Passage IV

The Astonishing Features of Woodpeckers

Imagine a cross between an agile rock climber and a rugged construction worker, you will have some idea of the astonishing traits of those small but noisy forest dweller—the woodpecker. The little creature routinely travels up and down vertical surfaces with great skill and apparently no fear. Unlike most rock climbers, this creature moves so fast that the observer sometimes sees nothing but a blur. Feet with some toes pointing forward and others pointing to the side or back allow woodpeckers to seemingly defy gravity as they move along at steep angles. Sturdy tails contribute significantly to their ability to propel themselves along tree trunks.

Woodpeckers have extremely strong skulls and specialized frontal bones that act as shock absorbers. These bones protect the woodpecker's brain from damaging harm when the bird drills into tree trunks with its chisel-shaped bill. On the contrary, the bird drills for two reasons: to find food and to create nesting cavities. Once a hungry woodpecker has drilled into a tree for food, it uses its long, barbed tongue to explore the holes for a meal. A sticky substance covers the woodpecker's tongue and contributes to the bird's success at catching ants, beetles, spiders, caterpillars, and other insects are caught.

Woodpecker species that excavate extensively have feathered or narrowed nostrils that protect the bird at times like these. In other words, the bird is outfitted with the safety gear needed, to perform the work, it does to survive.

Though widely known for the rapid tapping sound they make, woodpeckers also make a big impression on experts and others, too. Many woodpeckers have dazzling plumage. The males of some species, such as the downy and the hairy woodpeckers, sport eye-catching patches of red feathers on the neck or head. These crimson accents contrast dramatically with the black and white on the rest of the bird's body. To see, or hear, a woodpecker is one of the joys of a journey in the woods.