3 Reasons Why Woodpeckers Are Great Excavators

May 29, 2025

Millions of years of evolution have turned some woodpecker body parts into high-efficiency tools. More than 200 species of woodpeckers are spread across every continent except Australia and Antarctica. And all of them, from the largest to the smallest, share a few unique adaptations that help them find food and create shelter deep inside trees—resources that would are largely unavailable to other species. Here’s how they do it:

A Bill Built for Drilling

Woodpecker bills are long, straight, and flattened into a chisel-like shape, allowing easier entry into hard wood. Like all birds, the tip of the bill is constantly wearing away and regrowing, an especially important feature for woodpeckers.

Adjustable Toes

Woodpeckers have two toes facing forward and two facing backward, and they can adjust one of the back-facing toes when they cling to counteract any lateral movements when they deal their forceful blows. “They use a lot of force when they hammer into a tree, and sometimes the bird can get pushed sideways,” says Bird Academy‘s Kevin McGowan. “Being able to extend and grip the trunk with their outside toe on the right foot keeps them from being pulled off the tree to the left, and vice versa.”

A Stabilizing Tail

Two extra-special feathers give woodpeckers the superhero-like ability to scale vertical surfaces and hammer away. In most woodpecker species, the two central tail feathers each have an extra thick rachis (the central shaft of the feather structure) that supports the bird’s weight as it rears back its upper body to deliver a strike.

Sources: Bird Academy course The Wonderful World of Woodpeckers and Handbook of Bird Biology, 3rd ed.