Discover the fascinating adaptations that protect these remarkable birds while they purposefully peck trees.
When it slams its beak into a tree in search of grubs, a woodpecker experiences g-forces twenty times what would likely lead to traumatic brain injuries in humans. And it does it 12,000 times a day, day after day. Just thinking about it is enough to give you a headache, and yet a woodpecker survives the experience with its marbles intact, thanks in part to a remarkable tongue.
A woodpecker experiences g-forces twenty times what would likely lead to traumatic brain injuries in humans
Supported by a bone at its base, the tongue is attached to a tendon that divides into two rubbery straps that extend backwards, passing either side of the neck vertebrae, under the cranium, up the back of it, over the crown and down the forehead before re-entering the skull through the right nostril. This bizarre arrangement has been described by scientists as a safety belt for the braincase.
Other features of the skull that prevent brain damage include shock absorbers at the base of the beak that cushion the brain from the impact forces. The surface of the brain itself lacks the folds and ridges found in most vertebrates. This means that forces that do reach the brain are distributed evenly over the surface rather than concentrated on small areas.
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