When do the woodpeckers sometimes become pests? A woodpecker is a bird . There are over 200 different kind of woodpeckers. Woodpeckers have their domain all over the world except in the north and south poles, Australia and New Zealand. Two types of woodpeckers , the Imperial Woodpecker and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker are most probably extinct. Animals that are extinct are no longer found on the earth. Woodpeckers have short stiff tails which help prop them up against the tree trunks and branches, so that they can do the drilling into the wood with their sharp bills. Woodpeckers also have very long tongues which help them catch the insects from deep within the trees. Woodpeckers are known for drumming the tree trunks very loudly and can become pests if they drum on the sidings of the house. Sunflower seeds and suet especially in the backyard bird feeders really attract the woodpeckers. Suet is a kind of animal fat which the woodpeckers find very tasty.