The north side of this tree is covered in holes from the ground up all the way up onto several different branches. These holes were created by woodpeckers, which drill into trees in search of insects and invertebrates to eat. Once located the prey is removed with a log barbed tongue.
Woodpeckers are part of the Picadae family and are located worldwide except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme polar regions. Members of this family have short, strong legs and claws to give them ability to not only sit on the side of a tree trunk but walk vertically up them. Their beaks consist of three layers and their hyoid bone (tongue bone) is long, winding up through the skull and cushions the brain. Their brains are also smaller and have little cerebrospinal fluid to help reduce the amount of brain movement. Because pecking causes their skulls to heat up they will often peck in short bursts with little breaks in between to allow their skull to cool. Just before making contact with wood a thickened membrane closes, protecting the eye from flying wood chips.
When I was a child a woodpecker used to come to the tree in our backyard and go to town. I would sit in the living room and watch him every time he showed up. As an adult I have only seen a woodpecker a handful of times but it is still just as exciting as when I was a child. Woodpeckers are a cool, interesting species and so fun to watch!
Now that you're done checking out his handy work, make like a bird and hop in this tree to find what you came in search of.
Congratulations to TommeGun for the FTF!