During the Neighborhood Nestwatch banding at Marcy Cunkelman’s last month I learned an amazing thing about the red-bellied woodpecker.  The tip of his tongue looks like a spear.

We saw this firsthand when an immature red-bellied shouted and displayed his tongue while he waited to be banded.

Here’s a closer look.  You can see that his tongue is pointed and bony and coated with inward-facing barbs.

Not only is the tip of his tongue very specialized, but the entire tongue is extra long and easy to maneuver.  Under his skin, his tongue begins in front of his eyes and wraps over his skull to emerge in his mouth. This gives it enough slack that he can stick it out 1 to 1.5 inches beyond his bill.

This long maneuverable spear allows him to capture bugs and larvae in deep crevices.  He hammers the crevice, sticks out his tongue, maneuvers it inside the crack and stabs his prey.  If he doesn’t completely spear it, no problem.  He has specialized mucus that makes his tongue sticky.

Click here to see an illustration and photo of the red-bellied’s amazing tongue.

The better to eat with, my dear.

(photos by Kate St. John)