed from Mexico through Central and South America as far as Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. See the distribution map at xeno-canto. It occurs in a wide variety of habitats and seems to like new clearings and forest edges so is likely to survive well in degraded areas such as those near Guajará-Mirim, Rondônia, where the first photo was taken, and near Vila Bela de Santíssima Trindade, Mato Grosso, where the second photo was taken.

Both sexes have white stripes on the back which do not join at the V. They also have a narrow white stripe running from the bill under the eye and down the sides of the neck. The male, seen in the second photo, has a crimson crown with a pointed crest and a crimson moustachial streak. The female, seen in the first and third photos, lacks the moustachial streak and also has a black rather than crimson forehead. Both sexes have yellowish lores.