The Mahgreb Green Woodpecker is lumped by many authorities with Eurasian Green Woodpecker Picus viridis but HBW and Birdlife International split it on the basis of the black versus red malar on the male, the whitish line above the malar, the blackish-grey crown of the female with only the hind-crown being red and the barring on the lower belly and vent.

It is distributed in North-west Africa from Morocco through Algeria to Tunisia. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. It is found in open dry forest, palm and olive groves and sometimes in gardens from 950m to 2,100m.