The genus Picus was erected by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.

They are found in forests or more open woodland, and lay their white eggs in a tree hole nest, typically on a bed of wood chips.

Insects are captured by a rapid outward flick of the long tongue and gummed to its tip by sticky saliva.

This genus is less completely arboreal than some other woodpecker groups, and its members often feed on the ground, attacking anthills or termitaries.

The genus Picus was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.