Woodpeckers | Picidae

Spechten | Pájaros carpinteros

A straight, chisel-shaped bill and a skull built to absorb the blows: the base of the bill rests on spongy bone, heavy neck muscles drive and steer the stroke, and the nostrils sit behind small covering feathers that keep out dust. The tongue is extremely long and tipped with barbs or sticky saliva; it is carried on two slender elongated bones that curve round the skull and push it far beyond the bill. In most species the tail feathers are stiff and pointed and serve as a third point of support in climbing, which goes up the trunk in short jerks, while the flight is undulating, a few beats and a dip on closed wings. Instead of song they drum: a fast series of blows on a resonant branch that announces the territory and draws a mate.