They are very similar to true woodpeckers, but lack the stiff tail feathers that woodpeckers use when climbing trees. They are more likely to perch on a branch rather than an upright trunk. Their bills are shorter and less dagger-like than in the true woodpeckers. Their chief prey is ants and other insects, which they find in decaying wood or almost bare soil. They re-use woodpecker holes for nesting, rather than making their own holes. The eggs are white, as with many hole nesters.