Forced to spend their days slamming their tiny skulls into the sides of trees in search of buried morsels, woodpeckers should have evolved a trick or two to avoid brain damage. So you'd think.
A new study on woodpecker biomechanics has cast doubt on speculations that the small chisel-headed bird avoids turning its brain to mush through fancy shock-absorbing adaptations.
Rather, its brain might simply be too tiny for it to care.
New Study Shakes Up Long-held Belief on Woodpecker Hammering
The findings refute the theory that the birds’ skulls act like helmets, absorbing the shock of impact. Instead, they minimize it to strike harder.
How woodpeckers repeatedly slam their heads into trees without causing serious brain injury has always fascinated birders and scientists alike. Leading theories suggested that a foamy layer between the birds’ bill and skull helps absorb their impact with wood, protecting their brains. This long-held belief that woodpeckers had built-in shock absorbers has even inspired engineers to develop materials and helmets for injury prevention in contact sports.
However, results from a new study reveal the opposite: The birds actually minimize the need for shock absorption. How? Their heads and beaks essentially act like a stiff hammer, striking and stopping in unison.
