Biology 1st Edition by Jerome Krueger, Kendra Hill, Robert Noyd

Exercise 19

The pileated woodpecker can strike up to 15 blows per second at an equivalent speed of 16 miles per hour ( Fig. ). Natural selection has selected for woodpeckers with a thick bony skull that can absorb the shock of the strike. Think of a reason why very thick skull bones would be a disadvantage or selected against in pileated woodpecker populations.
Figure Pileated woodpecker.