The Tail of Mr Peck

(or Mrs.)
This is a rubbish shot taken through cloudy double glazing but it's one I've been trying to capture for ages. This greater spotted woodpecker has been visiting the bird feeders on my window for three winters now (I have no reason not to suppose it's not the same one) and this spring was so wet and cold that I have kept the peanuts topped up.

Every morning he (or she) arrives and initially clings to the stone wall beside the window, or the wooden frame, looking keenly around to check all is safe. Smaller birds make way. Then it darts on to the feeder and starts to pound at the nuts with its long beak. Even half-asleep I instantly recognize the rhythmic drumming. Even a slight movement from me will send it instantly into the air and off.

I knew that woodpeckers have a special system of shock absorption around the cranium to protect the brain from the impact of its high-speed pecking. They also have a coiled-up pointed tongue that darts out well beyond the beak to harpoon the larvae it seeks in rotten timber. But I didn't know until I observed it that the woodpecker's tail is very remarkable too. You can see it here - not the pointed end of its wings but the straight feathers that are clamped under the feeder. Every day that the woodpecker visited my window I could see how the tail was used as a prop or fulcrum, jammed against the window or the wall to provide support for the bird as it hammers. I learnt that not only are the tail feathers extra stiff and tough but the two central ones are retained during the moult. The bones in the tail are stronger than normal to support the muscles that give the tail its resistance against the tree trunk while it pecks for grubs. In fact it reminds me of nothing so much as a memory from my childhood, the shooting stick, the double handle of which opened up to create a leather or canvas seat in which to park the rear while one watched the jumping or the pheasant shooting.

Searching the internet for information I discovered that the woodpecker's sophisticated specializations are often put forward by creationists as evidence of God's handiwork. (Although I notice that they don't use highly evolved organisms like bacteria and viruses as similar examples.) However, the theory of evolution seems entirely credible to me without the assistance of supernatural intervention (or even a tail prop.)