Spring
Posted in daily
Tags :Spring is here.
Saturday morning, a great spotted woodpecker (Pic épeiche) took to chisel into the Birch tree out back while I was enjoying a coffee in the sun. The regular pecking noise attracted my attention, and it turned out, it was close enough for my to capture a few pictures.
The sheer energy it puts into hammering the trunc with its little beak left me wondering about the potential damage it could do to its head or brain, but skeletal adaptations seem to mitigate the damage.
In the great spotted woodpecker and most of its relatives, the hinge where the front of the skull connects with the upper mandible is folded inwards, tensioned by a muscle that braces it against the shock of the impact when the bill is hammering on hard wood. The outer layer of the upper mandible is significantly longer than the more rigid lower mandible and absorbs much of the concussive force.
