(Part of the) common name of most species of the family Picidae (Piciformes, suborder Pici) and in the plural the general term for the family. The family includes the subfamilies of small woodpeckers known as 'piculets', the 'wrynecks', and the main subfamily of true woodpeckers (subfamily Picinae, about 200 species) especially well-represented in the Americas and the Indo-Malayan area. The name is derived from the characteristic habit of climbing on trees and drilling into the bark for insect prey or making a nesthole. The species are quite variable in size (8,2 to 56 cm in length) and the sexes are almost identical, the major difference being usually the presence of red or yellow on the head of the male. Many species have a barred, spotted or streaked plumage, especially below. The tail is wedge-shaped and stiff in the case of the true woodpeckers and serves as a support during climbing. The distinctive feeding habits (insects, nuts or fruits and sap of trees) of woodpeckers is reflected in their special type of tongue, which is extraordinarily long, wormlike and mobile. It is capable of an extreme degree of protrusion and the hard tip is more or less bordered with bristles or barbs. When coated with mucus, the tongue can thus serve as a 'lime-twig' for catching ants, as a lance to spear large insects, or as a brush for licking the sap of trees. The bill is strong, straight and chisel-like, and the legs are short with strong feet having large curved claws. Most woodpeckers are solitary and resident. Typical forms are arboreal, but some species feed and even breed on the ground. Many species produce a typical instrumental 'drumming' sound by very rapid blows with the bill on trunks or branches.

Alternative forms for woodpeckers : Dendrocopus, Dryocopus, Jynx, Picoides, Picus, woodpecker.