diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/colorbar.py b/lib/matplotlib/colorbar.py
index 5894ecf123c2..bbb9b519b5f8 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/colorbar.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/colorbar.py
@@ -387,9 +387,17 @@ def update_ticks(self):
 
     def set_ticks(self, ticks, update_ticks=True):
         """
-        set tick locations. Tick locations are updated immediately unless
-        update_ticks is *False*. To manually update the ticks, call
-        *update_ticks* method explicitly.
+        Set tick locations.
+
+        Parameters
+        ----------
+        ticks : {None, sequence, :class:`~matplotlib.ticker.Locator` instance}
+            If None, a default Locator will be used.
+
+        update_ticks : {True, False}, optional
+            If True, tick locations are updated immediately.  If False,
+            use :meth:`update_ticks` to manually update the ticks.
+
         """
         if cbook.iterable(ticks):
             self.locator = ticker.FixedLocator(ticks, nbins=len(ticks))