Sunshine Squash at a farm produce market

© 167/Pete Ryan/Ocean/Corbis

Sunshine Squash at a farm produce market

Though it may seem like woodpeckers are out to destroy trees by boring holes in them with their namesake behavior, these birds are actually 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.