A yellow-fronted woodpecker in Brazil

© Rafael Guadeluppe/Getty Images

A yellow-fronted woodpecker in Brazil

Though it may seem like woodpeckers are out to kill trees by boring holes in them with their namesake behavior, these birds are actually crucial to the survival of forests. While many species drill into dead, decaying trees as they search for grubs and small insects within, those that peck at living trees are helping to prevent pest infestations that might otherwise destroy trees. A tree can survive the holes drilled by woodpeckers’ beaks, and the birds gobble up termites and other insects that are a bane to the tree’s health.