Project 5

We’ve probably all seen woodpeckers, birds in the family Picidae that hammer on trees (and sometimes houses) to get food, create nest holes, or announce their territorial holdings. I’ve been a birdwatcher for decades, yet it never once occurred to me to wonder how they can stand all that pecking. You would think it would hurt and even cause brain damage.

But some scientists have noticed and have thought about what we could learn from woodpeckers to create machines and tools that can withstand those types of shocks. Here’s a video of a Pileated Woodpecker in the US to show how much shock these birds are subject to. There are two strategies on AskNature, one on how the head structures absorb shock (with a link to a product page) and another on how the body contributes to manage impacts.