Providentially, my next door neighbor has noticed a woodpecker who has claimed a dead branch of her maple tree for his/her own!! He has been rata tat tatting away for several days and has made a hole about 3 inches in diameter so far. Hunting for insects? Chipping out a nest??
These are very unusual birds, though they are found plentifully around the globe. They have an "industrial strength" skull, the heaviest/strongest in relation to their body of any animal. Their brain is super cushioned with cartilege (where do you think they got the idea for sports helmets??). Most of them have "industrial strength" beaks as well. They close their eyes between EVERY peck at the tree trunk - not to avoid getting wood bits in their eyes - but to keep their eyes from being popped out at each peck, by the force of the blow!! So they need to refocus after every peck. Amazing! They have two claws that face to the front and two that face to the back - they can climb up, down, upsidedown, sideways, you name it. Their tails are stiff and spread out when they are pecking away so their claws and tail form a strong tripod to support the bird. Neat!
Most woodpecker tongues are barbed, stab the insect in the hole, have a special glue at the end of the long tongue to stick to the insect. After the woodpecker has slurped the insect into his mouth, another special substance - a solvent - loosens the insect, so the bird can swallow the insect and not his tongue!!!
Finally, there is the European Green woodpecker and his amazing tongue!
Could even trillions of years make the reality of the woodpecker possible??
I have a wonderful video of my neighbor's woodpecker, but have been unable to upload for this post. Will keep working at it and hopefully post it later! Got the link for it, hope it works!
1 comment:
Super video!! And wonderful descriptions of God's handiwork!
Fearfully and wonderfully made.....
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