![]() ![]() The Northern Flicker's extra-long tongue, for example, is sticky and relatively smooth, perfect for snaking deep into anthills to capture and retrieve ants. It depends! Although they all share the same basic anatomy, different woodpecker species have different tongues that are specialized for snagging various types of food. What does a woodpecker's tongue look like? Yep - a woodpecker's tongue is so long that it needs to be coiled around the back of its owner's skull.Īs for which species holds the world record - well, we're not sure anyone's ever measured the tongue length of all 240 or so woodpecker species, and a definitive answer has yet to be given. But when those muscles relax, the woodpecker's tongue retracts along the length of the hyoid. When the muscles surrounding the hyoid contract, the tongue projects forward, through the length of the beak and out its end. It splits into a V between the eyes, and its two arms wrap completely around the woodpecker's skull, passing over the top of it and around the back before meeting up again at the base of the lower beak. ![]() The center of the woodpecker's muscle-wrapped hyoid is in the nostrils, in the bird's upper beak. It helps you breathe, swallow, and speak.Ī woodpecker's hyoid bone, however, is vastly different. Your hyoid bone is a horseshoe-shaped structure under your jaw that gives the muscles in your tongue and the floor of your mouth something to attach to. In both humans and birds, the tongue is supported by a bone called the hyoid. Photo by Ken Griffiths/Shutterstock How does a woodpecker's tongue work? Storing an exceptionally long tongue inside a relatively small head is a challenge, and woodpeckers have some unique anatomical features to make this happen. They all tend to have surprisingly long tongues, though, which help them reach deep into crevices in search of beetle larvae (grubs) and other prized morsels. Different woodpecker species use their tongues in different ways, depending on exactly what and how they eat. Yes! Like all birds, woodpeckers have tongues tucked inside those large beaks. Below, we've answered some of the most-asked questions about woodpeckers' fine-tuned tongues. If you're curious to learn more, you're in the right place. Tongues help make woodpeckers' high-impact pecking possible in a surprising and ingenious way. But that's not the only thing that makes these organs so special. In combination with powerful chisel-like beaks, long, specialized tongues help woodpeckers access food other birds can't. Although seldom seen by the casual birdwatcher, woodpecker tongues are a big part of what makes these birds unique. ![]()
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