Drumming is a form of non-vocal communication used by most species of woodpecker and involves the bill being repeatedly struck on a hard surface with great rapidity. After a pause, the drum roll is repeated, each species having a pattern which is unique in the number of beats in the roll, the length of the roll, the length of the gap between rolls and the cadence. Individual birds are thought to be able to distinguish the drumming of their mates and that of their neighbors.

The Gila woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis) builds nests in saguaro cacti or mesquite trees. Cavities excavated by these woodpeckers in saguaro cacti (known as a "boot") are later used by a variety of other species, including the elf owl.

Ivory-billed woodpecker body parts, particularly bills, were sometimes used for trade, ceremonies, and decoration by various Native American groups from the western Great Lakes and Great Plains regions. The bills were quite valuable and were sometimes exchanged outside the bird's range for two or three deerskins.

Most woodpeckers have zygodactyl feet, consisting of four toes, the first and the fourth facing backward and the second and third facing forward. This foot arrangement is good for grasping the limbs and trunks of trees.

Woodpeckers are found on every continent except for Australia and the extreme polar regions.

Golden-fronted woodpeckers eat the fruit of the prickly pear cactus during the summer when it is in season, often turning their faces purple from the juice.

Cartoonist Walter Lantz used the pileated woodpecker's jaunty crest and loud call as a model for his most-famous creation, Woody Woodpecker. It's call is less of a "ha-hah, ha-ha-hah" and more of a high-pitched, maniacal laugh.