this is a post about woodpecker tongues! cw for animal skeletons + skeletal anatomy
did you know woodpeckers have bones in their tongues? and that said tongue bones wrap all the way around the back of their skulls only to anchor near the nares? their tongues are SUPER long and they can store the excess length in the tubes of bone/cartilage! it's just one of their pro strats for getting bugs out of trees.
https://awoo.space/media/wgFtiJIbbujfJiENQrc https://awoo.space/media/2eX8FDnvbJl-Qb_oz5o
sources for the post above + pic of a woodpecker
here's a good page describing woodpecker's tongue structure as well as how they can hammer into trees without breaking their own skulls - also the source of the illustrated diagram: https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/blog/2013/12/10/woodpeckers-hammer-without-headaches/
skull photo source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Anatomical-structures-of-head-and-hyoid-bone-a-Great-Spotted-woodpeckers-head-b_fig8_51761092
pileated woodpecker photo source: http://justfunfacts.com/interesting-facts-about-woodpeckers/
