The puppeteers' bodies are composed of one hind leg and two forelegs, and a torso which houses the brain in a hump located between its two heads. These heads have mouths with lips which look like fingers in a glove, hence the name "puppeteer" which was given to them by Pierson, a crewman who was the first person to ever see one of their species. There is an eye on each head, and each mouth has a forked tongue much like a snake's. These mouths are capable of manipulating objects much in the same way a human would use hands. They are capable of imitating human speech as well as the Hero's Tongue, the Kzinti speech, although their own native language is described as sounding like orchestral music.