There head has a soft foamy thingy near there forehead so it doesn't hurt when drumming. I think that's cool. There's also the super long tongues. Imagine our tongues doing that!

Stiff tails for support.

Tongue

I love the different adaption on the tongue depending on the woodpecker like the brush tongue on sapsuckers.

I don't know, honestly. I find all of their adaptations fascinating. I think probably their tails. It's crazy that even the tails are made for balance when they're pecking.

Their tongue with how long it is and also the different tips they have depending on what they eat.

Also, their short stiff tails that help them stand on the side of trees.

Woodpeckers are fascinating. Their tongues are a marvel. I don’t often see the tongue, but I did capture this Downy with her tongue out.

I wasn't aware of their incredible tongues.

I love their stiff tails. We see them use their tails at the feeders and it is such a cool doubly purposeful body part.

Their amazing tongue and how they use their feet  to balance on a tree. Can't wait to hear their drumming  on a tree.  Been a very cold and snowy winter.

I think it is amazing to watch woodpeckers balance on windy days using their tails for an anchor support!

Definitely the tongue! I knew about Hummingbird tongues but didn't know that woodpecker tongues are also extremely long - so long that they wrap around the skull and then some. Remarkable!!

The barbed tongue and length of tongues.

Their zygodactyl feet, their bristled tongues that wrap around their skull and their kickstand tails are amazing woodpecker adaptations! I never get tired observing them!

I found it interesting to learn that their tongues have evolved to suite their food sources - some sticky, barbed, etc.

How long their tongues are and how they can manipulate them.  Also the specialized tips they have.  I also love how they can move their outer toe to the side to help them when they are pecking at a tree.

Their tongues are just crazy, and the way their tongues are positioned inside their heads when not in use--wild. Nature is weird and cool.

The long tongue with its many variations to. Consume different insect species

Tongue and beek

Very interesting to see the different tongue structures adapted for different diets.

The tongue and the arrangement of the toes !

I remember, during a semester at my college, hiking along one of the paths at the university's nature center.  It was a chilly early spring back in March when I saw a Pileated Woodpecker feeding on a fallen log, and after the bird left the area, I expected the site.  Closer examination revealed a whole colony of carpenter ants, and to read that they make up half of a Pileated Woodpecker's diet is incredible!  Bizarrely, some woodpeckers are the avian anteaters.

Their tongue is definitely the most amazing tool for them to adapt to their environment. Providing access to almost every living tree where thousands of bugs live in, tongue for woodpeckers means abundant food and best quality. I also admire their claws to climb and hold to trunks, it is particularly necessary fro them to steady drill the wood when finding food but also to build their nests.