But they have other adaptations too and after my recent Northern Flicker blog post Dan Gleason emailed me to say (among other things) “Your final photo of the flicker is perfect for showing how a woodpeckers’ foot really works” and then he went on to explain some of the anatomy and biology involved. He also covered some of the interesting and unique properties of woodpecker tails since my flicker image illustrated that well too. \u00a0I already knew most of the information Dan provided but not all of it and he pulled it all together cohesively for me. So with Dan’s permission, which he kindly provided, I’d like to relay some of what he told me in my own words as best I can.<\/p>\n
When it comes to birds Dan knows his stuff. Among other qualifications he’s taught the Field Ornithology course in the Biology Department at the University of Oregon for years and he also teaches classes and workshops to the general public and gives public lectures around the state of Oregon. When Dan talks birds I sit up and pay attention.<\/p>\n
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- I’m not lying. There’s a male Northern Flicker calling just outside my window as I type this. All I have to do is turn my head to my left and I can see him. I think he’s telling me to get it right!<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The first photo below of a Northern Flicker, a type of woodpecker, is the one Dan was referring to in his email to me.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/northern-flicker-9371b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"northern-flicker-9371b-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nFeet:<\/strong><\/p>\n
Depending on the lifestyle of the species birds have several different types of toe arrangements on their feet. Anisodactyl<\/em> with three toes pointing forward and one toe pointing back is the most common and that’s the arrangement songbirds have. But woodpecker toes have an arrangement called zygodactyl<\/em> with two toes pointing forward and two toes rotated rearward.<\/p>\n
However when woodpeckers are clinging to vertical surfaces like trees, which they usually are, they don’t keep<\/em> their rear toes pointing back, as you see in the photo above. Instead the outside lower toe (generally referred to as toe #4) is pointed out to the side and the inside lower toe (toe #1) which is of little use in this situation is tucked under the foot and toward the outside also.<\/p>\n
About the only times woodpeckers keep their rear toes actually pointing back is when they wrap their feet around a horizontal branch or when they’re dead and sitting in a museum drawer. This is something even many field guides get wrong. If you check your Sibley Guide To Birds you’ll see that David Sibley drew his woodpeckers clinging vertically to trees with their rear toes pointing back (down), a completely unnatural toe position for most woodpeckers.<\/p>\n
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Tails:<\/strong><\/p>\n
When woodpeckers are clinging to vertical surfaces they have to use the ends of their tails as props for support. In this case their feet are essentially the fulcrum of a lever and the tail keeps the rigid body of the bird from tipping back too far. As we can see from the bent end of the tail in the photo above this puts significant pressure and resulting wear and tear on the tail. When I’m photographing woodpeckers at their nesting cavity entrances in trees I can actually see significant wear on the wood below the entrance where the woodpeckers have landed repeatedly at the entrance and used their tails as props in a particular spot. So you can imagine the wear and tear on the tail feathers responsible for the wood being worn.<\/p>\n
But woodpeckers have a defense against tail feather wear.<\/p>\n
Woodpeckers have completely black, or mostly black, tails. The darker feathers of birds owe their color to the pigment melanin which gives them greater mechanical strength so they’re more resistant to wear, bacterial degradation and parasite damage and less likely to break under pressure. The added toughness of black feathers is also important to species who migrate long distances like American White Pelicans, Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeaks and many others whose primaries and secondaries are black.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/northern-flicker-6189-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"northern-flicker-6189-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nHere’s another view of a different Northern Flicker showing the arrangement of their rear toes while perched vertically.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/williamsons-sapsucker-1388-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"williamsons-sapsucker-1388-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nSapsuckers are also types of woodpeckers. Here the female of a mated pair of Williamson’s Sapsuckers whose bill is loaded with ants for her chicks leans to the side to allow her mate to exit the nest cavity. Her lean allows us to see her toe arrangement well with one rear toe pointing to the outside and the other one folded in the same direction.<\/p>\n
Notice the extended, stiff black shafts of the tail that give support without the vanes interfering or being quickly worn away.<\/p>\n
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Woodpeckers are fascinating and unique birds, so much so that many of Dan’s public presentations are about woodpeckers alone.<\/p>\n
Thanks, Dan.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Woodpeckers have a number of adaptations that allow them their unique lifestyles.<\/p>\n