Yellow-bellied sapsucker on a tree
Here's a yellow-bellied sapsucker that's climbed up a tree in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY.
Do you know:
A woodpecker coils its tongue behind its skull; this helps protect its brain when pecking at a tree.
Here's a yellow-bellied sapsucker that's climbed up a tree in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY.
Do you know:
A woodpecker coils its tongue behind its skull; this helps protect its brain when pecking at a tree.
I didn't know about the bird's tongue, obviously each peck of this animal reverberates in its skull, as they say, GOD's creation is perfect
It's a perfect little cushion. You don't want to have to get a concussion just to have a meal!
Very nice photo. I'm surprised you could get that close to him.
And no, I didn't know that about the woodpecker's tongue.
I'd have gotten much closer if I weren't with a group of preschoolers who don't know how to approach quietly and calmly!
But it was surprising at the time, too—how close we were able to get. It let us get about 10 feet away when it was down closer to the ground. Here, you can see it had scurried up the tree a bit to get away (plus I have a 30x zoom on my phone camera, which makes it seem that I'm closer than I probably was at the moment I snapped the pic).
I like to think it was pretty curious about us; that cocked head sort of makes the photo for me.
Cool, he has a very interesting structure. It's interesting to learn something new about nature!