Do Woodpeckers Suffer Brain Injuries?

When woodpeckers drum, they slam their beaks against bark many times per second. Scientists have long hypothesized that woodpeckers have a way of protecting their brains from injury. However, more recent work provides a different picture. High-speed cameras showed scientists that woodpeckers aren’t softening the impacts to their skulls. And researchers also have found signs of cellular damage in woodpecker brains. However, woodpeckers could be protecting themselves in other ways, and may even have ways of repairing damage over time.

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