WOODPECKER TRIVIA

Why doesn't a WOODPECKER get a HEADACHE,  or have BRAIN DAMAGE  ?

the redhead woodpecker , (above) pleated woodpecker with her babies - (below)

Researchers have discovered 4 structures of the woodpeckers head

that make it shock - absorbent -

1 - A strong yet flexible bill

1 - A hyoid - a structure of bone and elastic tissue that wraps around the skull .

3 - An area of spongy bone in the skull

4 - Little space for cerebral - spinal fluid between the skull and the brain.

Each of these elements absorbs machanical shock, allowing the woodpecker to strike a tree at a rate of up to 22 times per second with no injury to the brain.

the golden olive woodpecker 

nest-site woodpecker

common flame back male 

INTERESTING FACTS !

Inspired by the woodpeckers head, researchers have developed a casing that can withstand a g- force of up to 60,000. Their success may lead to among other things, better protection for aircraft flight recorders, which can currently  withstand a g-force of only 1,ooo. Kim Blackburn, an engineer at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom, says that what has been discovered about the Woodpeckers head provides " a fascinating example of how nature develops highly advanced structures in combination, to solve what at first seems to be an impossible challenge

Life is a Mystery ?
There are so many species of woodpeckers, I have chosen just a few.

Have you ever seen " Woody Woodpecker " the cartoon.?

Mum used to sing us the song from the cartoon, actually it was a hit on the radio , Danny Kaye used to sing it. "The Woody Woodpecker Song"

pleated baby woodpecker

 nuttalls woodpecker

 arizona woodpecker