Woodpecker

Woodpecker

Woodpeckers have specially designed skulls to cope with the shock of repeatedly hammering their beaks against the surface of trees. The brain and eyes are protected from damage as a woodpecker may peck as rapidly as 20 times a second. In addition, the wood is not always rotten, so the impact would shatter the head of another type of bird. To enable them to extract insect grubs, woodpeckers also possess stiff, pointed tongues with serrations on each side, which they we to spear their prey. As this type of tongue is not fleshy, it cannot be extended like the tongue of a human, so the solution is to have a cavity that allows the tongue to curl up behind the brain when it is not in use. The feet of woodpeckers are arranged with two toes pointing forwards and two pointing backwards. This means that the birds always have a good grip in the tree bark, whichever way round they are orientated. In addition, they have stiff tails to act as props, so that the birds can form stable tripods when they are climbing, chiselling or feeding their young.

The woodpecker family, Picidae, includes woodpeckers, flickers, sapsuckers, piculets and wrynecks. Species vary considerably in size from that of a sparrow to that of a crow. They typically have black, white or green coloring and patterning on their plumage. Many species have a patch of red, or yellow on the head and this is usually more extensive in the male. Not all woodpeckers feed on insect grubs. Sapsuckers, drill a series of holes in trees, so that sap oozes out, as their main food source. The acorn woodpecker, drills holes for storing acorns. Many species forage for food on the ground too, where they will eat all manner of insects and other invertebrates. A particular favourite is ants. The woodpecker feeds on the adult ants as well as the larvae and pupae. It even utilizes the formic acid sprayed by the ants as a defence. By folding its wings over the ants, its feathers get sprayed and this helps to rid the plumage of bird lice.

Reference

1. Britannica Reference Encyclopaedia 

2. Knowledge Encyclopedia Animal!: The Animal Kingdom as you've Never Seen it Before

3. Images are taken from Zoo-Que and Google.

4. In Defense of Plants: An Exploration Into the Wonder of Plants

5. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of India

6. Earth: A Sustainable Planet

Also See

• Migration & Navigation of Birds

• Archaeopteryx – The First Bird`s Fossil

• Parrots 

• Bats

• Bears

• Woodpecker 

• Birds

• Flightless Birds 

• Corals, Jellyfish and Sea Anemones

• Butterflies, Bees and Ants 

• Starfish and member of Echinoderm 

• Jawless Fish

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