Tag Archive for 'Woodpecker'

Vocal learning is thought to have evolved in three orders of birds (songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds), with each showing similar brain regions that have comparable gene expression specializations relative to the surrounding forebrain motor circuitry; Schuppe et al. searched for signatures of these same gene expression specializations in previously uncharacterized brains of seven assumed vocal non-learning bird lineages across the early branches of the avian family tree. Image credit: Premek Hajek.

Study: Woodpecker Drumming is Neurologically Similar to Songbird Vocalization

Sep 20, 2022 by News Staff

A team of scientists from the United States and Denmark has found specialized pecking-related regions in the woodpecker forebrain that show characteristics...

Van Wassenbergh et al. found that woodpecker heads behave very stiffly during pecking impacts. Image credit: Van Wassenbergh et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.052.

Heads of Woodpeckers Function as Stiff Hammers during Pecking, Says New Study

Jul 15, 2022 by News Staff

The skull of a woodpecker has long been hypothesized to serve as a shock absorber that minimizes the harmful deceleration of its brain upon impact into...

The downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens). Image credit: Wolfgang Wander.

Woodpeckers Show Signs of What Looks Like Brain Damage in Humans

Feb 5, 2018 by News Staff

Woodpeckers experience forces up to 1,200-1,400 g while pecking. It is assumed due to evolutionary adaptations, the woodpecker is immune to brain injury....