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That is a fairly amazing tongue. Had a flicker in the yard the other day but did not get to see that tongue, will have to watch for it in the future.
We have lots of northern flickers where I live and they seem particularly keen to machine gun hammer on the eaves of my house at 5am.
I always kept suet out, and they love it. All hours of the day, hanging upside down eating at it.
But, if I ever forgot to replace it when it ran empty, I'd be awaken at the crack of dawn by a woodpecker hammering the window awning. Only when the suet was empty.
Maybe it's coincidence, but I like to believe he was trying to remind me they needed more suet in the most annoying way.
I'm somewhat convinced woodpeckers are smart, conniving creatures. I always kept suet out, and they love it. All hours of the day, hanging upside down eating at it. But, if I ever forgot to replace it when it ran empty, I'd be awaken at the crack of dawn by a woodpecker hammering the window awning. Only when the suet was empty. Maybe it's coincidence, but I like to believe he was trying to remind me they needed more…
I'm somewhat convinced woodpeckers are smart, conniving creatures. I always kept suet out, and they love it. All hours of the day, hanging upside down eating at it. But, if I ever forgot to replace it when it ran empty, I'd be awaken at the crack of dawn by a woodpecker hammering the window awning. Only when the suet was empty. Maybe it's coincidence, but I like to believe he was trying to remind me they needed more…
Or, if they couldn't find the easy food, they had to go dig for grubs in the trees
But it could just coincidentally be there were a lot of bugs in that awning, admittedly.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
We have lots of northern flickers where I live and they seem particularly keen to machine gun hammer on the eaves of my house at 5am.
If you haven't already, you should check to see if you have rot or some kind of insect infestation. Around here, at least, they typically only go after wood with bugs inside.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you've ever heard a wood pecker in action, 20/second doesn't sound completely crazy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6XOyUey4nQ
Interesting how its more like a bouncing ball easing off the bounce, instead of a pneumatic hammer.
I'm guessing the woodpecker behaves that way because it's putting momentum into the hitting, even if that doesn't totally make sense in my head. When hammering on something, it's easiest to let the gravity do most of the work and focus your effort on aiming and raising the hammer, so you naturally have 1-2 hits that are solely momentum based at the end.
The woodpecker is horizontal, though, - not pecking in line with gravity - so my thought process isn't a perfect analogue. But if their tongue works like a spring then I can imagine it making sense.
How do we know they don't get headaches? Did they ask them?
That is a fairly amazing tongue. Had a flicker in the yard the other day but did not get to see that tongue, will have to watch for it in the future.
Nope, not true. 100 g accelerations of the human head (not just the helmet) happen routinely in football.
> VT researchers gather data with the Head Impact Telemetry System, which employs sensors and wireless transmitters in helmets. "We see 100-g impacts all the time," says Stefan Duma, director of the university's Center for Injury Biomechanics, "and several over 150 g's."
https://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/sports/a2954/4212...
In generally, using g's (acceleration) to measure impact severity is fraught because the damage is also highly dependent on the during of the impact. Just a few g's is enough to kill if sustained for long enough. Fighter pilots can handle 8-9 gees for a second or two, but will pass out after longer. But a human can handle way more from brief (sub second) impacts.