I have always been fascinated by the woodpecker, so I actually met with an ornithologist (the study of birds) with a list of questions. He told me that the most common question he was asked about woodpeckers, is how can they repeatedly slam their beaks into a tree without any adverse affects? The ornithologist then showed me hundreds pictures of their nests, with below each of them on the ground, countless empty bottles of aspirin. However, he explained that he and his colleagues have not ruled out the possibility that the birds were popping pills because of job stress, or living with a mate that they can’t stand.
