Why Woodpeckers do not get Brain Damage

Have you ever wondered how a woodpecker can pound away at the bark or disturb a tin roof without injuring themselves? After all, the force of their peck exceeds the force of gravity by a factor of a thousand! To avoid harm during its pecking frenzy, the woodpecker has developed in a rather unusual way. I want to go through the build of the woodpecker that allows it to function and thrive in such exceptional circumstances.

Their Build

Woodpeckers have tremendous muscles in their necks that would make a bodybuilder jealous. These muscles in the neck also help to redirect and absorb trauma. The skull bone protects the brains of woodpeckers. Many spongy bones are packed in plates inside the skull bone that works as a built-in football helmet, protecting their grey matter. The muscles in a woodpecker's neck absorb the shock of pecking from the head and send it to the shoulders, upper torso, tail, and then back into the tree while it sits sideways attached to a tree before pecking. Energy is dispersed in a circular pattern.

Wrapping their tongue around the skull

There is one thing that the woodpecker does that I still can’t wrap my head around (pun intended). Feel the hyoid bone, which is just at the junction of your throat and jawline, precisely where your trachea lies, with your fingertips. Two tiny bones should protrude from the skin. This bone supports the tongue and is used for muscle attachment that aids in swallowing. We don't have bones or cartilage in our tongues like woodpeckers; it's just a big muscle. These tongue bones retract when a woodpecker pecks, stabilising the head and giving musculoskeletal support. This bone also aids in shock absorption.

Most animals' brains are surrounded by a large volume of fluid called cerebrospinal fluid (CBF), which permits the brain to "float" inside the braincase. There isn't much space between the spongy brain case and the brain in woodpeckers; hence there isn't much place for fluid. This is beneficial because, without all of the fluid, the brains of the woodpeckers will not break during pecking and pounding.

The Beak

The beak of a woodpecker is made up of two layers: a rigid inner layer of bone and a softer outer layer of flexible tissue. Because of the natural overbite, the upper beak is slightly longer than the lower beak, while the lower beak has a little longer inner layer of strong and dense bone. Here's how the woodpecker's beak absorb energy: When a woodpecker pecks, the impact shock travels from the outside, spongy substance into the firm support bone, through the hyoid muscles, around the head, and finally back into the lower long jaw bone and the tongue.

Goggle Eyes

Another method woodpeckers deal with the physical pressures of pecking is having an upper and lower eyelid similar to ours, although theirs are much thicker. They also have a third eyelid, known as the nictating membrane, that slides horizontally across their eye instead of vertically. Before the beak starts thumping, this eyelid closes for a moment. It aids the woodpecker in keeping debris out of his eyes and his eyeballs in.

Woodpeckers have a number of fascinating adaptations that help them avoid hurting themselves when performing their daily routine of pecking. According to research, all of these adaptations absorb up to 99.7% of the shock of their hammering! Take a look at a woodpecker pounding away at a tree or on your roof the next time you see one and marvel at its incredible adaptations. There is so much more to nature than first meets the eye. Be curious, ask questions, discover your world.

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