A new study refutes the popular idea that a woodpecker's brain is cushioned from the violent impacts of pecking. It offers a different reason the birds avoid brain damage.
A new study challenges long-held beliefs that woodpeckers have shock-absorbing skulls to avoid concussions when pecking trees at high speeds. The team discovered that the beak and the brain of the animal come to a stop at the same rate, which means that the shock from pecking a tree was not being diminished.
A new study refutes the popular idea that a woodpecker's brain is cushioned from the violent impacts of pecking. It offers a different reason the birds avoid brain damage.