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 destroy trees by boring holes in them with their namesake behaviour, these birds are crucial to the survival of forests. Many species drill into dead, decaying trees as they search for grubs and small insects within. And those that peck at living trees are actually helping to prevent pest infestations that might otherwise destroy a tree. The tree can survive the holes drilled by the woodpecker’s beak and the birds gobble up termites and other insects that are a bane to the tree’s health.