Downy woodpecker class9/6/2023 ![]() ![]() To find the answer to this question, researchers used bird brains from the collections of the Field Museum and the Harvard Museum of Natural History and examined them for accumulation of a specific protein, called tau. The weird thing is, nobody's ever looked at a woodpecker brain to see if there is any damage," says Peter Cummings of the Boston University School of Medicine, one of the new study's authors. "There have been all kinds of safety and technological advances in sports equipment based on the anatomic adaptations and biophysics of the woodpecker assuming they don't get brain injury from pecking. However, a new study in PLOS ONE complicates this story by showing that woodpecker brains contain build-ups of a protein associated with brain damage in humans. The fact that a woodpecker can undergo fourteen times that without getting hurt has led helmet makers model their designs around these birds' skulls. By comparison, a measly force of 60-100 g's can give a human a concussion. And when they do, they peck hard-with each peck, the bird undergoes a force of 1,200 to 1,400 g's. With woodpeckers, the answer's in the question-true to their name, they peck wood. The woodpecker species analyzed in this study. Credit: (c) Arlene Koziol, The Field Museum Woodpeckers show signs of possible brain damage, but that might not be a bad thing There, they may feed on suet and shelled peanuts provided by mesh birdfeeders. In winter, especially, downy woodpeckers can often be found in suburban backyards with mature trees. They are a natural predator of the European corn borer, a moth that costs the US agriculture industry more than $1 billion annually in crop losses and population control. They mainly eat insects, also seeds and berries. ![]() Downy Woodpeckers forage on trees, picking the bark surface in summer and digging deeper in winter. In the winter, they roost in tree cavities. Mostly permanent residents, northern birds may migrate further south birds in mountainous areas may move to lower elevations.ĭowny woodpeckers nest in a tree cavity excavated by the nesting pair in a dead tree or limb. ![]() Their range consists of most of the United States and Canada, except for the deserts of the southwest and the tundra of the north. Some taxonomic authorities, including the American Ornithological Society, continue to place this species in the genus Picoides.ĭowny woodpeckers are native to forested areas, mainly deciduous, of North America. Why they evolved this way cannot be explained with confidence it may be relevant that the species exploit rather different-sized foodstuffs and do not compete very much ecologically. Compared to other North American species its drums are slow.ĭespite their close resemblance, downy and hairy woodpeckers are not very closely related, and they are likely to be separated in different genera the outward similarity is a spectacular example of convergent evolution. Like other woodpeckers, it also produces a drumming sound(sounds like four taps Like other woodpeckers, it also produces a drumming sound with its beak as it pecks into trees. The rattle-call is short burst that sounds similar to a bouncing ball, while HAWO is a shorter burst of the same amplitude. One may identify the woodpecker by pik-call, counting half a second between piks (a total of four must be heard). The downy woodpecker gives a number of vocalizations, including a short pik call. The downy woodpecker's bill is shorter than its head, whereas the hairy woodpecker's bill is approximately equal to head length. The downy woodpecker is virtually identical in plumage pattern to the larger hairy woodpecker, but it can be distinguished from the hairy by the presence of black spots on its white tail feathers and the length of its bill. Adult males have a red patch on the back of the head whereas juvenile birds display a red cap. ![]() They have a black tail with white outer feathers barred with black. There is a white bar above the eye and one below. The downy woodpecker is mainly black on the upperparts and wings, with a white back, throat and belly and white spotting on the wings. Body mass ranges from 20 to 33 g (0.71 to 1.16 oz). The total length of the species ranges from 14 to 18 cm (5.5 to 7.1 in) and the wingspan from 25 to 31 cm (9.8 to 12.2 in). The downy woodpecker ( Dryobates pubescens) is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America.Īdult downy woodpeckers are the smallest of North America's woodpeckers but there are many smaller species elsewhere, especially the piculets. Species: Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) ![]()
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