Resist Mechanism of Woodpecker’s Head and Neck Injury

Head and neck injuries always cause severe morbidity and death of human. However, woodpecker can withstand fierce impact without suffering head/ neck injuries while striking on trees with high acceleration and frequency. The mechanism of non-injury of woodpecker’s head and neck has attracted considerable attention of biologists, ornithologist and scientists in the fields of material science, medical engineering and mechanical engineering. Distinct impact-absorption system including head, beak, hyoid bone and neck muscles has been considered as the key to protect the woodpecker from injury according to previous studies. In this chapter, the resist mechanism of woodpecker’s head and neck injury were systematically studied and summarized.