Posted on 07/15/2022 4:17:40 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
Shock absorption would make them less efficient peckers, study argues
Scientists have long hypothesized that a spongy bone in the woodpecker’s skull cushions its repeated head slams like a well-designed safety helmet. (Indeed, engineers have modeled football helmets and shock-absorbing electronics after this idea.) But a new analysis shows the birds may be opting for power over protection.
...But woodpeckers, despite smacking with accelerations three times the human concussion threshold, seem to escape unharmed, says Sam Van Wassenbergh, a biomechanist at the University of Antwerp and lead author on the study. This impressive resilience led previous researchers to search for a specialized structure protecting the birds. Some hypothesized its spongy skull bone could act as an airbag, whereas others proposed its elongated tongue could be a seatbelt for the brain.
What can a woodpecker do, that you cannot do?
Woodpeckers have brains?
Who knew?
They peck on my rain gutters and chimney cap.
I guess they are just trying to make noise,
and show a potential mate they have big peckers...
When I see them they’re going for the rotten wood
I think woodpecker’s brains are somewhere down near their tail.
The take-home message of the study, apparently, is that to prevent CTE, you need to recruit bird-brained football players.
So the science wasnt settled after all? Im shocked like Claud Raines.
I don’t think the size of the woodpecker has anything to do with it.
—”I think woodpecker’s brains are somewhere down near their tail.”
For sure, after a day of pounding an old oak tree!
I wanna know how they developed that silly laugh.
It’s not the size of the woodpecker that matters...
It’s the size of the woodpecker’s pecker...
To my knowledge, a woodpecker is no different than a human pecker when brain protection is considered. And an unprepared result happens many times disastrous.
wy69
The article seems to say that if woodpeckers did employ some sort of shock-absorbing technique, it would be like pounding on something with a pillow between their beaks and the targeted surface. How does that make sense?
Their shock-absorption system is a combination of things, most of which are on the inside of their heads. Their tongues wrap all the way around their brains, and the spongy bone which has layers of soft bone within is part of how they handle the impact. Their hyoid bone is also built for the pounding their head takes.
They certainly aren’t putting something between their beak and their targeted surface. They also look for hollow, noisy things that are loud when they hammer on it. The ones around hear sometimes use our gutters, sometimes trees or possibly metal sheds. I’ve never seen or heard them drum a solid metal thing like a vehicle.
The old woodpeckers don’t have brains. The modern, vibrating, silicone ones do.
And it’s bush, not trees.
If they aren’t protected in one way, they may be protected in another way. Maybe their brains are different.
There’s a more indelicate funny reason.
Ask Hillary, Kamala and Jennifer (granholm)
Kind of like some men I’ve encoutered.
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