Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela.
Eastern Colombia and southern and south-eastern Venezuela east to the Guianas and north-eastern Brazil (east to Maranhío), south to eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, northern and eastern Bolivia and Mato Grosso.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Yellow-tufted Woodpecker (Melanerpes cruentatus) [XC166802]
by Jo\u00e3o Ant\u00f4nio de B. Vitto from ACM Riberas del Zamora, Lim\u00f3n Indanza, Morona Santiago, Ecuador (song)
Yellow-tufted Woodpecker (Melanerpes cruentatus) [XC693665]
by A. Bennett Hennessey from Matraca trail, Inirida, Guainia, Colombia (call)
Subspecies
Sometimes placed in a separate genus Tripsurus, along with Black-cheeked Woodpecker (Melanerpes pucherani), Golden-naped Woodpecker (Melanerpes chrysauchen) and Yellow-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes flavifrons). Forms a superspecies with Yellow-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes flavifrons), sometimes also including first two. Black-headed morph (mostly in southern and south-eastern Venezuela, the Guianas and Amazonian Brazil, where it predominates) was formerly considered a separate species, "Melanerpes rubrifrons", but interbreeds freely with yellow-tufted morph wherever the two co-occur. Hence, there are no grounds even for subspecific division. Population in western and south of range (Colombia to Venezuela and western Brazil, and south of there) described as subspecies extensus, on basis of difference in tone and extent of red on belly. However, this character varies greatly among all populations, and racial separation considered untenable.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet