Woodpecker tongues wrap around skulls

When a woodpecker hammers a tree, its head travels at 15 miles per hour, experiencing a deceleration of 1,200g. A human would suffer a fatal concussion at just 100g.

To survive, the woodpecker uses a tongue that is three times the length of its beak. Instead of sitting in the mouth, the tongue extends backward, exits the lower jaw, and loops entirely around the back of the skull.

The tongue's unique structure allows it to be stored while not in use, but it does not act as a shock absorber; in fact, the skull is specialized to be as rigid as possible to deliver maximum force to the wood.

The bird possesses a specialized spongy bone at the front of its skull that helps distribute the physical load across the cranium. Its eyelids shut tight immediately before each strike to protect the eyes from flying wood chips and debris.

Since the bird strikes the tree up to 20 times per second, this entire bracing system must engage and disengage at a blinding speed.

Interestingly, the tip of this massive tongue is often covered in barbs and sticky saliva, allowing the bird to reach deep into insect tunnels once it's finished hammering away.