Curious Kids Every Day: A Daily Educational Podcast
Sep 9, 2026 · 11 min · 8 segments
Woodpeckers withstand repeated pecking because their impacts are extremely brief and their small brains experience lower pressure changes than a much larger brain would. Newer research also shows that…
Josh TaylorHost
[gentle music] [birds chirping] A woodpecker can strike wood at about 15 miles per hour.
[woodpecker pecking] Have you ever smacked your head into something while going 15 miles per hour? [laughs] [person thudding] I ran into a tree once when I was a kid.
[woodpecker pecking] But how? Do they have built-in shock absorbers in their heads? Maybe the bones around their brain act like padding inside a helmet and it softens each peck.
[woodpecker pecking] Well, that's what people used to think, but researchers decided to test the idea using high-speed cameras.
So they measured what is happening to the beak and the rest of the head of the woodpecker when it strikes the wood, and you know what they discovered? [upbeat music] Something very surprising.
[hammer thudding] The beak and the skull slow down almost together, which, I mean, it makes sense.
[woodpecker pecking] A stiff head allows more of the energy from each strike to reach the tree.
[woodpecker pecking] So if its head isn't cushioning every blow, why isn't its brain getting badly injured? [laughs] Well, one explanation has to do with the woodpecker's small size.
Are woodpeckers big birds or tiny birds? Yeah, they're pretty tiny, and a woodpecker's brain is even smaller.
When researchers created computer models of woodpeckers pecking, [graphics beeping] they found that the pressure changes inside their small brains stayed below concussion levels.
Do you know what a concussion is? A concussion is something that can happen if you get hit really hard in the head.
[gentle music] [birds chirping] A woodpecker can strike wood at about 15 miles per hour.
[woodpecker pecking] Have you ever smacked your head into something while going 15 miles per hour? [laughs] [person thudding] I ran into a tree once when I was a kid.
[woodpecker pecking] But how? Do they have built-in shock absorbers in their heads? Maybe the bones around their brain act like padding inside a helmet and it softens each peck.
[woodpecker pecking] Well, that's what people used to think, but researchers decided to test the idea using high-speed cameras.
So they measured what is happening to the beak and the rest of the head of the woodpecker when it strikes the wood, and you know what they discovered? [upbeat music] Something very surprising.
[hammer thudding] The beak and the skull slow down almost together, which, I mean, it makes sense.
[woodpecker pecking] A stiff head allows more of the energy from each strike to reach the tree.
[woodpecker pecking] So if its head isn't cushioning every blow, why isn't its brain getting badly injured? [laughs] Well, one explanation has to do with the woodpecker's small size.
Are woodpeckers big birds or tiny birds? Yeah, they're pretty tiny, and a woodpecker's brain is even smaller.
When researchers created computer models of woodpeckers pecking, [graphics beeping] they found that the pressure changes inside their small brains stayed below concussion levels.
Do you know what a concussion is? A concussion is something that can happen if you get hit really hard in the head.
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