Where does this come from, and can I check it?

An elongated hyoid bone acts as a safety belt during high-speed pecking. The figure is taken from Natural History Museum, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a animals fact?

Yes. It sits on the Animals shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

A woodpecker tongue wraps around its skull to protect its brain

An elongated hyoid bone acts as a safety belt during high-speed pecking.

Woodpeckers slam their beaks into tree trunks at accelerations exceeding 1,000 g-forces. To prevent brain injury, the long hyoid bone supporting the tongue splits into two bands that loop all the way around the back of the skull and insert into the right nostril, absorbing impact shocks.

Woodpecker protecting nest — N p holmes · CC BY-SA 3.0 · licence · source

Where this comes from

Natural History Museum

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Tags: woodpecker, birds, brain

A woodpecker tongue wraps around its skull to protect its brain: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: An elongated hyoid bone acts as a safety belt during high-speed pecking. The figure is taken from Natural History Museum, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a animals fact?: Yes. It sits on the Animals shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.