How come the woodpecker doesn't get a concussion after pecking 12,000 times a day?

Recently, Woodpecker has become popular on the social platform.

In a video posted by a blogger

There are no bugs on the tree

But the woodpecker still pecked a big hole in the tree

Is this still the beneficial bird that catches pests hiding in tree trunks?

Why are the trees destroyed?

Peck so hard

Don't they get concussions?

Trees or bugs? What do woodpeckers peck at?

What we usually call woodpeckers generally include more than 220 species of birds in more than 30 genera under the Picidae family of the order Pinnipeds. Their diet is very widely distributed, including carnivorous, omnivorous and herbivorous species. The range of their diets also covers arboreal insects (such as longhorn beetle larvae), grass-dwelling insects (such as locusts and grasshoppers), ground-dwelling insects (such as ants), or berries, nuts and even species that suck tree sap.

Image source: Crazy Pill Science

In fact, woodpeckers are not particularly picky eaters in the spring and summer when food is plentiful. Whether they are tree-dwelling or ground-dwelling species, they all adhere to one principle: eat whatever they can! At this time, woodpeckers will choose to catch food that is within their field of vision rather than pecking at the bark.

But in the autumn when everything is bleak, it is not easy to find insects to eat in the wild.

However, there are also quite a number of overwintering insects that choose to survive the harsh winter in the form of older larvae or pupae, and these larger (grown to the point of bursting) and slower-moving foods will naturally be at the top of the woodpecker's diet.

Therefore, it can be said that the woodpecker chooses to peck trees and catch insects in order to supplement its food source when food is scarce.

However, the following two types of woodpeckers do not peck trees for food:

Image source: SME Technology Story

Sapsucker

They usually live by sucking sugary tree sap.

Birch and maple trees are rich in sugars

It is their main target

Therefore, their tree-pecking behavior

There is relatively little seasonal variation

Image source: SME Technology Story

Oak Woodpecker

Acorns are collected in the fall and winter every year.

To prepare for winter and reproduction

They will chisel out

One small hole after another

And collect the acorns

Embedded in it one by one

This tree is called their granary tree

Oak woodpeckers tend to live in groups

Stocking up on acorns together

A Granary Tree can have up to 50,000 holes.

Concussion? Not happening!

There are two main types of pecking actions of woodpeckers: one has a very high frequency, knocking on the tree trunk more than a dozen times a second, but the force is not strong each time. This action usually has nothing to do with finding insects to eat, but is a way of declaring territory or showing off when courting a mate.

Image source: Guokr

The other type is to find food or build a nest, and they will chisel the wood very hard, not very frequently, but they will do their best each time and will not stop until they have pecked a hole. When a woodpecker is chiseling a hole, its head stops moving within 0.5-1ms after hitting the wood, and the acceleration can reach 1000g. On average, a woodpecker pecks at the wood 12,000 times a day.

The reason why woodpeckers don't die from "concussion" is because of the following two unique skills:

1. “Iron Head Kung Fu”

Woodpeckers have a special skull structure. Their skulls are thick and have a spongy layered skeleton structure. Their subarachnoid space is very small and contains almost no cerebrospinal fluid, thus avoiding various problems caused by inertia of cerebrospinal fluid during woodpecking. At the same time, their brains are small and smooth, increasing the contact area with the skull.

When a woodpecker hits a tree, its beak hits the tree almost vertically, so that the beak will not be broken due to lateral force. However, its pecking position is constantly changing, which ensures that the point where its brain collides with the skull is constantly changing, thus avoiding the situation where one point is always under force.

Image source: Museum

The most amazing thing is its tongue. The tongue of a woodpecker is very long, and the part that can be extended is even longer than its body. At the same time, there are many barbs on the tip of the tongue, which makes it easy for it to stick its tongue into the hole and firmly hook its prey. What's even more amazing is that its tongue actually wraps around the skull. Since its tongue itself has excellent toughness, it is equivalent to providing a shock absorber for the brain.

Image source: SME Technology Story - Woodpecker's Tongue

2. "Peerless Light Kung Fu"

Among birds, woodpeckers are the best at climbing trees. They can cling to tree trunks and move quickly up, down, left, and right without turning their heads. This "light skill" is due to their feet and tail.

Woodpeckers have four toes on each foot, arranged two in front and two behind, allowing them to "nail" their bodies to any position on a tree trunk.

Image source: SME Science Story - Comparison of the toes of a crow (left) and a woodpecker (right)

If the woodpecker only relies on its claws to hook onto the tree trunk, it will inevitably shake and will get tired after a long time. At this time, the role of the tail is revealed: the woodpecker's tail feathers are very hard and wedge-shaped, which can support the body well. When tired, it can "sit" on its tail to rest. When pecking, it can also use its tail and two feet to form a three-point combination to fix the body angle.

Are Woodpeckers Really Harmful?

1. Do woodpeckers really destroy trees?

In fact, woodpeckers prefer to forage on "sick" trees. Field observations have found that woodpeckers prefer to forage on dead or dead trees, and generally stay for a shorter time on healthy trees. Healthy trees have dense materials, less food, and it is more laborious to peck food, which means more input and less output for woodpeckers; while dead or dead trees are generally loose in texture, and some are even rotten and hollow, with many insects hiding in them, so it is relatively easy to forage on dead or dead trees.

Image source: pexels.com

Even if pecking holes causes the death of a small number of trees, it will have little impact on the entire forest ecosystem, because the forest itself is a dynamic system, and the entire forest ecosystem can only function healthily if trees are born and die.

2. It’s not like I don’t have a story.

Woodpeckers are primary cavity nesters, digging holes in trees and breeding in them. Some birds do not have the ability to peck holes, and need to use old holes of woodpeckers or naturally formed tree holes to breed. We call them secondary cavity nesters, such as great tits, gray starlings, owls, etc.

Generally speaking, if there are no primary cavity nesters in a certain area, then secondary cavity nesters are likely to disappear as well. It can be said that woodpeckers play a vital role in the community organization of the entire forest ecosystem and are truly "keystone species."

Image source: Crazy Pill Science

According to the "Chinese Fauna", Shandong Tai'an Forestry Research Institute (now Shandong Taishan Forestry Academy) conducted experiments in more than 1,000 mu of Canadian poplar forests for three consecutive years and found that the great spotted woodpecker played a good control effect on pests such as longhorn beetles, willow galls, and yellow thorn moths. Related research in Japan also shows that each red-necked woodpecker can eat 64 pine beetles per day, which means that for a forest with 500 trees per hectare, if the tree damage rate is 1% or less, a red-necked woodpecker can effectively prevent and control longhorn beetle pests.

Image source: Global Times

In fact, from the perspective of biodiversity conservation

There is no good or bad bird

All birds are part of the ecosystem

In food chains and food webs

They all play specific roles

Mutual influence and restriction

Interlocking

Keep the entire ecosystem in a dynamic and stable state

Providing a natural environment for human survival

END

Source: SME Science Story, Global Times

Museum, Guokr, Global Science, Science and Technology Daily

Compiled by: Dong Xiaoxian

Editor: Guru