4/25/2023 0 Comments Hummingbird tongueTheir specially designed anatomy supports these birds, absorbing shock and protecting their brains.Ĭheck out these fascinating woodpecker facts before you go! Interesting Facts About Woodpeckers But, for woodpeckers, their extended coiled tongues act as cushioning for their brains as they peck at hard surfaces. The structure allows the tongue to rest coiled around the skull and extend to probe into tree holes. Like hummingbirds, woodpeckers have a hyoid apparatus, a wiry Y-shaped structure featuring flexible cartilage. The woodpecker’s tongue stretches almost four inches beyond its bill and accounts for one-third of its body length. So, where does the tongue come into play? They have tiny brains with extra gray matter, spongy skulls, and cranium muscles that connect to their bills, all of which are designed to absorb shock. Woodpeckers themselves can’t withstand their own pecking without special adaptations. No human could withstand that amount of force and repetitiveness without brain damage. When pecking, their head hits the wood 20 times per second at over 1200 g’s of force. ![]() They also excavate trees for their nests and use pecking as a form of communication. Woodpeckers use their bills to drill into tree trunks for bugs, larvae, and sap. They do! But for a different purpose than the hummingbird.
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