Woodpeckers are truly wonderful. They are some of our most loyal feeder visitors and always bring an entertaining array of activities and excitement to our backyards.
But you might also call them wondrous, due to their amazing adaptations that allow them to live what most other birds would probably think of as a life condemned to hard labor.
Consider the following.
While excavating a cavity, a woodpecker’s head can strike a tree’s surface at speeds up to 13 mph. The force of this impact (approx. 10G’s) would be enough to create brain damage in most other birds, and the human brain is three times more likely than a woodpecker’s to suffer a concussion at this speed (Imagine running head-first into a tree at full speed!)
Some scientists have speculated that woodpeckers are able to survive this pounding due to numerous adaptations, including a skull structure that is unique to woodpeckers. The skull consists of lightweight, spongy, air-filled bone, and yet it is incredibly strong due to a reinforcing meshwork of bony support struts. More importantly, a woodpecker’s skull is also very small in relationship to the size of its brain. Thus, there is little room for the brain to rattle around during severe impacts and suffer damage.
So, with all of that pounding, why doesn’t a woodpecker’s bill wear down to a ragged nub? Wear down it does, but special cells on the end of the bill are constantly replacing the lost material. This keeps the chisel-pointed bill strong and resilient, while it actually self-sharpens with every blow.
With all this heavy hitting, woodpeckers are sure to create a lot of fast flying debris. To protect themselves they have evolved their own version of a dust mask and safety glasses. The dust mask consists of tufts of stiff feathers that grow over both nostrils to prevent small bits of wood from entering their nostrils, and the safety glasses are in the form of a protective third eyelid that helps to prevent debris from entering their eyes while excavating.
Wonderful, wondrous and tough, too! How cool is that!
You can easily attract a variety of woodpeckers to your backyard with feeders filled with WBU suet, no-melt dough, Bark Butter products, shelled peanuts, TreeNutty Plus Blend and our Woodpecker cylinder. With any of these foods, you can get an up close and personal look at some of the coolest birds in the neighborhood.
About Wild Birds Unlimited
Wild Birds Unlimited is the original and largest franchise system of backyard bird feeding and nature specialty stores with more than 360 locations throughout the United States and Canada. Wild Birds Unlimited specializes in bringing people and nature together with bird feeding and nature products, expert advice and educational events. Listen to our podcast, Nature Centered, to learn more about feeding the birds and enjoying nature in your backyard. Episodes can be found here, https://www.wbu.com/podcast. Visit our website and shop online at www.wbu.com. To learn how you can open your own Wild Birds Unlimited, visit www.wbufranchise.com.
All articles are copyrighted and remain the property of the author.
By Natalie Carmolli, Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs
Also known as Althea in the South, this hardy hibiscus is the plant that shows up when everything else in the garden is running out of steam. Big, tropical looking blooms and weeks of flowers. Rose of Sharon is a great plant, particularly this time of year. To learn more Click here for an interesting article.
Click here to sign up for our monthly NEWSLETTER packed with great articles and helpful tips for your home, garden and pets!
